Question 3: What’s the Biggest Problem You Find When You Analyze a Team’s Creative Process

Blame.  Finger pointing.

And the fault is being passed around because — there is a no comprehensive creative process.  Every church has a creative process but most of the time it isn’t complete.  I find the processes fall into the following categories:

Good Start:
It starts strong.  There’s are good initial processes but then there’s a weak finish.  I see teams that decide in advance what a teaching series should look like.  They may even create impactful moments for the worship experience, but the plan stops there.  There is no follow through and all those good and even great ideas never make it to the stage.  That’s a shame.

Poor Foundation:
This one is the exact opposite of the first, but I see it played out in two different ways.  First, I see teams that work from too large a target.  In other words they don’t have a clear idea what the pastor wants the church community to walk away with.  The creative team then takes this unclear mandate and attempts to create an inspiring worship experience.  What they often end up with is disjunct, disconnected and a worship hour without flow.

Poor Foundations can also be played out in this way: the pastor gives clear direction but the creative meeting that follows is poorly managed.  This means the creative ideas don’t support the message well.  The ideas that are created are often weak, good at best.  Why?  They didn’t have a well-run storyboarding session that provides a creative environment which allows good ideas to be combined into great ideas.  It’s no fun to spend hours and days rehearsing and preparing for mediocrity.

The biggest problem with the creative process is the lack of a good and comprehensive creative process!