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3 ways to have a better relationship with your worship leader – FILO Blog Jul 19, 2024

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When I first started doing production stuff at my church, I did it for the gear. I wanted the chance to play with the gear. I didn’t really care about what we were doing or why. I just like the shiny new stuff. Little did I know that there was way more to being a technical artist in the local church than the equipment I got to use. For one thing, there was the reason we were using all the gear...to create a worship experience for our congregation to meet with God. Secondly, the interpersonal dynamics at play between the stage and the booth was not something I was prepared for. After a few years passed, I realized that the relationship between the worship leader and me was the ballgame! I had a difficult time getting anything done when our relationship was strained. Since it was my job to execute their ideas, I needed to figure out how to get along with these people!It was one thing to realize this, but what could I do about it? How do I make sure that the relationship I have with my worship pastor can lead to amazing collaboration? At the base of it all is trust. Me trusting them, and them trusting me. So how do I build that trust? Here are three ideas.Do Your JobThis isn’t quite as harsh as “Just do your job, and shut up!”, but on some level I’m not joking. One of the most effective ways to build trust with the people on stage is to be good at what you do. As a production person, that means nailing all the little things that nobody really understands or cares about. Input lists. Stage plots. Neat and tidy backstage storage. Mics on when they are supposed to be. Lights aimed at the right things.These are all very “boring” tasks, but they make up the foundation of excellent production. Without them, we can’t hope to go deeper in the collaboration with our friends on stage. If you can’t do the “boring” stuff well, why would they want to hear what you think about their work or their ideas? It is difficult to talk about wanting the process to be better, if we aren’t handling our side of the equation well. Let’s say you complain about a particular guitar tone messing with your mix, but no one can hear the worship leader when they are talking over the music. Why would anyone change their guitar tone when it’s obvious to them you don’t know what you’re talking about?The best way to build a solid relationship with your worship leader is to be as good at your job as possible. Without excuses. Without complaining. Just nail it. Buy CoffeeFind out your worship leader’s favorite foofy drink from Starbucks and show up with it. (Or maybe they’re a Dunkin’ person. Know the difference!) Do it more than once. Maybe even sit down and drink the coffee together. Talk about stuff. And not all work stuff. Life stuff. “How are you doing?” “How are your kids?” “What’s your favorite color?” Working with someone is not the same as knowing them. The context for our relationship is generally speaking, the pressure cooker of rehearsal and services. When we aren’t in the intensity of work, then we’re in meetings to figure out what we’re doing. Our whole relationship is built around a very narrow window of each of our personalities. You know what else? I bet that your worship leader doesn’t know all that much about you either. This coffee time is a perfect chance to share about your own life outside of production at your church. Who knows? Maybe you’ll discover that you like the same college football team, or the same flavor of ice cream, or that maybe you have the same favorite color!When you know someone beyond just one dimension of who they are, there is a chance you’ll trust each other a little more. You know me. I know you. You are more than just the mistakes you make or the ways you frustrate me on a Sunday morning. Share the ResponsibilityPulling off weekend services together is a challenge. Or at least my part is. Their part looks easy. Not only that, but sometimes it feels like they make my part even more challenging than it needs to be.The reality is that the people on stage have a difficult job also, just in a different way than me. I’m trying to make the service awesome and they’re just worried about their indoor man scarf matching their ripped skinny jeans. Right?!While it seems like we have different goals that are on opposing sides, we are really trying to solve the same problem but from completely different perspectives. I’m focused on executing the plan and they’re wondering whether or not the plan is the right one. We need to combine forces on this. We both want to make something amazing for our churches, and the combination of what you do and what they do is the result. Share the load together. Work together. Come up with a plan together. Lift the load together.Building a relationship with your worship leader isn’t easy. It must be built on a foundation of trust. To make the most of each of our strengths, we owe it to each other and to our churches to build a solid relationship.Learn more about building relationships through FILO digital resources:Check out Creative Chemistry – Production and Platform Teams Working Together to Create Transformational In-Person and Online Gatherings By John Cassetto and Brittany Crimmel if you are interested in learning more about building healthy relationships with your worship leader. And find even more resources on this topic, and many others, at filo.org/filo-resources.

