How many of you are working crazy long hours to pull off a Good Friday or an Easter service or both?  How is to going?  Are you having the time of your life?  Or are you frustrated?

I have a theory that holiday services are an exaggerated form of our weekly experience.  The things that are good about our weekly process, play to our advantage when we are in the middle of rehearsals.  And the things that we try to work around or gloss over in our day to day interactions bubble to the surface and can wreak havoc on everyone involved.

Having the good exaggerated is wonderful, however the exaggerated bad can usually take over.

Whether it is a relationship that you have needed to invest time in outside of pulling off services; or it is a broken process that you have figured out how to deal with each weekend; or having a plan just in your head and not on paper is catching up with you; what are you doing every week that is effecting your bigger productions?

In my opinion, the key to having a great Easter production experience is to start the day after Easter, and begin working on relationships and processes and plans for your week-in and week-out services.

Hoping that Easter will be better next time just because you want it to, seems pretty foolish.

You are probably saying “Thanks a lot for the advice, now that it is too late to make this Easter better.”  However, after the services are done and the load out is complete, commit yourself to fixing the every day issues, and continue to build into the areas that are working great.

What can you work on to make the process better or that relationship stronger?  Not just for the next big production, but for next weekend.

Making every day better is key to making your next Easter experience the best it can be.

 photo credit: prettywar-stl

I gave an interview for a local magazine the other day.  Being interviewed always makes me a little uncomfortable, but I agreed to it, so I gave it.  It was a local magazine highlighting local businesses, and they were interested in knowing more about the Global Leadership Summit, hosted every year at Willow Creek Church.  They wanted to talk to me about the technology involved to pull off a live broadcast event for North America, and then how we rebroadcast it to people around the world.

Sitting in front of the blank page of this blog, already worn out from the stress of the Easter production coming up, a question from this interview popped into my head.  I’m not sure if they asked the question or if I just started talking about it, but the idea of “Why do you do this?” came up.    Hopefully the answer I gave will help remind you and me why being worn out from Easter matters.

I could do production almost anywhere, for any reason.  Many of the people I work with do some free lance side work, and it is generally corporate meetings or product launches.  At the end of the day, these meetings are all about making more money for shareholders.  The side work is helpful for a couple reasons.  One is that it helps to earn some extra money for individuals from time to time.  The other reason is that it is a great reminder of the privilege it is to work for a purpose greater than shareholder value.

As you live out the run up to Easter, remember that we get to do this!  You can work your butt off and be just as tired as you feel now, all so a company can make more money, or you can do it all so that people can hear the gospel message.

Whether you are on staff at your church or a volunteer, you are investing your time for the sake of people.

[Pause.  Think about that.]

Lives will be changed forever by your efforts this week and next.

[Pause.  Picture someone you know.]

All those long hours you are putting in or will put in, are for the sake of those who are far from God and will hear of his love for possibly the first time. 

[Pause.  Let this thought help you to the finish line.]

In case you don’t hear it from anyone else, “Well done.  Way to go.”

[Pause.  Believe it.]

 photo credit: University of Delaware Alumni Relations

I hate this idea.  I hate using it as a title for this post.  It goes against everything in me as a technical artist.  I don’t consider myself to be a perfectionist, far from it.  You can ask anyone who has helped me with a home improvement project.  I want things to be done the best they can, but perfection takes too long…and is impossible.

Talking about production in the local church, when things can be done well, they should.  If something is within my power to accomplish, I should do it.  This is a lot easier said than done.  Enter the picture:  picking up kids from school, a less experienced volunteer behind the console, just coming off a week of working 5 nights in a row, bad footage, blown bulbs in the perfect light…and the list could go on.  There are tons of obstacles that get in the way of doing an excellent job; some inside and some outside of our control.  These cause us to make decisions on lowering the bar.

Lowering the bar isn’t exclusively a technical question.  Many times we lower the bar by staying late to get an edit just right and not going to our son’s basketball game.  We can lower the bar by neglecting our personal development by working non-stop on the urgent all the time.  We tend to lower the bar by not talking honestly with our worship leader and stuffing our frustrations too long.

For many of us production types, we have a singular focus, and that is technical excellence.  We don’t want to hold up rehearsal.  We don’t want to be the bottleneck.  We want to be able to accomplish the impossible without help.  For us, lowering the bar equates to not doing our best all the time on the task before us.

