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JEREMIAH: THE CREATIVE PROPHET

Creative sermons are not new. In fact, they are as old as they come! It started with creativity in worship (something we must also learn from, btw!). In Genesis we see the first musician, Jubal, who is the ancestor of all who play the harp and the flute (see Gen. 4:21). The artistry of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle, and the craftwork of Bezalel and Oholiab, is described in great detail in Exodus 25-31. King David brought music and dance to the people, bringing the soul's language to the forefront of worship. Solomon worshiped in the creations of fabulous architecture. Isaiah used vivid imagery to get his message across (e.g., in Isaiah 31:5, God is compared to an angry bird). And Jeremiah brought it all together to become "The Creative Prophet." (Most remember him as "The Weeping Prophet" but there's more to old Jeremiah than that!)

Jeremiah, if we really look at him, was a rather outrageous fellow. A priest and a prophet in Judah, he spoke to five kings of his day (Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah) and three different empires (Judah, Babylon, and Egypt). He was an emotional guy, not holding back on the feelings that come when living for God. He spoke messages of hope for transformation from the doom and gloom, wishing God would occasionally give him a kinder message. It was the doom and gloom that got him in trouble. He made many enemies because of his harsh words. He was thrown in prison many times, taken to a foreign country against his will, and probably died in Egypt, far from his beloved homeland. He was a writer who used prose, poetry, parable, lament, biography, and history. The Hebrew title for the book of Lamentations is "How," which is a guttural cry of grief. ¹

Against that backdrop, I want to point out how creative Jeremiah was in getting across the awful and wonderful messages of his day. He describes the terror from the north as a "boiling pot," ready to boil over in anger (Jer. 1:13-16). He sees Israel following after other gods and says, "You are like a restless female camel, desperate for a male! You are like a wild donkey, sniffing the wind at mating time" (Jer. 2:23b-24a). He moves on to more concrete metaphors when he illustrates how Judah's pride affects their relationship to God by burying a linen belt in the Euphrates River. When the belt was dug up, it was mildewed, falling apart, and really useless (Jer. 13:1-14). He is taken down to the potter's house, and God speaks to him through the work of the potter (Jer. 18:1-10). He smashes a clay jar at the Potsherd Gate to illustrate how the people would be shattered by their sin (Jer. 19). In chapter 24, Jeremiah describes a vision of how God would deal with the good and the bad in the same way we deal with good figs (useful to feed and well received) and bad figs (rotten and rejected). He gives a message of submission to the rule of the Babylonians (Jer. 27-28) by living his life while wearing an ox yoke (some heavy babies for sure!). Jeremiah buys a piece of land, obtains the deed of purchase, and hands it to Baruch in the presence of the people, asking that he keep it in a pottery jar where it will be well preserved. This is the message of hope that God will someday bring the people back from Babylon to the place where they can buy and sell property, houses, and vineyards in their own land (Jer. 32). And at Tahpanhes, Jeremiah gathers together the people and buries large stones between the rocks at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace as a concrete description of the way God would let the Babylonians have control over Egypt (Jer. 43:8-13).²

Jeremiah had a message to tell, and he wanted it to be so memorable and vivid that the people would hear it and be transformed. He wanted the words to change hearts and ways so that the people would return to God. And that is our place in history. We have a message to tell, but not many are listening. Perhaps one part of our problem is that we are not memorable enough.

It was Jeremiah's passion for the lost people of his tribe that brought him to a place of willingness to be used by God in these unusual ways. And it is our passion for the lost of our communities that causes us to look at the delivery forms of our message.

GOD THE CREATOR

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So God created people in his own image; God patterned them

after himself; male and female he created them (Gen. 1:27).

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We were created in God's image, in the image of The Creator of the Universe. It boggles my mind to think that I was created in God's image, but the part that is most amazing is that I was created to be creative. When I was a young girl, I used to think that I was the one in the family that missed out on the creative genes. My mom could write and recite poetry and stories, my dad could fix anything out of nothing, and I had sisters that could paint and dance and brothers that could write and make things work. But I couldn't see my own creativity. So when I began to look at doing sermons creatively, I felt out of my league. I tell you this only to present you with the idea that you are creative even if you don't know that about yourself yet. After all, you were made in the image of the Creator! You might have to do some digging to find the ways you can be creative, but I can assure you that you won't have to dig far. It might be just below the surface of your selfunderstanding.

Look at what our Creator God did! God made the universe and the stars and set the planets in motion and timed things according to the moon's cycle. God put a whole bunch of water in the boundaries of sand and gave it a back and forth motion. God made a world where raindrops have different sounds and snow falls in silence. He made the earth freeze over with icicles and melt with the warmth of the sun. God set the colors of green and brown and blue as the backdrop so that we could also experience the reds and yellows and purples and oranges of the world. God made a way for green things to receive chlorophyll and water and air. He made the deepest caverns and the tallest mountains, and he made the snake-like rivers to connect the dots in between. God breathed life into babies and elephants and kangaroos. God gave emotions to connect humans and animals. God created music! He gave us sensory knowledge, and the love of beauty and order and the desire for peace. We are made in the image of this kind of Creator.