“I’ve got some last minute changes.” – FILO Blog Jul 10, 2024

Show notes

“I’ve got some last minute changes.”I heard this a lot this past week. I was working on an event that for some reason had a ton of last-minute graphics changes. When the people came to the team with this phrase, we pretty much always said, “Sure, no problem.” After a few days of this, the person doing graphics was pretty wiped out. On one hand, we had someone who cared enough about the presentation to be the best it could be, that they said yes to every change. The results were an excellent program with the graphics being exactly what the presenter had in mind. With the end goal of communicating a message most effectively.The results were also someone who was frazzled by the end of the program and right on the edge of making mistakes. The graphics person was definitely ready for a very long break after the program was done. The question for me is, should we have been saying “No” to last minute changes to protect the graphics person, or was saying yes to all the changes the right idea?On one hand, as a leader on the team, it is my job to keep the scope of work to something manageable for the team. On the other hand, the purpose of the team is to help support the message, and if we can make it better then why wouldn’t we?There is also something to be said for the graphics person making the changes to stick up for themselves and to be able to say “No” if that is what’s best for the overall program. The reality is that this gray area is where we live as production people. There is no standard answer for all the situations. Sometimes making the last minute change is the right call. Sometimes locking things down early is the right answer. Down at the foundation of this question is trust.Trust between you and the people you’re supporting and their trust in you. Trust between you and the graphics person and the graphics person you, and with the presenter. Without trust, it is almost impossible to say “No” to a last minute request.Without trust, it is difficult to understand why a last minute request isn’t possible.Without trust, it is difficult to understand why a certain last minute request is even necessary. Trust comes from time working together. Trust comes from living through all the outcomes, good and bad. Trust comes from enough shared experiences to know the best ways to respond in certain situations. Trust also comes from speaking the truth in love to each other, in a culture without fear but understanding. How can we be about creating that culture instead of waiting for someone else to create it?To learn more about how to create a healthy team culture, check out our leadership track in our digital resource center!

Episode 117: Kirk Denson Jul 08, 2024

Show notes

Todd has a chat with Kirk Denson from Willow Creek Church. They talk about the importance of developing people, not just to be better technicians but better humans.Show Notes:Summer Skills Cohort: Journey with like-minded technical artists for growth and support as well as meet with an industry leader for an in-depth discussion around a topic. The best part? Sharing how you’re learning and growing with your group for added support and accountability. Join us for the final August session! Learn more at filo.org/cohorts. MxU Pop Up: Join Todd at the upcoming MxU Pop up in Dallas on August 20th. The pop ups are one day events designed to equip you with leadership training and an opportunity to engage with other worship and tech leaders in your city. Learn more at getmxu.com/pop-ups.Subscribe to the FILO Podcast: Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the FILO Podcast on your favorite podcast platform and be alerted any time we launch a new episode.Leave a review of the FILO Podcast: Your ratings and reviews help spread the word about the FILO Podcast to others. We'd appreciate your help! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.Have ideas for the FILO Podcast? Email your feedback, send us your topic ideas or names of people you think we should interview! filopodcast@filo.orgFILO Emails: The best way to stay in the loop with what FILO is up to, is to sign up to receive our emails.Follow FILO on Social Media: Instagram | Facebook

development = survival – FILO Blog Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

When I started as a tech person at my church I loved getting a great mix. I loved solving the problems we experienced from technical problems during a service. I loved being in the back of the room and not on stage. From that moment to this, I can see how the pathway of my development got me to this point. And when I think about all the steps between the first one and my most recent one, each one along the way stretched me in some way. In one way or another I learned, adapted and became someone a little bit different. And overtime, I have a difficult time recognizing myself. This isn’t bad. In fact it is necessary. By pushing myself to try new things, or to be uncomfortable for a few minutes in order to explore a new way of doing something, or to try something completely different, I’ve been stretched into a new version of myself.Frankly life would have been simpler to stay behind the console. But I would have been doing a disservice to my church and myself if I’d been content to stay there. My life has been a series of choices, to stay comfortable or to stretch from something a little more. While staying comfortable sounds nice, I don’t really like who I become when comfort is the only thing I’m after. When I think about the FILO Community and being able to watch God move over the past 10 years, I can’t even imagine how much I would have missed if I’d simply stayed comfortable. Who I am is made up of similar choices along the way. I would argue that my survival has been dependent on the choices to be uncomfortable and follow where I felt like God was calling me. Not just in big ways, but in small, everyday ways: take responsibility for a mistake, apologize for my tone to my co-worker, decide to be more disciplined in the way I use my time.Each of us needs to grow and expand if we hope to survive to become the version of us God has in mind. Not only in our roles as technical artists, but as humans as well. Here at FILO we want to connect you with other production leaders and empower you to be the healthiest version of yourself. If you are interested in learning more, check out our Cohort page.