Maybe we have defined success the wrong way…or at least not completely enough.  Success means the technical arts in the local church need to include developing new volunteers more fully; it needs to include how engaged we are with our children; it needs to also include us as individuals becoming more like Christ.  Does this mean we exclude always increasing our capacity as technical artists?  No.  Does this mean we stop trying to raise the bar, because excellence honors God, reflects his character and inspires people?  No.  Do we lower the bar because it’s too much work to keep it raised high?  No.

Becoming a mature technical artist in the local church requires us to define each day what success looks like; where we are going to choose to raise the bar and where we need to choose to lower the bar.  These are not easy choices, but choices that need to be made none the less.

I struggle with this…being everywhere at the same time.  Running from meeting to meeting.  I am usually on time to the first one, but then late to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.  I feel like everyone is waiting for answers from me and can’t do their jobs well.  I am a bottleneck.

Am I crazy?  Or is this just something that comes with being a leader?  Am I a control freak?  Do I have a difficult time letting go?  Do I have too many opinions?  Am I involved in too much?  I’m not even sure what the point of this post is, except that I am struggling.  By trying to be everywhere at once, I feel like I am nowhere all the time.

Those of you who read this, and know me, this is probably not news to you.  Often waiting for answers to emails that have by now been buried in my inbox.  Or waiting in my office for me to show up to a meeting that I scheduled with you.  Or even just walking by my office and never seeing me in there.

Is the answer shorter meetings?  Is the answer less meetings?  Being involved with less?  Saying “no” more?  More disciplined meetings?  Less personal interaction?

For those of you who have figured out how to be everywhere at the same time, what is your secret?

 photo credit: Mrs TeePot

The other day, my team and I participated in a thought exercise that Steven Sample, author of the book “The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership”, talks about.  When he was faced with a particularly difficult challenge, he would try to imagine how a lady bug would solve the problem, or even how a dishwasher might think about solutions.

The idea was to try and think differently about how things get done.  Not to just think differently, but think in radical terms, to free your brain from constraints and preconceived ideas about how things are done or should be done.  I decided that I would consider how ninjas might do production at my church.  It was a fun exercise, and most of the ideas, if not all of the ideas we had were ridiculous and impossible or both.

It got me thinking about how we go about doing production for our church and the ministries that we support.  So much of what we do and how we do it is a function of either how we have always done it or because we are processing things based on production values alone.  During the exercise, nothing really popped out as wrong thinking or that there needed to be crazy changes.  What did jump out to me was wondering what matters to our church, especially when it pertains to production.

I do a lot of defining expectations for my team, mostly based on my production perspective.  I can’t remember the last time I asked the church leadership what they expected from my team.  Is audio consistency the highest value or is volunteer involvement the most important thing?  Is a short rehearsal critical, or should we allow for more time to work through the kinks?  Is having cameras pointed at the wrong thing a problem, or do we need to increase our level of camera work?

I am feeling pretty sarcastic even asking these questions!  As a production person, I am guessing we would all answer these questions in a similar manner.  However, if you have chosen to invest your production skills in the local church, at the baseline you know that the point of all this production is to help to facilitate life change.  If all you cared about was production values, you could go on tour or work for a production company or any number of places, where there is more money to do things at the highest levels.

I’m not saying that excellence doesn’t matter or that production doesn’t have a place in the church.  On the contrary, I am very passionate about the role that technical artists play in the life of the local church.  However, my passion and values have to be balanced against the passion and values of my church.  What is my church about?  How does production fit into how ministry happens?  How do we have an appropriate level of production without just spending money on the newest gear, that may be exactly what we think our church needs?

How many assumptions do you make about what your church leadership thinks about production?  When was the last time you asked the question:  “What are the expectations?”  Take a look at what you and your team are about and try to imagine how ninjas would get that done.

 photo credit: dcosand

Ever notice how production people don’t completely fit in anywhere?  In a creative brainstorming meeting, we are the ones trying to figure out how to make something happen.  In a operations meeting, we are thinking creatively about how to get something done.

On our team, we have been talking quite a bit about the operation side and the ministry side of our church.  Typically there is a line drawn down the middle, showing the two sides of what makes our church run.  For many people, it seems easy to classify the accounting department as being on the operations side, and the youth pastor on the ministry side; the person cleaning the facility after an event on the operations side, and the worship pastor on the ministry side.

