Last night, during the most recent Communitas Network event (an event focused on creativity and it's role in the Kingdom of God), my good friend Mike Ricker, who leads an inspiring effort to serve those without home in NW Phoenix, shared a phrase that has been challenging me consistently for the 12 hours or so since we were together.  

Mike said something to this tune in reference to the diverse and very different forms of church that many of us find ourselves a part of:

"Sometimes what we're doing seems chaotic, which many people see as negative – something that denotes a loss of control, but I see what we're doing instead as creative" 

Those who spend much time around me know that I often use the word "chaos" to describe the type of faith community I am interested in building and being a part of.  I am just realizing this, but I am all too comfortable using this word to describe something as beautiful as the church – the embodiment of God's kingdom here on earth.  In using this term, I have never meant to imply an out-of-control, anything-goes disfunctional group of Jesus-followers.  I am interested in an organic community where diversity of ideas, perspectives, and calling are valued and where control is held loosely.  I have often used the word "chaotic" to communicate this and the apparent messiness this creates when compared to the nice and neat controlled megachurch atmospheres I have experienced much of my life.

But Mike has provided an alternative to using this baggaged word in replacing the word chaotic with creative to describe what we are pursuing.  I rather like the idea.  Creativity is what we are after.  Creative communities made up of both creative-people and people-willing-to-be-creative pursuing God in new and creative ways, acknowledging the wild creativity all around them, and applying creative solutions to the dilemmas we face as people of justice, followers of Jesus, lovers of people, and everyday people.

The conversation at last night's event that this idea created was brilliant with most agreeing that creativity was a better adjective to describe us that chaotic and that creativity is chaotic at some level.  In some attempt to keep this conversation going (if anyone still reads this blog), I am wondering what some others think:

Is creativity what we are after?  Does it describe our hopes and dreams better than chaos?  Is creativity inherently chaotic?  Does chaos breed creativity or does creativity breed chaos?  Thoughts?