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These are my notes from breakout two at the 2011 Orange Conference.  The presenter was Jared Herd.

Who is creative?

We have this assumption that the creative individual has a creative job or is the guy that wears a scarf.

“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” –Picasso

Creativity is something you lose as you grow older, not gain.

As we grow older we gain a fear of being judged and lost our creativity

If you have a soul and a heartbeat, you are creative

Creativity is hard-wired into us from the time we are born

In Genesis, God told Adam and Eve, “You are free to eat from any tree”

Satan asks, “Did God really say?”

Sin always makes us boring. Sin is nothing new or creative, it is only twisting of God’s truth.

Creativity is what every field needs.

Secular and Christian

Classical Greece has impacted our world greatly. They had a profound impact on our creativity. Language, architecture, poetry, music, medicine, written history, philosophy

Q: Why did so much creativity come from Greece?

A: Their soil.  The Greeks had terrible soil, which forced them to interact with the world around them.

Creativity happens at the intersection of different cultures, where beliefs, knowledge and lifestyle mingle

War is beneficial to a society’s history. It forces cultures to collide.

Isolation, not war, is dangerous for a culture

Our calling can hinder our creativity

As pastors we go deeper into our calling. In the process, we end up losing our creativity

The deeper you go into a field, the more isolated you become.  We need depth, but we also need breadth

Diversify your interests, diversify the people around you, diversify your experiences

Living a lateral life, not just vertical, but one that sees the rules around you

Creativity is not the invention of something new, it is the connection of previously unconnected things.

Practical steps

  1. Try to be surprised by something everyday.
  2. When you live the teachings of Christ you become a fascinating individual

  3. Try to surprise at least one person a day
  4. When something strikes a spark of interest, follow it.
  5. Breadth fuels creativity

  6. Wake up in the morning with a specific goal to look forward to
  7. If you do anything well, it becomes enjoyable

  8. To keep enjoying something, increase its complexity
  9. Make time for relaxation and reflection

Inspire creativity in children/students

Need our help unlocking their creativity

Real world problems do not have crystal clear solutions

A student’s life is increasingly vertical; filled with rules and incentives. If..then statements define there lives.

In a complex world, rules and incentives increase. A student’s world is full of both

Creativity is rooted in a deep sense of responsibility, not in answering the question, “What’s in it for me?”

We have to teach kids that the world needs them and their talents, not just because they get something out of it, but to make the world a better place

Often times we try to medicate our kids to fit into our way of life when they have gifts and talents unique.

Practical Steps

  1. Diversify their Interests: Unlock their passions.
  2. Diversify People: Help them see beauty in others.
  3. Diversify their Experiences: Give them enriching experiences
  4. Elevate real heroes
  5. Students don’t need 23 year olds who look and talk like them, they need 50 and 60 year olds who are changing the community

The creative life is the diverse life