He Said: Divine Imagination and Godly Play

I think one of the biggest issues facing the Church is that it has lost the ability to inhabit God’s Divine Imagination. At the CYNKC conference I attended in May, several of the presenters lamented about how good our churches have gotten at building programs and education events at the expense of cultivating our imaginations. It seems that we have ended up in a place where the adults in our churches can no longer imagine what our world would look like if God’s Kingdom is truly at hand as Jesus told the disciples over and over in the Gospels.  Our lack of cultivating Divine Imagination seems to be one of the main reasons Millennials (ie. young people) are leaving the church despite the fact that churches have given them so much attention over the last few decades.  

Ivy Beckwith, a long time children’s minister and author of Formational Children’s Ministry, 

says in the Church we do things with lack of imagination so we have not captured the imaginations of young people in order to change the world.   She told a story from her own experience about meeting with church leaders at her church who were having a fear-filled conversation about money at the time of the 2008 financial crisis.  After listening to lots of in-the-box, woe-is-me talk, Ivy told them the story of George Mueller.  Mueller was a British reformer who ran an orphanage in Bristol, England in the 1800s. Mueller never asked for money to support the ministry, but, instead, always prayed for God to provide. Ivy chose to tell the leaders about the time when he and the children had sat down and given thanks for their breakfast even though there was no food left in the pantry.  Before they knew it, there was a knock at the door and the baker delivered them a load of fresh bread, telling Mueller that God had sent a dream to him in the night telling the baker to make an extra batch of bread for the orphanage.  Shortly after the bread delivery, there was another knock at the door and the milkman stood before them.  The milkman explained that he needed to give his milk away before it spoiled because his cart had broken down right outside of the orphanage as he headed to the market.  When Ivy was done telling this story to the church leaders, they just stared at her, not knowing how to respond.  These responsible adults who were dedicated to the ministry of the church couldn’t imagine that God would work in this way. They demonstrated a lack of imagination.


What a disturbing story!  How are we, the Church, going to fully participate in the Kingdom of God and envision a new way in our world, if we can't participate in God's Imagination?  More simply put, how can we change the world if we can't imagine what it would look like?  I think we are losing young people at an alarming rate because we can't engage their imaginations.  I don't want my kids to abandon their lives of faith because all of us older Christians can't give them any sense of hope for the world.  Those of us who are parents and influencers of children need to work harder at cultivating our own imaginations.  We need to work harder at getting inside God's Imagination.  Do we really believe what God has promised us?  Do we take Jesus at his word?  Jesus told his disciples over and over, "The Kingdom of God is at hand!"  Jesus said, "The Lord’s Spirit has come to me, because he has chosen me to tell the good news to the poor. The Lord has sent me to announce freedom
for prisoners, to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers, and to say, ‘This is the year the Lord has chosen.’” (Luke 4:18-19).  What would our world look like if all of us could imagine the Kingdom of God being real?  This is the year the Lord has chosen because every year the Kingdom is at hand!


I know how hard it is for adults to change their patterns once they are developed.  A colleague of mine in seminary once said that we all have "brain grooves" that we develop as we grow and some people's are way deeper than others!  That's why I feel so compelled to help kids develop Divine Imagination as early as possible.  We need to give them space and opportunities to develop Divine Imagination-oriented brain grooves while they are growing and developing.  That's why Susan and I have talked so much about Godly Play (see her two intro to Godly Play posts here: Part 1 and Part 2).  


For me, the power of Godly Play lies in choice.  Unfortunately, our kids live in a world where most of their lives are dictated to them.  They are being taught how to think at school, how to feel and consume by various kinds of media, and how to overfill their schedules by their over committed parents.  We are wringing the imagination out of our kids!  Our responsibility as the Church and as parents of faith is to create places for them to explore.  When we give our kids room to explore, we're acknowledging that children and God have a relationship we can nurture and not control.  Catherine Maresca, the founder of The Center for Children and Theology, said something amazing at CYNKC: "To help children be with Jesus, we need to learn to get out of the way."   We need to give them independence and respect as they interact with God on their own.  This is how we create the fertile ground where their Divine Imaginations can develop.  


The great weakness of our Christian Education efforts over the last four to five decades is our over-emphasis on giving kids all the answers.  We tell them the Great Story of faith, but then instead of allowing them to find their place in that Story, we tell them exactly what it means and how they should live in response.  Godly Play has the opposite intent.   Godly Play respects the innate spirituality of children and encourages curiosity and imagination in experiencing the mystery and joy of God (from the Godly Play Foundation website).  Godly Play is open-ended.  Instead of telling the kids what to think or asking specific discussion questions where answers are expected to be given, a Godly Play lesson ends with questions that begin with "I wonder..." and the leader expects no concrete answers in response.  Godly Play offers choice.  Instead of doing pre-packaged crafts that illustrate the lesson, Godly Play offers children the opportunity to work with natural materials that they choose. 
Why is choice so important for children?  Choice of materials give children an opportunity to meet their need of the day (are they sad? Shy? Bouncy? Etc.) Choice also emphasizes that there are so many ways to meet God and should celebrate them all.  When kids are in crisis they can choose what is comforting to them at that moment. Also, Children are best served by their hands, so when you give them choices you give them things to touch.  


Susan and I will continue to get into the nuts and bolts of using Godly Play with our kids at home and at church.  But for now, I am convinced that Godly Play is the best way to help our kids meet and develop a relationship God on their own terms and foster the Divine Imagination that they will need their entire lives!