First Notes: Be a Maker

Dear First Baptist Family,

About 20 years ago, I decided to learn to make stained glass. I had always been fascinated by the art form in churches and other architectural designs, so I gave it a go. I learned how to cut glass and solder it together. 

After a few years, I realized two things: 1) I wasn’t very good at it, and 2) I didn’t really enjoy it. So I asked: why did I really want to try this? What was I drawn to? I discovered that what I really liked was working with colors. So I stopped stained glass and tried painting. 

I began with sketching and acrylics. Some people naturally know how to draw and bring things to life, but not me. Whatever I painted seemed lifeless. So I didn’t enjoy that either. 

Before completely giving up painting, I decided to try oil painting. I bought an easel, a set of simple oil paints, some new brushes, and a canvas. 

I loved it from the first stroke. 

The blending of colors (oil painting is more interesting to me than acrylics because of how the colors mix) and the expressiveness of abstract art lit a little fire in me. Today I can paint for hours and a kind of flow state emerges. It feels good to make something that seems beautiful and stirs my thoughts and emotions.  

Human beings are creators and builders. All of us in a sense are “makers.” That’s our birthright. You’ve been created to create. If you don’t believe me, read Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:19, Exodus 31:1-6, and Psalm 33:3. God is always creating and calling new things to life. Human beings, created in God’s image, also have the inherent character of being creators. 

For further proof, just watch kids doing crafts. They know know how to create just for the sake of making something, and they don’t need a reason. 

But something happens the older we get where we start to feel embarrassed to make something that others might criticize or devalue. Our culture says that life is all about money, productivity, and value, but you can’t put a price on genuine creativity. Additionally, we may feel embarrassed that what we make isn’t as lovely or thought-provoking as what someone else can make. 

Maybe you grew up in a home with parents who weren’t afraid to make things — woodworking, model trains, gardening, pottery, or something else. Or maybe you grew up in a home that didn’t see much worth in creativity. Maybe everyone just watched TV and consumed, like that was the purpose of life. 

It doesn’t matter what your experience was. If you go back down your family tree, I’ll bet there was a maker somewhere. There was someone who wasn’t passively waiting for something to happen to them. 

So don’t wait for permission to be creative. Make something. Do something. Grow something. Fix something. Write poetry. Learn an instrument. Just do it. Get some momentum and have fun with it. 

One of the great joys of working with churches is that I get to collaborate with a bunch of people to make a church family. God is always adding talents and creative skills to our fellowship. “We are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV). 

When we are living by God’s Spirit, our fellowship will be infused with creativity and life. Others will be drawn to our fellowship as they see our good works and discover their own God-given talents. The joy of the Lord will be palpable among us!

So bring your full, creative self to worship this Sunday. Invite a friend to join us. Together, we get to make a church that Jesus would be proud of.

In a world of consumers, be a maker. 

With love,

Pastor Brent McDougal