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another post about volume Jan 07, 2014

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Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash.I don't know about you, but I've noticed that tech people tend to like things louder than most. How else can you get the drums to sound as amazing as your new micing technique requires? Worship leaders also like the energy that comes from a louder mix.For senior pastors, the volume can be a very sticky subject with the congregation, and I think there are probably some larger issues than the decibel level on Sunday morning that require his/her attention. I don't know about your senior pastor, but mine isn't ready to die on the hill of kicking subwoofers or the perfect drum mix.Your pastor needs to know that you have the best for the whole church in mind when you or your team are mixing audio. Unfortunately, it is really easy for production people to communicate something quite different: that your killer mix matters more than a bunch of old people complaining.This brings up a couple of questions…What motivates your mix? Is it for it to sound as amazing as it can for the sake of sounding amazing (listen to those drums!)? Or is it to sound amazing so that the most people possible in your congregation can experience God?Do you have a good understanding of what your church leadership needs from the mix? Who is the target audience? What is your church's "sound"? What does the mix need to accomplish?It needs to really clear between you, your team, your worship pastor, your producer...all the way up to the senior pastor on what the church's stance on the mix and volume should be. From there, your pastor needs to know that you are dealing with it.And by dealing with it, I don't mean cranking it up so the drums sound incredible. Dealing with it is being tenacious to make it sound better and better, and then balancing that with what is best for the whole church.Your senior pastor doesn't want the mix to offend people. If they are going to be offended, let the Holy Spirit do that.

perfection at what cost? Jan 04, 2014

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I had a conversation with a co-worker a few weeks back and we talked about whether or not perfection was the goal of any production. After writing a blog post, then thinking some more about it, I have another idea.If making things distraction-free is just another way of saying perfect, how can we avoid the idea of perfectionism?Photo by Jonathan Hoxmark on UnsplashMaybe I just have a problem with the word "perfect". What exactly is it? What does it apply to? How is it achieved? If we are talking about mics on and lights pointed at the right things and graphics being spelled correctly, then sure. Let's make it perfect.However, most of what we do in production can be subjective and the idea of "perfect" breaks down. What is the perfect mix? Perfect IMAG? What is the perfect service?If perfection is the ultimate goal, how far are we willing to go? How redundant are our systems? Do we run a generator during every service just in case the power gets interrupted? Do we buy two of everything just in case? Should everyone know how everything works so that everyone can know the answers to every possible question? Should we stay all night and rearrange the stage to make it "perfect"?The list of things we could do to eliminate risk and ensure perfection would be a never-ending list, but most of us don't have the many resources. Time. People. Money. And no amount of either of these three things ensures perfection.This is where I really love the idea of excellence over perfection."Doing the best with what you have." is one way to define excellence. This really helps put things in perspective. You can only do your best, which sometimes might appear as perfection. This concept takes into account all the things that you've never experienced before, and it factors in the reality that stuff breaks. It considers the skills of your team and the type of equipment you have.Another definition of excellence is "being better today than yesterday." This considers learning from mistakes and new experiences each day to keep getting better and better.From another perspective, what are you characterized by? Do the same mistakes happen over and over again? Are technical distractions the norm for you? Or are these isolated incidents that only stick out because your congregation is so used to the amazing distraction-free environment that you create on a weekly basis?So the goal isn't perfection, but doing your best, and being better today than yesterday...which hopefully includes things being flawless.

Christmas past Dec 24, 2013

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Coming up with the perfect Christmas program seems really simple when you see what churches all over the world are doing. It all looks so easy and magical. The reality is much different. First off, there is probably nothing even close to a perfect program. Second, developing an effective Christmas service (or any event for that matter) requires tons of work, lots of collaboration, and probably even more compromise. Easy isn't one of the options.Photo by Mourad Saadi on UnsplashFor the Willow team this year, we had our share of ups and downs to get to where our program ended up. Is it perfect? No. But it is a product of our best effort, given our abilities, given our limitations, given our resources. And with all of that, it is a really good Christmas program.Without question, there are things I would do differently. There are things I wish others had done differently. If we were going to take this show on the road, then we'd be able to make some more tweaks and turn it into a "better" version of itself…but we aren't.However, as Seth Godin talks about quite a bit, there is a time for planning and tweaking, but there is also a time to ship; a time to stop adjusting and get your product out there.All along the way, we tried to make the best decisions we could, based on the information of the moment. Looking back is easy. Knowing what I would do differently is the easy part. Living in the moment and making decisions along the way is not easy to do. You can only do your best.Wishing the last event was better doesn't really solve the problem. Looking towards the next big event, the goal will be to build on the successes of this event and to learn from our "mistakes".I'm really proud of the work our team has done to make this Christmas amazing. Hardworking, highly creative people, creating in community for the benefit of our congregation and their friends. In spite of whatever could have gone better, this is a Christmas to remember.

