I was reading an article about Joey Reihman’s book, Thinking for a Living. Reihman describes being creative as having four stages.
- Investigation–Detect, study, explore, gather
- Incubation–The longest stage, quantity over quality, can involve blending, traveling, polarizing, walking, meditating, praying and sharing
- Illumination–The editing of stage two, illuminate the big idea, the “Aha!” moment
- Illustration–Portray and personify the big idea, design, create
I read this process and immediately thought, this sounds very much like the process I try to follow when writing a sermon. It is a fitting general prescription for Bible reading as well. I had never really thought about my general Bible reading as a creative process, but really it is. Each time we read we should strive to manifest the word as a living reality in our lives. That is truly a creative process.
FIRE THE VOICE IN YOUR HEAD SAYING,
“YOU’RE NOT CREATIVE”
IT’S A LIE.
You might be thinking, “But I am not creative.” Kick that crud out of your head. You are created in God’s image. God declares that immediately on the heels of creating everything, including people. Do you think God forgot to include creativity? Also, when you look at all of creation people are the one thing that God created with the ability to create just for the beauty of creating. That includes you. Have you ever seen a child with no imagination? You where once a child.
Let me ask you this, do you worry about things that never come to pass? Just think about that for a moment. Those worries are fantasies of fear created in your head by…guess who….YOU! Where else did those fantasies come from accept your imagination? I bet you never thought about that as being creative. It is creative, just in an unhealthy manner.
So, when you pick up that bible…
- Investigate–have the curiosity of a child. Go at scripture like you are on a treasure hunt.
- Incubate–Go ponder. Take a hike. Sit around doing some handy work. Mull it over while doing something slightly physical but pretty much mindless.
- Illuminate–Once you have had some mull time, try to formulate a response out of the ideas that arise.
- Illustrate–Find a metaphor or picture. Can you find an analogy that captures your insight. This will really cement your discernment in your long term memory. Often times a metaphor or picture will be a catalyst for deeper insight. Also, put your words to work. Live them out. Living out the Word of God is how you truly come to understand it deeply. When you do that you are creating at the finest level. You living into the image of God.
John,
I have never thought of Bible study as a creative process, but you are right; it is! As I read the article, it struck me that many people who think they are not creative in the arts usually try to jump straight to the Illuminate and Illustrate stages, without first going through Investigate and Incubate stages. This was certainly true for me. I was 30 before I stopped saying, “I wish I had artistic talent” and instead started creating anyway.
Regarding Bible study, I often tackle the Investigate and Incubate stage, but fail to carry it through to the other stages. So when it all adds up, I have lots of practice in all four stages; I simply need to consciously go through the entire process for art and Bible study.
Another great article. 🙂
Cheryl
Great self-awareness Cheryl. I think that failing to follow through on all four stages is probably the most common problem I encounter with people trying to read, understand and apply the Word. Between our cultures obsession with instant gratification and our constant busyness, it’s a wonder anyone ever truly gets to know and apply a passage. I caught myself rushing through my bible reading about two weeks ago. I got done and literally just closed my bible and reached over to check it off of my to do list. I hadn’t really given any pause or thought to what I just read. Something in me (probably the Holy Spirit) said, “Whoah, wait a minute what are you doing?” I reopened it. Incubate for awhile and thought through at least one way I would apply what I had read. Those few minutes (and that’s really all it was) made a dramatic difference in my experience of reading the Word and became the catalyst for a message I would share at men’s breakfast when the person responsible for our devotional didn’t show up. Blessings in your reading as you strive to stay intentional on the four steps. p.s. You may want to try journaling just a few lines on each of the steps when you read. That may really help. 🙂
I’m in school now, studying Christian ministry, and doing some heavy journaling every day! Today I applied all four steps. I took a drive and let the topic and Scripture incubate. Then I came back several hours later and wrote my message to classmates. Although we are talking about a controversial topic (homosexuality), and I seem to be the only one on this side of the debate, I feel very much at peace. God is wonderful and his grace is abundant. 🙂
Persevere!!!