Monotony and Imagination

Originally Published in Worship Leader Magazine Vol 28 No 3

By Dr. Nancy Nethercott

God is the author of creativity and imagination! Viewing both small and grand aspects of the beauty of the world around us or cuddling a newborn baby gives us just a glimpse of the depth and breadth of that imaginative creativity. We, as imago Dei, are gifted with those qualities. We are invited to be creative and use our imaginations in our everyday lives and worship planning and leading.

Creativity in leading worship has, at times, been taken to mean we need to come up with something “new” and “unique” every week, exhausting the worship planning team. This need to continually create a fresh experience in worship can lead to entertainment-style features to try and bring people into or keep people in the church. Some see creativity and imagination in worship as the anecdote to sameness or monotony, which they fear will lead to boredom.