Though not so heavily researched, my personal findings on the link between innovation/creativity and the success (meaning growth toward the stated vision) of a local church are similar to the findings Jim Collins had in his new book Great by Choice (linked on the right). In short, the most successful companies were not always, and in fact not usually, the most creative or innovative. He was surprised by that. I think many church leaders would be as well.
I would not list "lack of creativity" on my top 5 of reasons why churches do not experience the growth they desire. Close to the top, however, would be "lack of disciplined creativity."
Creativity makes the statement, "Think outside the box", and moves us with a desire to change. It works off of a truth that new things bring energy. The problem is that creativity in this way is generally not sustainable, especially for small organizations. It costs more resources to begin something than to continue. Think of the difference between building a house and maintaining a house.
Creativity tells me that moving a wall would really create a new feel in my kitchen. Disciplined creativity encourages me to paint the wall that already exists or perhaps add a piece of art, or even change the way the furniture is laid out.
This can be seen clearly in the area of vision communication. It is the difference between always needing to say something new or saying the same thing over and over in new ways. The first is constantly attempting to turn your eyes to a new ministry, a new teaching, a new mission opportunity, a new class, group, or program. The second is bringing your eyes back to the same vision statement over, and over, and over, all the while revealing how broad and expansive it can be.
Here are a couple ideas for practicing disciplined creativity:
1) For churches: make your vision statement a part of every message for the next 90 days. This does not mean you have to just quote the vision at the start of each message. The discipline is finding the way in which this message fits into the vision and communicating that to your people. Do the hard work, let them make the easy step.
2) For organizations: make your vision a regular part of your planning meetings for the next 90 days. One of the other findings that came out of Collins' book is that the most successful companies had the least vision shift over time. They had a core set of practices and values that were deeply entrenched in the organization. This takes disciplined creativity that helps us attach this particular initiative to the organization's overall vision.