A Worship Lifestyle: Creative Design
In the lead-up to “Two Or More” conference, we’re posing three simple questions to our communities and our people…
What’s your offering?
How are you leading?
Who’s your sphere?
Today’s answers/thoughts come from Stephen James Hart, a member of Gateway Church and a fellow lover and follower of Jesus.
So, Stephen…
“WHAT’S YOUR OFFERING?”
“The way I view my offering of worship, is my entire life laid down for God to use. I love the way Steffany Gretzinger coined it; “God, put me on like a glove and do whatever You want, I’m Yours.” That’s become my prayer of late. My practical, creative offering of worship these days looks like giving all my creative pursuits back to God (photography, design, physical creative installations, spoken and written word) and choosing to offer them to Him as worship.
It’s all about me actively, consciously giving my attention to Jesus as I write, create and dream. To ask Him to fill my mind with HIS creativity as I go about the tasks of my day/life. Little by little, step by step, day by day, my creativity and my output is given to Him as an offering of worship.”
“HOW ARE YOU LEADING?”
“The way that I lead within this space of creativity and design, is primarily being aware that others are watching me. It’s as simple as that.
Because most of my creative worship offering isn’t done on a stage, it’s easy to forget that others are watching. It’s so tempting to shrug off things like social media or physical creativity and reason that it’s not “really leading”. Social media is as much (if not more sometimes) of a platform than a stage on Sunday and we’d do well to remember that when we get up and “offer” our worship on said platforms.
Leading through other platforms looks like being aware of everything I do and say. And boy, does Jesus have a lot to say about that! Both scripturally and personally. When we choose to step into leadership (of which I believe we’re all called to do in some capacity) and live a surrendered life before Him and those around us…He leaves no stone unturned.
If I’m constantly aware (pro-actively keeping it in the forefront of my mind) that others are watching what I create/design/make but equally (and I’d argue potentially more importantly) HOW I’m living my life…then it changes what I do. Suddenly and beautifully, the stakes are higher because everything we do matters. It matters what font I choose and what clothes I wear and what I say to the cashier at Countdown.
I/we lead by example.
So if my offering is creative design and my life is worship…I lead worship by the way I conduct myself, the things I say, the images I take, the things I choose to focus on, the fonts I pick, what things are put on a poster, or what’s said in a promo video. Nothing’s too small to not be offered and done with a heart of worshipful obedience.
“WHO’S MY SPHERE?”
“Currently, my sphere is the people that God chooses to place around me or give me a realm of influence within. Some days that’s bigger than others, but the responsibility of influence should never be determined by the amount of people watching. Our spheres are 1 on 1 encounters in a store on Mondays and crowded rooms on Sundays.
Practically though, my creative design sphere these days consists of social media (those who follow me and the wider places where my creativity is used/seen) and physically anywhere my creativity ends up. Which might be a church-full of people, a bookstore where my design has landed, or 1-on-1 with a friend when I take a photo on my phone.
We’ve been given the keys of the Kingdom of God to bring light, life, joy, kindness and to grab people by the hand metaphorically and point them to Jesus. Whether that’s through an Insta story, a commercial business website, or a quick snap photo with a friend…we get to leave fingerprints of Jesus wherever we go. What an honour.
