Tag Archives: Jeremy Cowart

top posts from January 2012

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In case you missed any of them, here are my top ten posts for January 2012.

graphic courtesy of www.wordle.net

1. A Newsworthy Day, part one (my interview on Channel 12 News in Phoenix about Tim Tebow’s 3:16 playoff game) – January 9, 2012

2. A Newsworthy Day, part two (my interview in Portraits Magazine with Francis Chan, along with video of my interview re: Tebow) – January 10, 2012

3. I know I need it, but this sucks! (It is often the things we need the most – feedback, in this instance – that we struggle to actually accept in the moment) – January 4, 2012

4. The Day My Grandfather Met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (One of my favorite family stories)  - January 16, 2012

5. The conversation about manhood in America (two interesting pieces regarding the state of manhood in America from very different sources) – January 18, 2012

6. I thought you hated rules! (9 rules for creatives and how boundaries make our creativity better) – January 26, 2012

7. Your favorite Bible verse: Philippians 4:13 (A different take on “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”) – January 5, 2011

8. Getting over that Monday Morning Hangover (Steps for pastors, church staffers and others to get past a hard Sunday into a successful Monday) – January 30, 2012

9. A Powerful Story of Forgiveness (Introduction to Afshin Ziafat, guest speaker at NPHX in January 2012) – January 23, 2012

10. Dallas Willard and the Gospel of Sin Management (a false gospel preached in many places today and a possible source to so many of our challenges in the church) – April 25, 2009

A couple of interesting lessons I learned. One, I was surprised to see two blogs from outside of this month on the list. #7 from January 2011 and #10 from April 2009 get hits nearly every day because of the tags and Google searches. So, it is cool to see blogs still get traffic after all that time has passed. Two, I need to improve in giving titles to my posts. Some of my titles would be completely unclear without the description in parentheses shows me a growth edge I have as a blogger.

I appreciate you and your presence here on the blog. Thanks to Michael Hyatt for inspiring me to start this feature in 2012 and for the model for this post.

Question: Just out of curiosity, which of the top 10 was your favorite post and why? Any topics you would like me to explore here in February 2012?

I thought you hated rules!

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I follow Tim Schrader, a church communication guru. I read his blog and enjoy his tweets. Tim’s posts are full of insight and I like his spirit. Recently, he shared a picture that he found on Jeremy Cowart‘s Google Plus feed. (Cowart is an incredible photographer, the brains behind Help Portrait). The picture (which I have posted below) includes 9 rules for creatives.

Now, my first thought was “Creatives don’t like rules. So that title is ironic.” As I waited, I realized that rules are like boundaries, and creativity thrives within boundaries. Even sometimes in proportion to the amount of boundaries.

As I have reflected on these rules several times over the last week or so, the one that resonates the most with me is teach others about what you know. I am a verbal processor and so the longer I talk, the more I comprehend what I believe and the more I clarity I get. God bless my wife who is often the victim (or listener, however you want to look at it) in this process. My creativity grows and expands and I connect ideas as I share them with others. As I teach what I already know, and as others repeat back to me and reflect on what I’ve said, my ideas get better, clearer and more portable. Twice this week, I have pitched ideas to coworkers, airing the concepts outloud for the first time and by the time we were done, my ideas were more developed and my next steps were obvious. When I teach others what I already know, my energy increases and my creativity expands.

I know creatives and artists are supposed to hate rules, but we are also supposed to not shower, be poor, miss meetings and be unreasonable. Rules can guide us into greater art if we submit to them like the boundaries of a medium, a subject or a timeframe.

Question: Whether you are a creative, an artist or you miss drawing with crayons, which of these 9 rules resonates most with you?