When it comes to production, we have a foot in both camps.  We are intimately tied to the ministry that is happening all over our church, but we are also figuring out more practical operational type things also.  In a single meeting we are brainstorming new ways of making an element in the service better through the technical arts, while we are also trying to figure out how to fit all our inputs into the channels we have.

In a creative meeting, there is a whole side of me that is thinking about how to plug in 4 giant inflatable moon walks for a middle school event and which circuits I am going to plug them into so that I don’t blow a fuse, all the while someone is asking me if a worship set list will work or not.

This can lend itself to me feeling like I should just be sawn in half, so that the part of me that needs to deal with the operational side can focus on it, and the creative side  of me can just sit in the moment.

The reality is that God created me to live with a foot in two worlds; to understand two different perspectives in any given situation; to think differently from anyone else at the table.  Instead of wishing that more people thought like me, I should relish the thought that I am the only one with my perspective and that the way I think is vital to my church functioning properly.

If you are a technical artist in the local church, you know what I am talking about.

How can you fully embrace what feels like a split personality?  What can you do to function more fully as who God made you to be? 

 photo credit: whlteXbread

I wrote a post on the Willow Creek Association for their blog to church leaders.  Even though it is targeted to church leaders, I thought there would be something useful for the tech artists among us.

If you had to define the church tech people you work with, would it be:

a.)  Creative.  Energetic.  Helpful.  Indispensable.

b.)  Drained.  Critical.  Grumpy.  Anti-social.  Resistant.

Technical artists worshiping :)

I don’t need to know your exact situation to know that we all want to work with a church technical artist defined by “option a”.  However, I have been to many churches, in many different environments, and I see “option b” all the time.  Full time, part time, volunteer, it doesn’t matter.  “Option b” is everywhere.  What is happening at your church?  Chances are, if you dig around a little, you’ll find an unhealthy tech, buried under too much work.

As a leader at your church, not only would you like to thank me for pointing out the obvious, but you are wondering what to do about it.  How can I get an “option a” type tech person at my church?  Is there a school where they crank these types out?  Can I trade in the “option b” I have for a new “a”?  Can I poach one from Willow Creek when no one is looking?

I’m a tech person myself, and I can tell you that it is way easier to be an “option b” tech person, than an “option a” one.  Unfortunately for your church, “option a” technical artists don’t just happen by themselves.  Tech people are unusual and are generally misunderstood at most every church and most of what they do is a mystery to you.  Your tech person is pouring themselves out for your church, and nobody fully understands what they do, how they do it, or what they need to keep doing it.  It is no wonder that “option b” is so wide spread.

The production team at Willow Creek Community Church understands what is like to be a tech person in the local church, which is why we are hosting our 2^nd annual Gurus of Tech conference (FREE) to help equip, train and inspire the “option b” types at your church toward becoming an “option a” technical artist.

There will be skill specific training (FREE), and while that is useful and what most tech people hunger for, we will be focusing most of our attention on the heart condition of tech people everywhere: knowing the difference between excellence and perfection, making your relationship with God more than just your serving time, understanding how production fits into the mission of the whole church. (ALL FREE)  Basically moving “option b” towards “option a”.

I would encourage you to send every tech person you have. Check out the website for further information: www.gurusoftech.com (FREE)

What: Gurus of Tech

When: May 22-23

Where: Willow Creek Community Church – Crystal Lake Campus

Cost: FREE

Since last year’s Grammy’s, my kids have started engaging with current music.  Everyone has their own iPod, with the choice to listen to whatever music they feel like.  I feel like I haven’t been this aware of what is happening with music since the 80’s.

We all sat down to watch and cheer for our favorites.  We were all pulling for Adele, some wishing for Skrillex to win best new artist, others wishing Taylor Swift would stop singing…pretty much the full range of musical tastes and opinions.

Reflecting on last night, I had a few take-aways.  The first is that I love that my family is into music.  Music is such a huge part of my story, and it matters a bunch that my kids can enjoy and appreciate good music.

The second thing that struck me was how much I appreciated the authenticity of the people who performed.  I felt like the producers matched each artists style and feel.  Chris Brown’s cool video cubes, and the flying squirrel dancers really seemed to fit.  I can guarantee that he wasn’t actually singing, but it didn’t seem like that was what mattered most for that element.  The Foo Fighters bringing some rock and roll to the parking lot was the perfect thing.

