On Auto-Repeat
-An exclusive excerpt from Allen’s new book-
When we find something that works for us, we want it to continue.
You had a great vacation at the beach twenty years ago. So now you go there every year. When an author has a bestselling book, the publisher tries to duplicate all the ingredients for future books—from releasing them at the same time each year to similar cover designs. The goal isn’t originality. It’s formula. Hoping that by doing the same thing, lightning will strike in the same way each time.
We are formula-seeking creatures. When something works, we seek to gain similar results by duplicating what worked in the past. That’s great for a muffin mix. Not for your creativity. Formula leads to re-creation, not a new creation.
Jesus didn’t have a formula for healing people. Each encounter was unique. God didn’t create the same way or make the same things repeatedly. Every day of Creation was distinct.
O LORD, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. (Psalm 104:24 NLT)
The more we pursue formula, the further we get from true creativity. When we see God as a generic or repetitive Creator, we create in generic, repetitive ways. If we get bored with God as Creator, we will become bored with our creativity. So will all those who later experience it.
Resist formula. It acts like concrete, hardening our ideas as repetition replaces risk and passion gives way to predictability. You’re in the idea business, not the recycling business. There have been more than enough endless re-creations of past works. Give us new ideas to celebrate rather than more of the same meal we’ve already tasted.
The siren song of formula promises ease and efficiency but delivers predictable sameness. Ease and efficiency, it turns out, were never the point. Why limit yourself to pre-defined possibilities when you can do things as if for the first time—every time?
God invites us to make all things new—not all things the same.
(From The Creativity Glitch: How to Stop Being Stuck, Find Your Groove, & Create with God.Copyright © 2026 Allen Arnold.)
This reading was crafted to encourage your pursuit of story and creativity with God. Your donation makes this crowd-funded initiative possible. You can support it via PAYPAL (or by check to Allen Arnold at PO Box 62841, Colorado Springs, CO 80962).
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