So think about it . . . there's got to be something of the creative spirit within you. I want to encourage you to find it and to develop it and to make room for it. I want you to get out of your boxes and circles and ruts and find out about the rest of the world out there. And I want for you to apply all that you have learned to your creation of sermons. I will give you a few ideas on how to get started in this book, but they really are elementary, and I believe that your creations will far exceed mine. The ideas presented here are really jumping-off places. They are ideas to get your own creative juices flowing in your unique style. Feel free to imitate, mix-up, recreate, and totally redo any idea that you take from these pages. This book is an idea book—a book that you can use to start to see things a new way.

ELEMENTS OF CREATIVITY

What I learned over time and through much trial and error is that there are some recognizable patterns of creativity. These elements of creativity are building blocks that can help you grow in sermonizing. Look at them, and see how many forms you can use to create a message. Note: it's best to use one or two in a message...don't overkill!

1. Surprise What a delight it is in life to be surprised. Some of the best sermons I remember hearing are ones where I was surprised by the ending or by something in the middle. The surprise took me off guard and made me sit up and listen. It reminds me of the saying, "Made ya look!" That's what surprises do. See if you can find ways to initiate surprise into the body of your message, and see how intently people listen after you do!

2. Distraction When we draw attention away from a problem, we have a second chance at the problem. Often this second chance is what helps us to view Scripture in a new way or to see applications to our life that we can't get when we doggedly pursue a solution. Try the distractions of stories that don't end until later, of implementing something that seems irrelevant, or of looking away and then looking back at something. It brings newness to the sermon that will give you a smile.

3. Imaging To image is to make visible. We can do this with descriptive words, or we can actually bring an image to the people and let the image speak for itself. For example, when talking about baggage, have a pile of suitcases up on the stage that provides a visual response beyond anything words could ever say (see Nine Seeds). Pictures are worth more than words, so include images in new and old ways.

4. Metaphor Metaphors are connectors that link ideas that otherwise might not be seen together. We have a rich history of ascribing metaphors to God. "God's hands" is a metaphor that connects God's actions with our understanding of touch. Jesus was a master at using metaphors, similes, and parables, and we can be masters at the art of description as well. Don't get stuck in old metaphors though. Find metaphors that have not been used before, and surprise people with a depth of thought that is relevant to our cultural understanding of the world.

5. Remix Look at things and mix them up in new ways. When we get good at cooking, we can use basic ingredients and throw in a few extra spices or tastes to change the outcome. One of my favorite surprise tastes was at a chili cook-off where one contestant put chocolate into the chili. It changed the texture and the taste, and it influenced the spices already in the mix. I never forgot that one. That's the point.³

6. Layering To layer a sermon is to add one element, then gradually add another, and then another. For example, before you begin talking, show a silent picture of the story, say of Jesus riding into Jerusalem for Palm Sunday. Then add music without words to the picture, and then music with words, inviting the people to join in the song. Then as the music and picture fade behind you, begin talking about the story. Layering helps people to go deeper with the meaning of the message. It starts at a safe place and then goes a little further in our understanding than we had planned.

7. Sensory Although we used to be a people who learned by hearing, most of us today are visual learners. If you notice, you can tell who the auditory learners are in your congregation. They are the ones who close their eyes to hear the sermon. Ask them why and you might hear about them listening to the radio in the same manner, or to music, etc. But visual learners are people who take in all kinds of information by what they see around them. Most of us are adept at visual cues and have been greatly influenced by the age of television and the Internet. If you want to add to the typical senses used in sermons, think about the sense of smell. Smell can take us back in time to a memory that is vivid. Think of the smell of homemadecookies, or the smell of freshly baked bread. The old traditions of the church included the sense of smell when they used incense as a way to welcome the presence of God. Taste is also a memory connector. When we taste the communion elements, we remember the giving of Christ for our sins. The sense of touch involves cells that cover our whole body. Touch communicates warmth, caring, and connection. Touching a shoulder, for example, tells someone that you are with her. It provides tactile memory that touches our emotions. Therefore, any time that you can add the sensory communication, you will enhance the experience of worship.

8. Play Play includes humor, fun, and lighthearted activity. Many studies have shown the benefits of humor on our overall health. Joy is good for the soul. The thing about playfulness and humor is that it lets us look sideways at an idea. We laugh at something and take it lightly, and then we can zero in on the serious side of the same subject. It opens us up to the possibilities that we previously shunned. For too long, we've given ourselves to the thought that church is only a serious endeavor. But, it is more than that. Alighthearted approach to the world and to the subject matter may enable you to go deeper than you ever imagined. That's why we know intuitively that laughter and tears go hand in hand.⁴

9. Connecting the Circle I often use this technique to bring back a theme or story or to end up where I started. For example, I may begin to tell a story, then go off into other sequences of thought, and finish the sermon with the end of the story I started in the beginning. Follow that? It's an easy but effective way to bring a point to a conclusion. It leaves the hearer with that feeling of having gone "full circle" with a topic. It adds completeness to the message.

