From time to time, I like giving people a "Backstage Pass" to what goes on at Grace.  Today, a backstage pass to our weekend service creativity.

Where we get our creative ideas from?  How do we come up with our weekend series themes & branding?  Our message titles?  Our series features (like testimonies, dramas, interviews, video clips, games, etc.)?  Not from me.  From brainstorming teams.

We have 3 different types of brainstorming teams we use:

• Yearly Brainstorm — To draft a schedule for the year
• Multi-Series Brainstorm — Potential branding & features
• Single-Series Brainstorm — Needs, branding, titles, features

Last Saturday morning, a team of people gathered together to brainstorm on the 10 weekend series remaining in 2008.  It was an incredible time of interaction, creativity, team-synergy, & fun.  Here’s all it took:

• 1 worship pastor (prayerfully recruit & organize event)
• 9 people (a cross-section from newbies to long-timers)
• 1 conference room (a great work space)
• 2.5 hours (we went 3 minutes over)
• 14 donuts (for the sugar-high necessary for creativity)
• 1 pot of coffee (same as above)
• 17 easel-sized Post-it notes (a must-have)
• 1 2008 worship plan (which was finalized in 2007)

We have 3 ground-rules for our brainstorming groups.

• The "Vegas" Rule — What’s said here, stays here
• The "Let-It-Breathe" Rule — Give ideas a chance to "breathe" before you leap on it & tear it to shreds.  🙂  God might use that idea to spark another idea
• The "Don’t-Be-Tied-To-Your-Idea" Rule — Don’t stress if we don’t use your idea, even if it’s the greatest idea in the history of brainstorming

I am SO thankful for everyone’s time & ideas.  God is REALLY going to use them this year.

(But with all the creative ideas plastered around my office, I fear my office appears just like John Nash’s in A Beautiful Mind.)