Creative vs. Prophetic

I have always thought of myself as a creative person. I am always trying to innovate. My philosophy is "Why wait until it's broken? Let's fix it now!" New ideas, new programs, new ministries are what make me tick. I want to hear new music and watch new and different movies.

So you don't get the wrong idea, let me assure you that 'new' to me is not the same as 'new' to everyone else. When I see a movie for the first time, it is new. It doesn't matter when it was made. New is the same as unique or original in my mind. My definition is not exactly the same as everyone else's.

Creativity, therefore, is a highly prized commodity in Rev Dewey's World. Doing old things new ways, trying something new, or adapting something to my situation are all things that I prize. Creativity is a gift from God, and it reminds people (me, anyway) of the Creator of all, God himself. Creativity is from God. Creativity is good.

Recently I was invited to attend a seminar on "Moving and Growing in the Prophetic." You can tell from the title of the class where the theological sympathies of the leaders and hosts lie. We learned a lot about listening to God's voice, prayer and sharing a 'word' with someone and the dangers that the word could create. There was a lot of practice. We prayed for a moment and then wrote down what God was saying. We tried to get our own ideas and opinions out of the way as we focused on the Lord himself. The seminar was frustrating to me in that many of the exercises seemed superfluous and the simplicity of hearing from God was made overly complicated.

It was at the seminar, as I was considering these thoughts that it occurred to me that creativity is related to prophecy and the world of the prophetic. In fact, I believe that in many cases we can equate creativity with prophetic words and utterances.

Many people never allow their creativity to flow because they are intimidated by others. They feel inferior to the creative output of someone else, or that others will belittle their creative efforts. This should never be the case. But the same is true in the world of the prophetic as well. There are many people who never share what God is saying. They are afraid that someone else will think that they are "weird," a "religious fanatic" or "holier than thou." Isn't it time that we all took a step back and allowed God to speak to all of us? Isn't it time that we allowed God to fan the flames creativity in every life? For the good of everyone?

What is God saying to you? What is he doing in your life? Do you want to know what he is doing in mine?