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Tag Archives: creativity
Why Churches Need Design Thinking
Unless you lead the only local church in America that has no problems, then you need to find an effective process to solve the challenges that you face.
What I know about you is that you didn’t go into church leadership to deal with a lot of the stuff that you have to deal with. You went into church leadership because you believed God was calling you to something significant…something life changing…something…well, other than what you spend a huge amount of time doing.
As a leader, you have to deal with all the “other” stuff. You know, the stuff that no one really tells you about. The stuff that wasn’t a part of the conversation when God called you to give your life to the church. But what if He had? I can almost imagine what that conversation would be like.
God: I have gifted you and called you to give your life to full time ministry in the local church…
You: Wow. I am humbled. I will get to lead people from pain to peace, from lost to found. I will get to proclaim your Word and watch people respond by giving you their lives, I will have the honor of representing the most Holy God as the leader of His people.
God: Yes, but… there is more. You will also get to spend time with people who say horrible things about you because you made a decision about something without asking them. You will be put in the middle of situations that you have no control over, yet be held accountable. You will watch people leave the church because you said something that they did not like. You will go to sleep at night asking me…”Are you sure this is what you called me to do?’
You: Hmmm… is there anyway to just do the good stuff?
So where does that reality leave you? If you are like me, it leaves you looking for the best way possible to navigate the web of decisions and problems that we all face as we lead the church. I can share what I have learned, and how it can completely change your circumstances. (more…)
Tagged creativity, design thinking, leadership, process
Design Thinking in the Church
If you are a student of “innovation” you’re probably familiar with the term Design Thinking. If you’re not familiar with the term here’s a link that can give you broad overview.
The actual process of design thinking is often attributed to IDEO, a product design company located in California. To make the story short, IDEO was doing a lot of business in designing products they were getting a lot of attention (the mouse for the first Mac computer among others). Nightline the news program did a very cool story on them and the unique process by which they designed their products. Many people we interested, and looked for ways to adapt IDEO’s product design process to tackling other non-design problems.
Over time, Tom Kelley and IDEO began to refer to it as Design Thinking instead of simply “design”. They realized that it has more to do with the way that you think about the problem and its solution than about the actual product. They also began to consult with many different companies on how to integrate this thought process into the common challenge of being innovative.
There are several books worth reading on the topic including The Art of Innovation, Ten Faces of Innovation, The Rise of the Creative Class, and A Whole New Mind.
In general the concept is that our society has moved to very left brain thinking. Left brain thinking is characterized by analysis, logical, and linear thought processes. Right brain thinking is more creative, adaptable, and innovative. The goal is to use both the right and left brain thinking abilities.
For the church, this makes great sense. For hundreds of years the message of the gospel and the story of Christianity was represented through art, creativity and the narrative. It is a recent trend that we have focused so much on the logical and scientific aspects of the faith. In denying our creativity we have denied a large part of who God created us to be. At the same time – simply being creative, without understanding the rational and logical truths of the faith- is also denying a large part of who we are. It is when those two parts are brought together that we can most resemble the functioning body of Christ.
Over the next few posts I’ll be going into more detail about Design Thinking as a process and how it can benefit the church. It is one of the core processes that we use at 218Consulting when we help churches overcome the obstacles they face.
Tagged creativity, culture, design thinking