10. Interruption To stop and start a message can be effective because it makes a topic lighter in order to go deeper. When we are interrupted, we forget what we were doing, and when we get back to the task, we often have a new take on it. So too with interruptions. Plan interruptions in your message. I have done messages with "musical hats" (see Three Seeds) and with plain old interruptions by cued laypeople (see Seven Seeds). These are surprising and cause people to pay closer attention to what lies ahead.

11. Musical The musical sermon is one of my favorite forms to work with because the possibilities are endless. I started using these by talking to Cliff Wright, the music director, and giving him ideas for the message. He would talk to me about songs that worked the metaphor, and we would go back and forth between word and song in a planned and seamless way. This takes practice and trust between the two giving the message, but is well worth the effort. Once, a harpist worked with me on a message, providing musical backdrops to the words and spaces for reflection in the message. Don't be afraid to use snatches of secular as well as sacred sounds.

12. Artistic The arts are a wonderful way to communicate a message. Think of ways that you can mix dance, mime, painting, sculpting, weaving, drama, and even cooking into a sermon. The first time I heard about a creative sermon was when I served in my first church. The pastor who preceded me, Rev. Steve Marshall, had delivered a sermon with no words and a little music, as he painted a picture of Jesus on canvas before the very eyes of the congregation. It was so memorable that the church hailed it as "the best sermon ever," and that painting still hangs in the church. Artistic expression is valuable, and it is a form that has possibilities beyond the scope of these pages. Let your artistic imagination run wild!

FINDING THE OBVIOUS

In the church, we have delineated between the "clergy" and the "laity" for so long that we have forgotten that we are really more a collective group of people than a separate group of people. That is what the phrase "priesthood of all believers" is all about. But when it comes to sermons, we have maintained our distinctions. What I'd like for us to consider is how the laity and clergy can form sermons together for the next generation. In fact, I call that combining of resources "claity," because it describes the way clergy and laity are one. We are connected as clay, and to separate us too much only minimizes our strength and mass.

So find what you've got in your congregation. Find the artists, the musicians, the technicians, and the firefighters. Ask them how they would interpret certain scriptures that involve their craft. Get their advice and ask them to help form a message. You will be surprised at the new things you'll discover when you ask the experts in the fields to be your guide.

WILLING TO FAIL

It will happen. Failure is a sure thing in creative messaging, so if this is something you can't do, then just re-gift this book to someone else right now. I remember feeling like a fool more than once. I have had to get back up and do-over more times than I'd like to admit. But things get smoother as we learn from our failures. Bigger patterns of what works in the art of communication emerge. Our understanding of what works is heightened by what doesn't work. Don't be afraid to fail. Just get up, dust off your britches, and get back at it.

REST

Creativity doesn't emerge from tired souls. It takes rest and space for a soul to create. My best advice to you as you begin this journey to create sermons is first to study the passage and get the main point firm in your mind. Then, forget about it for a while. Set it down and go do something fun, or do something that has nothing to do with church work. Some of the best ideas I get come while I am out jogging or gardening or following around my teenagers. It is when I forget about sermons that the ideas pop up. When you have an idea—a seed—write it down quickly before it slips away. Often the idea will directly relate to what your brain was working on before you went to play, and you will be delightfully surprised by what comes to you. Most creative people know the secret that it takes rest to be able to do the work of creation.

NOTE TO WORSHIP TEAMS

In working with worship teams, remember to put first things first. Encourage them first to be worshipers: to come to the worship moment with their whole heart and soul, laying aside the work of worship to just worship. As we lead in worship, we must first be worshipers. Next, encourage your team to pray for worship. Pray that they will be protected from things that draw us away from worshiping God, and pray that the people will come ready to meet God in community. Pray for the sacrifice of praise to be acceptable and honorable to God. And finally, plan well ahead for the worship moment. When we do the work of planning well, we can do all that is possible and then set it aside and worship God. It is when we don't plan well that we spend the worship hour worrying about the details instead of meeting God. Plan and prepare so that you can set aside worry and be in God's presence.

WORD OF WARNING!

Worship the Creator, not the creativity. The one hesitation I have in writing this book is that it can become a manual of form alone. We cannot become so enamored with our creativity that we worship it. No! We worship God and offer our creativity as an expression of our love for God. Let's draw the line in the sand well so that we don't step over into the area of idolatry of form. For that reason, I don't recommend doing creative sermons every week. Most times we just need to talk to the people straight from the heart. Then seed your sermons with creativity as you feel the need. These are not tricks to learn. They are only tools for expression. Worship the Creator with your creativity.