I am a huge fan of mind-mapping. It's an easy way to organize your ideas. Here's a great resource on how to get started (crayons required).

"I am not an artist." "I cannot draw or paint." "I am not creative." These are all lies that people tend to believe about themselves. I know; I believed all of these fallacies. I remember trying very hard when I was a kid to draw horses or castles or people. The results were nothing more than hard scribbles. So, like any disciplined young man I gave up my dreams of being an artist and turned that passion towards Tecmo Bowl. The problem with these lies is that they keep perfectly creative beings from developing their gifts. Read more...

I know a lot of people who spend time designing their own graphics for children's ministry, without the benefit of a design degree or professional training. Here are some sites I go to for help: Read more...

I'm always looking for new ways to get my ideas on paper. Recently a friend introduced me to the "Personal Idea Pad" or PIP, from Accidental Creative. PIP is a really effective brainstorming tool. It structures your thoughts, gives a framework for connecting disparate ideas, and can be used in a group setting. Check out the video and see for yourself!

Guy Kawasaki is a Twitter and social media expert. He's the founder of Alltop, the online magazine rack (which I use as my homepage). At the world's largest consumer electronics tradeshow (CES), Guy gave a presentation entitled "The Art of Innovation" where he outline eleven key ideas. 1. Make Meaning - great marketing campaigns strike an emotional, real connection with people 2. Make Mantra - can you boil down what you are trying to communicate into a simple phrase like Wendy's, Nike, or eBay? 3. Jump to the Next Curve - Ice 1.0 was Harvest, Ice 2.0 was a Factory, Ice 3.0 was a Fridge 4. Roll the Dice - Deep, Intelligent, Complete, Elegant 5. Don't Worry Be Crappy 6. Let 100 Flowers Blossom 7. Polarize People 8. Churn, Baby, Churn - go against the flow 9. Niche Thyself - there is a place where value and uniqueness can coexist in excellence 10. Follow 10-20-30 Rule Read more...

One of the best exercises for me to build my creativity has been drawing. I am not an artist, but I'm always looking for tools and ways to express ideas. Here's some great resources I've come across that are worth sharing.

I've written about Wordle before. It's a great tool to create cool designs out of text by calculating how frequently words are used and representing it graphically. I was recently challenged to use Wordle as a devotional tool.

Get the most out of your time in brainstorming meetings by following some simple rules.

How can your team excel at brainstorming? Here's five simple rules.

If you don't follow Indexed - you're missing out on something funny, insightful, and creative.

The symbol of a tree with deep roots is powerful. Paired with wings or a bird in flight, even more so. How can ministry in the middle of a recession stay strong when asked to do more with less?