Phil Hansen’s ten minute TED Talk is as important as it is poignant. Faced with a condition that made his hand shake and thereby seemed to destroy his dreams of being an artist, he took his neurologist’s advice to “embrace the shake.” When he did, he eventually discovered a number of remarkable ways to make art that didn’t compensate or overcome or even transcend his shaking but rather employed it to lead him to new creative ventures and vistas. What Hansen discovered was that far from reducing creativity, limitations actually increase it. Limitations set boundaries, close off the obvious routes forward, and invite – actually...

Two quick words of introduction and explanation: First, I realize this video is about Easter and we’re not yet there. But so many people have reported enjoyed seeing and sharing this video that I thought I’d make it available a few days early. Second, a number of folks have asked me where the idea for Easter is Coming came from, including most recently a colleague who is teaching a course on media, culture, and the gospel. So I decided to share what led up to a very fun, and now widely seen, endeavor. I hope it enriches your preparation for, and celebration of, the resurrection of our Lord. The Origins of Easter is Coming The story...

Which setting do you think is more likely to produce a good idea? A quiet room in the library, the auditorium where a prestigious lecturer holds the floor, or a crowded coffee house in the late afternoon? If you guessed the library, you’re to be forgiven for imaging that the good ideas are solitary achievements. If you imagined it was the lecturer, you can be excused for thinking we get our best ideas from experts. But if you instead suspected that it might be the crowded coffee house, then you already know something essential about creativity. It is largely about connection and conversation. Creativity, that is, emerges not from...

Do you ever wish that annoying colleague or friend who always wants to “improve” your ideas would just go away? You know the one I mean, he (or she) isn’t mean spirited or particularly unkind, just always a bit critical. Well, be careful what you wish for. More and more studies show that creativity flourishes not in an environment devoid of criticism but one filled with supportive critique. “Supportive,” of course, is key. The idea is to improve – to point out the strengths, certainly, but also and more importantly the weaknesses of an idea in order to make it better. This isn’t criticism for criticism’s sake; it’s...