responding to complaints Dec 17, 2013

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I'm pretty sure it only happens at my church, but from time to time someone complains about it being too loud. I've written a few posts already about how loud is too loud, which addresses the philosophies around volume at church but having values around why your volume doesn't stop some people from thinking it's too loud.Recently we adjusted some settings for the low end in our PA in an attempt to solve a few problems, but we ended up creating new low-end issues. As a result, we got more than our usual amount of written and verbal complaints about it being too loud.Photo by Filip Andrejevic on UnsplashFor us, we have a pretty decent understanding of how loud it should be, and I'm pretty comfortable with the fact that some people will still complain. So how do you handle those complaints? Since there is no way to make everyone happy with the volume, what do you do?I have a theory that people want to feel heard. So here's what I typically do when I receive a volume-related complaint.I first reach out via email explaining that I received their email about it being too loud and that since I am responsible for the live production elements at our church, I would love to talk further. I then ask for the best way to reach them, then wait to hear back from them. I try to respond within 24 hours of getting their original email.This quick response communicates that someone is listening and cares about their opinion. It also puts the ball in their court to respond back. If I hear back from them (which I normally do) we then arrange to talk on the phone or meet in person.When we finally talk, I ask them a series of fact-finding questions:How long have you been coming? How often do you attend?Was this an isolated volume issue or is it something you feel on a regular basis?Where do you normally sit?Do you notice if the volume changes based on worship leader/worship style?Once we talk through these, I usually walk through the following:The locations in our auditorium that tend to be quieter.That we keep track of our dB levels over time and know scientifically that we aren't causing permanent damage to people's hearing.Our philosophy on volume…in a nutshell, we are trying to match the energy in the room and create a great worship experience for the largest number of people.We are constantly evaluating volume and trying to get this balance right.9 times out of 10 this conversation goes very well and the experience leaves people feeling heard and valued. In the past, we used to send people an email with documentation and an open letter (that you can read here). These are necessary to have on hand, but they don't address the real issues, which is a member of the congregation feeling like someone at the church actually cares. The letter alone is too cold and impersonal.Picking up the phone to a potentially hostile conversation is not my idea of fun. OK, who am I kidding? Picking up the phone at all is one of my least favorite things.In all the years that I have been making these particular types of phone calls, I have never had a bad experience. At the end of a conversation, I have made a great connection with someone in the congregation that I serve.Responding to complaints is a necessary part of leadership. Responding to the production-related complaints is a tangible way for your to help carry a small part of the leadership burden for your senior pastor.

ordinary people Dec 12, 2013

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Something that I shared with the Willow production team at our Christmas party...This year, I decided to participate in an advent experience. It is nothing more than reading every day from John Piper's Good News of Great Joy (BTW, it's free). While reading through this, it struck me that it is probably the first time I've done something advent-y since I was a kid and we lit a candle on a horizontal wreath each Sunday during December.So far, it has been a good thing to help me wrap my mind around what Christmas is actually is about.Photo by Ehteshamul Haque Adit on UnsplashOn the 4th of the month, the reading talked about how God orchestrated the prophecy of Christ being born in Bethlehem, using Caesar Augustus to have this idea of a census to get Mary and Joseph away from Nazareth. I love this picture of God moving the chess-like pieces around to create the perfect situation for His son to enter the world.The funny part, is that once they get to Bethlehem, God has forgotten to provide them a place to sleep? After all the work of moving governments around, God the Father simply forgets to make a reservation?It turns out that what I would have done, or what might make the most sense to our human minds, was exactly what God decided not to do..be born into Caesar Augustus' family and then just take over. To change the world through strength. He could have but didn't.Instead, God chose to use Mary and Joseph, her sister Elizabeth, a bunch of shepherds…basically normal people. Ordinary. Flaws and all. He chose an unlikely place for Jesus to be born…one that people could say "Only God" about.God wanted to make it very obvious that1. He could orchestrate things however He wanted.2. He was intimately involved.3. He wanted to use the ordinary to redeem the world.As I look around the technical arts community, I see God's plan continuing today. No offense, but we are a pretty ordinary bunch. If we were to dive into all of our stories, we would find a similar theme to Mary and Joseph's situation: God's orchestrating hand; that He is intimately involved with each aspect of our story, and that he has been using us to help redeem the world.If I were to orchestrate the perfect plan to help save the world, I still think I would imagine it totally different from how God has designed it. He has decided to use us…OK, I guess.However, if God's plan is to use ordinary people, I can't imagine a better group of ordinary people that I'd rather be associated with. He has used our uniqueness and our specific makeup to reach out to the world. He has used us as technical artists to help get His message out. I love that there is a place for each of us to contribute to His plan.We've all been a part of many unique experiences this year, all of which God has used and is using to help God's people in all our churches become more Christ-like.Thanks for your willingness to let God use your ordinariness to redeem the world.

