A lot has been said about the differences between a creative mind and a technical brain. And for many years we’ve tried to make these two individuals work in harmony together. Because of the differences there can be lots of friction, frustration, and non-cohesiveness. One side is wishing the other would stop coming up with so many ideas or always wanting to change things. The other side is hoping they would stop saying “NO!” to every idea and quit killing dreams. Fundamental differences in how each other thinks is really what it comes down to.
As a result, “I wish we could all just get along” is said often in churches across the country. But what typically happens is we tend to put our heads down and go our own way and never really address how to have harmony.
Because of the differences [between the creative mind and the technical brain] there can be lots of friction, frustration, and non-cohesiveness.
It’s not possible for us to get deep into specifics on how that would work in this short column, but the bottom line is if you believe the creative person and the tech person both have great hearts and have the same common goal to reach people for Christ, then it’s just a matter of how each of them does it to get there. If our theology is the same, then we can disagree on the methodology but still achieve the same goal.
The creative brain lives in a world that has no boundaries. Abstract art to one is a beautiful creation, but to the other it could look like a shoe glued to a wall. Both could be right, but they simply may not agree with each other. The creative is constantly dreaming of new and better ways to do the same thing. Some of that is probably boredom, but mostly it’s truly a drive to make it better. The curse is that they live in an endless loop where nothing is ever really finished to them. I heard a quote from a famous movie producer who said, “I never really finish a movie; I just release it.” What a great insight for a creative who always seems to want more. It’s just part of who they are, and they never see a finished product.
The tech brain lives in a world that MUST have boundaries to process. They need to know the limitations and what they’re playing with to build or create what is needed. I’ve often heard people say that the engineer or the tech person is not creative, but I always think of that famous scene from the movie Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks. It’s the scene where they need to build a filter for the air in the space capsule but only with the parts that are on-board. So, the engineers throw all the parts on a table that the astronauts would have in their ship, and someone holds up an air filter and says, “We need to make this out of this,” (with all the parts shown spread out on the table), and they get it done. That shows incredible creativity but with strong boundaries.
If our theology is the same, then we can disagree on the methodology but still achieve the same goal.
Again, there are many things that could frustrate a creative and a tech person, but what I’ve learned over the years is that we must embrace AND agree that we are different. Yet, if we have the same vision and goal, that’s the most important thing in the end—the destination (not how we get there). This is not an excuse for bad behavior or poor communication, but it is grace and understanding that we think differently. And if we can work together out of our strengths, anything is possible.
One of my favorite movie sagas of all time is the Star Wars series. Particularly Episodes 4-6. What I realized later in life is that two characters stuck out to me and (you’re going to laugh) I drew a direct parallel to the church world. Luke Skywalker is led by his feelings on where he should go and what he should do (much like our worship leader). R2D2 is a tech droid always fixing things and flying the ship if needed. He speaks a language only Luke understands (sounds like our tech person), but their partnership helps each other out—usually in their greatest time of need.
As church team members, God created us differently and uniquely. But together, in harmony, we can be powerful servants for the Kingdom.
