Be Responsible

I am constantly reminded that we are all, individually responsible for our own actions. So often, it is much easier to complain about the way someone else is behaving or responding to a given situation than to actually do something about the way someone is acting.




Lately, I have been in many situations where I felt God nudging me to have a difficult conversation with someone. I tend to hesitate when I feel this kind of prompting, because I am worried how the other person is going to respond.


When I was in Campus Crusade for Christ in college, their big thing was it was my responsibility to go out and share the Gospel and leave the results to God. It wasn't my responsibility to make someone respond a certain way, that was up to that person and how God was working in their hearts.

The same applies to me in my everyday life. If someone is acting inappropriately and I know it is wrong, it is my responsibility to do something about it. Not to respond in a similarly inappropriate manner; or to just ignore someones behavior; or to talk to someone else about how poorly someone behaved. The Bible calls me to "speak the truth in love", not "speak the truth in love knowing that the other person will always respond in a way I want them to."

If I am unwilling to speak the truth in love, the other person may never hear the truth. They may never be given a chance to become a better person as a result. If I don't speak the truth in love, I am as much at fault in a situation between me and another person.

No is a bad answer

I say no because people don't know how crazy their ideas are.

It is always tempting to assume that everyone knows what I know. They don't. They can't. They may never know what my life or my job is really like. It is up to me to fill them in. If someone is asking for something that seems impossible, remember that they don't know it is impossible. It is up to me to tell them...not just that it is currently impossible, but a few ways that it could be made possible.

Before I say no, I need to think about 3 ways that I can say yes; thinking about 3 options that would make it possible. The beauty of this way is that more often than not, if it is impossible, the person asking will realize it and say no for me. Now, I don't have to be defensive; I' just stating the facts. Not only that, I am a team player with options; looking out for the best interests of the team I am on.

Vision?

Are all people motivated internally? Are some people just made up that way? Or do all people need a dose of vision given to them from time to time? Is it because we are all running so fast that we don't stop and think about what we are doing or why we are doing it?

I am hanging out downtown today walking all over and thinking about this. Is it my job as the leader to stand up in front of less than 10 people and write values on a flip chart? Yes. Why does it feel like someone else's job? I know that I get so frustrated when I am not given any clear vision, regardless of the size of the group. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the details of what all needs to be done, that we neglect talking about why we even do this stuff.

It can probably be traced back to all kinds of stuff that I should be going to a councelor for, but I have a hard time thinking that I have the market cornered on the values we should hold to. Aren't they obvious? Don't we all know them and follow them each week? If I were to take a poll of my team, staff and volunteers, I am guess that maybe 1 person would be able to vaguely remember me holding up one value once.

If you are leading a team of technical people, regardless of the size, it is our responsibility to lead the way for these people. To hold up the banner for the technical arts. Your people need to know we aren't just doing all this because the pastor asked for it. Why do we do it a certain way? Why do we always set the band up on stage right? Why do we have to have white top light on all the people.

I know you're not an up front kind of person, neither am I. Push yourself out there. If you don't no one else will. I am telling all this to myself. I think I know what matters. I am going to share it. Regardless of how uncomfortable it seems standing at a flip chart, when the room is half full of attitude problems.

Like Manna From Heaven

It is interesting to me, in the world of church production, how we live most every day on the razor's edge. Not of technology or even culture, but survival. When we are building teams of people to carry out the amazing work of the technical arts ministry, we are required to live one day at a time.

We recruit new volunteers and fill up our teams with just the right number of people. No more. No less. If we had more people than we needed, then some would potential sit around with nothing to do. And we all know what happens when we don't have enough people. The trouble is, I want to store up people for when we lose team members. I want to have people waiting in the wings to swoop in and fill empty slots, otherwise, I am always dreading the next someone leaving.

I have realized lately that God is wanting to see if I believe that He is able to take care of all my needs. It's His Church, He wants it to grow and reach more and more people. How is it possible that I could care more than He does? Am I capable of being content with what is provided today and let God worry about tomorrow? At any time my ministry could crumble around me and God would still provide. Can I deal with that?

Thou Shalt Not Covet

We had a service about the 10 Commandments this weekend and the one about wanting what you don't have caught me. This is such accurate discription of so many production people I know. "If I only had this piece of gear, then the mix would fall into place" or "Wouldn't it be great to have 9 cameras instead of 5?"

It can be so easy to blame lack of gear for why we can't pull something off. Or to be always asking for more equipment, even though we may not be using to the fullest, the gear we already own . It can be like a curse to go to different churches or to a concert and only see all the gear you don't have.

We should celebrate what equipment we d0 have. Let's use it to the fullest, with gaff tape if necessary. Let's plan for the gear that could take us to the next level, but let's stop complaining about all the gear we don't have. We have been entrusted with God's resourses, however large or small. Be faithful with it.

Ruts

I have decided that it is easier than I care to admit to get stuck in a rut. It is obvious to complain about programming or the pastors getting stuck in a rut, but it is more difficult to see my own.

Getting out of a rut can be so difficult, especially if you have to drag other people out of it with you. It takes tons of energy that could maybe be spent elsewhere. Maybe I'm worried that if I get out of a rut and try something new, that it will mean I will have to work crazy hours. At least I know what to expect.

In spite of all the people I need to pull out of the rut, and in spite of all the other events it will effect and in spite of all the headaches I might cause for myself and others, I need to get out of the rut.

Expectations

So, I am at a meeting yesterday to talk about the tension between the music ministry and the production ministry in our children's ministry.(that's a lot of ministry) There had been a previous meeting where there was yelling involved and people actually got up and walked out of the room. Needless to say there needed to be follow up and I was asked to come to this meeting to help back up the production person involved.

After listening for about 30 minutes, I had written down 4 things that apply to almost any situation involving two groups that are as different as production and music.

Don't assume people know what matters to you. - It is so easy to get caught thinking everyone knows your world and the things that are important for your ministry. If you have a certain idea of what music should sound like, tell someone. If you have a new volunteer that needs grace on how the mix sounds, tell someone.

Sit down and have a meeting about expectations. - If everyone knows what to expect, then when you get to rehearsal or the service, you'll all be on the same page. If the music needs to sound a certain way for the music director, sit down before all hell is breaking loose and agree on what can be expected. If you and the drama director agree before hand how loud the sound effects should be, there will be lots of understanding during rehearsal when everyone knows what to expect.

How can we stagger rehearsals? - Think about ways to make things a little better, not perfect. We have music rehearsals happening all over the building, all at the same time, so why not stagger them so the people who need to be in the room can be in the room. Just because we are doing things a certain way now doesn't mean we couldn't change that to make our present situation better.

There was one other thing that I have since forgotten.

New Blogger

This will definitely be a challenge for me to not take this too seriously. I feel like the life of a tech person at a church can be a lonely one, and I want to share the things I learn about as I go along.

Maybe the goal is so that we don't feel as alone. Maybe the goal is to help us all live life to the fullest. Maybe the goal is to realize what it means to be a technical artist in the local church. We all need to be reminded what matters, and I intend to remind myself through this blog. If anyone else can benefit, so much the better.