don’t be a Christmas wuss Dec 04, 2013

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Here it comes. Christmas production time.I was going through the calendar and marking off all the nights that I am going to be at rehearsal this month. Needless to say, it was a sobering exercise.Photo by Jonathan Borba on UnsplashFor those of us in the technical arts of the local church, this is our busy season. Preparing a service for the largest numbers of guests that we will see all year. We want it to be flawless (not perfect, see the last post) and we want people to have an experience with God, maybe for the first time. There can be lots of pressure riding on this one service.I don't know about you, but as December lengthens, I get more and more exhausted. I have less and less patience and more and more anxiety. As the late nights start piling up, it can be really easy to justify sleeping in and having my wife take care of everything at home. After all, I'm killing it at work so that people's eternities can be different. I deserve a little extra sleep, right?After a few years living my December this way, I decided that I was being a wuss. Sure, maybe I am working hard, but my wife has essentially become a single parent for the month. Talk about difficulty.I would encourage all of you with families to suck it up.Andy Stanley talks a lot about the idea of cheating your workplace, not your family, in his book When Work and Family Collide. While what we do for our Christmas services is critical, it shouldn't come at the expense of our families.2 things:1. Cast vision to you family for why you are gone so much. Help them understand what your church is trying to accomplish and how your whole family can help sacrifice for the sake of the gospel to be shared.2. Help get your kids ready for school. Engage in normal activities with your family when you can. Build a snowman. Make time for meaningful conversation with your spouse. Go out of your way to be "On" at strategic times.Christmas is tough for the technical artist. No argument there.Rise above how you feel and invest in your family this season.

is perfection the goal? Nov 30, 2013

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One of the values we have on the Willow Production team is to create a distraction-free environment. We are trying to be transparent, so that people in the congregation don't notice the production, and can therefore focus on God.Photo by Kyle Johnson on UnsplashDoes this mean that perfection is the goal? Maybe it is splitting hairs, but I'm a huge opponent to the idea of perfection, but I have no problem with the idea of striving for transparency.Perfection as a goal is like saying mistakes are not tolerated. For me, this removes the option of healthy risk-taking, which is critical to stretching ourselves and trying new things. If we aren't taking risks, we aren't figuring out more efficient ways of doing things. If we aren't taking risks, we are potentially making choices based on old information from years ago.If there is no room for making mistakes, eventually things will die. In his book "Leading Change", John Kotter says that in order to keep a white fence white, it needs to be painted continually. If we are just leaving it alone, it will eventually deteriorate. Perfection as a goal cannot be sustained. Change has to happen, which opens things up to potential mistakes.If striving for perfection is the highest goal, your team will be set up to fail. As time goes on with mistakes not happening, the pressure mounts for when the next mistake might happen. This leads people to perform their tasks out of fear of failure. I don't know many people (none) who do their best work when they are afraid to mess up.As a technical artist, I work really hard to clear the way for people to experience our church services without distraction. For me, this drive is based on wanting to do my very best. From the outside, my best might seem like I am striving for perfection. To me, I am doing everything in my power to make sure that I've checked everything, and that I have systems in place to cover known potential issues. I am not interested in making stupid mistakes over and over again.I also know, that doing the best with what I have only goes so far. It can't cover every potential thing that might happen. Even with an unlimited budget or the best experts in the field, I can't account for every eventuality.I was at a church service recently where all the front lights stopped working. In spite of this obvious distraction, the church service was amazing, and I believe that God moved. There was lots of tension in the front row about what was going to be done about it, but after things were fixed before the next service, there was tons of grace for the team…then a conversation about how do we make sure this doesn't happen again.How you respond to mistakes says a lot about your perspective on perfection. It is difficult to hold tightly to things being perfect and also realizing that mistakes happen and having grace in those moments.The goal shouldn't be perfect for the sake of perfection. The goal should be doing our very best to create an environment where people can experience God.And sometimes our very best falls short, and God can still work.