From a production standpoint, I thought they did a nice job of being true to each performance:  The Civil Wars, Jennifer Hudson, Cold Play, Katy Perry.  The treatment was different for each one and never upstaged the performance, but enhanced what the artists were doing.  For me personally, there were somethings I loved and others I could do without, but each one seemed to represented the music and the art the way it was intended to.

It was a good reminder for me to use production to enhance an element, and not to overpower it.  Maybe there will someday be a place for human ice sculptures surrounded by flames at church, but until that day, I’ll keep striving for matching the level of production with the intent of each element.

 photo credit: Thomas Hawk

“Life change happens best in the context of community.”

This was a value statement from a church that I worked at many years ago.  I think it is true.  As production people, we spend so much effort and pour lots of resources into making the large group experience happen at our churches, in many ways facilitating the life of the church.  When we are the last ones out the door after a long night, it can feel like we are functioning just on the outer fringe of the community instead of being fully functioning members of it.

15 years ago, I started reaching out to any other church technical artists to try and feel like I was a part of a community that understood me and could walk along side me and encourage me along the way.  Nothing really existed at the time to facilitate this kind of community, so I just went after it myself, for myself.

Today is a much different landscape for church technical people.  Most churches need technology to even function, which means there is a tech person involved.  I love the fact that there are communities of tech people out there for us to tap into and feel encouraged by.

GURUS OF TECH

The production team at Willow Creek is gearing up to host our 2nd annual “Gurus of Tech” event, in an effort to provide the opportunity for church technical artists to be a part of a community.  To know you aren’t alone; that there are people all over the world with the same struggles as you, or that have faced a problem and come up with a brilliant solution.  To sit in a room full of people who have a similar passion for using the technical arts to advance the cause of the Gospel around the world.

Gurus of Tech is my favorite thing all year:  to feel connected, to feel like I am not alone, to feel like I am apart of something much bigger, to be inspired to keep going.  We’d love to have you join us.

CTL

Churchtechleaders.org is another amazing way to feel connected to other technical artists in your region or even around the world.  It is not only an online community but it is a vehicle for organizing face to face gatherings by region.  The leadership of CTL will be involved at Gurus of Tech to help further the connect that begins at the event.  Sign up.  Check out there website for more info.

Thursday – Saturday

It was an amazing 2.5 days, on many levels.  How the team worked together.  The content of each session.  Hearing 7000+ Germany church leaders filling the venue with their voices raised in worship.

At some point earlier in the week, I commented to someone that I couldn’t remember being so tired before, but now looking back, all of the tired feelings are gone and are replaced by memories of amazing moments of worship, deep connection with team members, and the realization that I get an opportunity to use the gifts I have to help influence so many church leaders from the other side of the world.

Here are a few of the highlights from the entire conference, in no particular order:

So many leaders struggle with being adequate enough to lead their churches or their teams.  Mark Demel acted in a scene about a pastor checking himself in to a rehab center followed by Greg Ferguson singing “He Knows”, accompanied by Paul Mutzabaugh. It was a powerful moment, giving people space to consider their own struggles and release them to God.

Andy Stanley, with his translator Chris, brought his “Upside of Tension” talk to the German church leaders.  After his talk, it is interesting to see how many situations fall into the category of “a tension to be managed”.  So often I am trying to eliminate the tension when it won’t, or shouldn’t go away.  Some tension is necessary and good.

One of the favorite parts of my job is getting to interact with amazing people like Andy Stanley.  At this particular conference I had the pleasure of working with Pete and Geri Scazzero, Gordon MacDonald, Jeff Manion, Christine Caine, Hans Peter Wolfberger, Eric Metaxes, Michael Herbst, and Bill Hybels.

This is the view from back stage.  This is my 4th Germany Leadership Summit, and I think it is the most engaged I have ever seen a group of German leaders.  Through the leading of Matt Lundgren, the band and vocalists helped people engage in worship in a way I had not experienced before.  There is nothing quite like 7000+ people singing a beloved hymn in one voice, regardless of the language.

Here is the view from the FOH production booth.  Seeing so many people in such a big room, I still can’t believe that I have the privilege to lead a team to help facilitate such an undertaking.  It was a little humbling to think that the space I get to work in everyday fits about as many people as were in this arena…crazy.

I think I have one more post about this conference.  Coming soon…