The Creativity of Blue Man

I had the opportunity to see a performance of the Blue Man Group recently. Wow! What an interesting and entertaining night. It wasn’t just an enjoyable evening – it was also thought-provoking. Church and ministry leaders can learn two important lessons from Blue Man. The first is that their act can’t be easily categorized. Is it music? Comedy? Magic?  The answer is “all of the above.” I wouldn’t say that I went to a “concert” by Blue Man, but there was plenty of music. Nor would I call it a comedy routine, but I laughed a lot. Part of the genius of Blue Man is that they’re not constrained by boundaries of what can or can’t be done. They’re even willing to splash paint on the audience. The first two rows were designated as a splash zone, and audience members were given disposable plastic ponchos. I suspect that Blue Man’s only “boundary” is that it must be entertaining. The second lesson is the creativity of Blue Man’s act. I have no idea how they develop their ideas, but I’m certain that it’s not an instant process. My guess is that it takes a tremendous amount of energy, with lots of collaboration and trial-and-error. I bet that their brainstorming sessions are often fun, with an occasional tense moment when someone’s idea is rejected. Many of our churches and ministries should take a page from Blue Man’s script. If we did, we might feel less constrained by categories and rigid boundaries like “traditional” or “contemporary” worship. We might spend more time thinking outside the box about the things that are most important. We might work in a more collaborative way with people who see the world differently. We might be willing to try more things that could fail, but that could also lead to breakthroughs. We’d probably encounter resistance and criticism from some people, especially those that get splashed in the process. But in the end, we might see God do a new work in our lives and in our ministries. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>