the defining characteristic of church production Nov 26, 2013

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At many churches today, the level of production value rivals many other live shows. The bar has been raised over the years to the point where the types of equipment and the people operating them can play in just about any arena.Photo by madeleine ragsdale on UnsplashIf our gear is the same, and the quality of people's ability is the same, is there really a difference between doing production outside the church and doing it for the church? Are we just facilitating a "show" at church or is there something deeper?For the sake of this particular post, I'd like to quote Jesus from the book of John to explain the difference people should notice between a production team with a Christ-centered approach and one that isn't:“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”I don't know about you, but this verse doesn't jump out as the first verse I think of to describe any production ministry at a church. Production as a people group is not well known for this idea of love. We are however known for cynicism, passive-aggressive behavior, and the infamous one-syllable answer "no".What would our teams look like if this verse were more the norm? What if the production team at your church set the pace for loving one another?How do we get from where we are to this lofty idea of loving each other?It can be as "simple" as treating each other with respect. To go out of your way to serve the needs of the people on stage. To respond in every situation with grace. To assume the best of others first.Loving one another is not easy. It is much easier to just tolerate people. This can lead to bitterness and can break down relationships. Technical artists and creative artists working together can be challenging enough without the added layer of barely tolerating each other.We both need each other. We have a chance to change the world by using our gifts in combination…together. Our impact can be exponential if we can figure out how to love one another.What would your church look like if the production team was known for the love they showed to each other and to the people they came into contact with?

don’t say someone’s “no” for them, part 3 Nov 21, 2013

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Given the title, it shouldn't be a shock that there is a part 1 and a part 2 to this. In part 3, we'll look at a more subtle way that I can say someone's "no" for them.When a pastor asks me for something that seems undoable, my knee-jerk reaction is to NOT tell them how difficult something might be, I just do it. And as a result, I'm saying "no" for them.For me, I feel responsible to make stuff happen, so I don't say no.Photo by Devin Avery on UnsplashWhen someone had a crazy idea that I wouldn't know how to do with our current resources, I would spend the only capital I had: my time. I would kill myself to make an idea happen, without ever talking to the idea person about the costs involved. I used to make an assumption that the person asking knew what it would take and they were asking for it anyway.By not having a conversation about the cost of an idea, I wasn't giving them an opportunity to say "no". I generally assumed the answer would be "yes", so I didn't bother asking.Then one day, I had an idea of my own.When my boss would have some crazy idea, I would try to imagine how I could get him to say "no" to his own idea. At first look, this might seem like I was pulling one over on him. In reality, what happened is that I learned how to present several options and let him choose.Instead of being deceitful, I ended up learning the valuable lesson of providing solutions to the challenges instead of just killing myself to pull off the idea and then becoming resentful and bitter.Sometimes my boss would say "Yes. We are going to do it.", but more often he would pick one of the more doable options. Over time, I noticed that he would choose doable over "no" pretty much every time. I also noticed that when he said we needed to move ahead with something that seemed undoable, I knew he wasn't taking it lightly.This pattern helped us develop trust over time. We started to see each other's point of view as essential to make things happen. Instead of feeling like we were always on the opposite side of a problem, we acknowledged that we were coming from different vantage points, and we celebrated it. We needed each other.When we say someone's "no" for them, we short circuit the opportunity to get to true collaboration.

don’t say someone’s “no” for them, part 2 Nov 13, 2013

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Yet another post about saying "no" for other people. (check out part 1 here)This one is based on a stereotype of tech people everywhere: We always say "no".Photo by Florian Schmetz on UnsplashUsually, we say it with attitude. Many times we don't even hesitate; it just comes right out of us."Hey, I have this idea to..." "NO!"We don't even wait for the punch line.I think this comes from being overwhelmed by the task we already have in front of us, and from a general misunderstanding of what we actually do by the people with the ideas.I think the reasons that we jump to "no" so quickly only perpetuate being overwhelmed and misunderstood.With our production team that works the weekend service, we have been doing a lot of work on becoming one team with our creative team counterparts.When we say "no" so fast, it doesn't allow the creative team into our world. They will never understand what is going on under the surface if we never open up the conversation about why we are overwhelmed.Contrary to what I used to think, people with awesome creative ideas tend not to fully understand what it will take to pull it off…that's what we are there for. I think this is the way God designed us to work together. But it only functions properly if we open the door to what is really involved.Opening yourself up requires, well, opening yourself up. To either acceptance or rejection. Either becoming more like one team or becoming more separated.Working production in the local church requires some relational risk-taking. Without opening yourself up to the possibility, you are shutting down the very thing that will help your creative and technical arts work the way God designed it.Take a chance. Don't say "no" immediately. Talk about what is really going on. You might be surprised by the response.

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