Episode 116: Brennan Wilkins Jun 17, 2024

Show notes

Todd sits down with Brennan Wilkins to talk his journey of working at a portable church to now helping to design technical systems for some of the coolest projects around from stadiums, theaters and even large spherical venues in the desert. Show Notes:Summer Skills Cohort: Journey with like-minded technical artists for growth and support as well as meet with an industry leader for an in-depth discussion around a topic. The best part? Sharing how you’re learning and growing with your group for added support and accountability. Join us for the July and August sessions! Learn more at filo.org/cohorts. FILO 2024 Digital Resources: The FILO 2024 Resource Library is OPEN! Head to filo.org/filo-resources and add the one big bundle of FILO 2024 goodness to your cart. Who doesn't love a good bundle? Or, take some time to review each Breakout class title and presenter, Lunch & Learn event and Intensive before deciding on a few individual resources to add to your digital library. Subscribe to the FILO Podcast: Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the FILO Podcast on your favorite podcast platform and be alerted any time we launch a new episode.Leave a review of the FILO Podcast: Your ratings and reviews help spread the word about the FILO Podcast to others. We'd appreciate your help! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.Have ideas for the FILO Podcast? Email your feedback, send us your topic ideas or names of people you think we should interview! filopodcast@filo.orgFILO Emails: The best way to stay in the loop with what FILO is up to, is to sign up to receive our emails.Follow FILO on Social Media: Instagram | Facebook

the curse of the last minute fix – FILO Blog Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

I was visiting a church this past week and I was reminded of how similar all of our situations are as technical artists in the local church. The list of should-do’s is always pushed to the side for have-to’s. Recabling the stage vs. running an emergency line at the last minute to make the service work. Setting up a system that is easy for a new volunteer to use vs. scrambling to get something working at the last minute to make the service happen. Basically anything vs. the last-minute fix to make the service work. The last-minute fix to make the service work will never go away. It will always pop up. And what I’ve noticed is that we aren’t so great about going back and cleaning up after that hasty fix. And after a while, the pile of unlabeled extra becomes invisible to us. Just a part of “normal”.At a certain point, all the unlabeled, hastily installed cables will be the source of problems if we don’t stay on top of keeping our areas clean and organized. What if we built margin into our lives to handle the clean-up after each hasty fix? What if we gave ourselves time to label things correctly and then keep things neat and tidy? How can we set up our teams for success instead of only jumping in when it’s an emergency?Looking for more resources to become better at your craft? Check out our digital resources. Digital Resources from FILO 2024 are now available!

leadership cliché – FILO Blog May 29, 2024

Show notes

"People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care." Theodore Roosevelt I heard this quote at an event today and I have to confess that I rolled my eyes. I’ve heard it so many times that it seems super cliche. It might be because I’ve heard it from people who I don’t really believe mean it. Which I guess proves the point.I’ve been with a great crew on an event this week and I had an interesting conversation with a creative director who was responsible for a few creative elements in our general sessions. What we do as technical/creative artists happens in a stressful environment. Things not going as planned. Not having enough rehearsal time. Doors open before we’re ready. Is it even working?It can be so easy to give into the intensity and have it leak out on the people we’re working with. Short answers. Moving too fast. Yelling to the stage from front-of-house. For many of us, our team of volunteers are affected by this leaking. I know it is easy to think, “We need to fix this probably as fast as possible. I’m not really yelling, I’m just intense.” While I believe thatwe need to be competent at the task we have in front of us, I think that is the easiest part of what we do. What we need to be good at is handling the stress of our environment and leading our teams through it. Instead of our stress negatively affecting the people around us, we need to learn how to channel that stress into finding solutionswith a positive attitude and kind words. In the short term, there is aproblem to solve. In the long term, how you solve it will determine what matters most to you. Reaching for perfection at any cost, or a culture of honor and continual improvement. the long term, how you solve it will determine what matters most to you. Reaching for perfection at any cost, or a culture of honor and continual improvement. I want to be on the team of honor and continual improvement. I want to be a leader that shows honor and is pushing for continual improvement. Looking for more tools on how to improve as a leader? Check out our leadership track on our Digital Resources page.

Episode 115: Alexis Leon May 27, 2024

Show notes

Todd talks with Alexis Leon, Gatherings Producer at Passion City Church. They talk about being tired on Sunday morning, working long hours for a conference and showing up with confidence in who you are in Jesus. Show Notes:FILO 2024 Highlight VideoFILO 2024 Parody VideoFILO 2025: Live Stream and In-Person tickets are available for the lowest rate through May 31, 2024. Learn more at filo.org/filo2025. Don't forget, the 10% off discount code for podcast listeners is "podcast10". Summer Skills Cohort: Journey with like-minded technical artists for growth and support as well as meet with an industry leader for an in-depth discussion around a topic. The best part? Sharing how you’re learning and growing with your group for added support and accountability. You can register for all 3 sessions at a discounted rate, or choose which months you want to join. Learn more at filo.org/cohorts. Registration for the June session closes soon!Subscribe to the FILO Podcast: Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the FILO Podcast on your favorite podcast platform and be alerted any time we launch a new episode.Leave a review of the FILO Podcast: Your ratings and reviews help spread the word about the FILO Podcast to others. We'd appreciate your help! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.Have ideas for the FILO Podcast? Email your feedback, send us your topic ideas or names of people you think we should interview! filopodcast@filo.orgFILO Emails: The best way to stay in the loop with what FILO is up to, is to sign up to receive our emails.Follow FILO on Social Media: Instagram | Facebook

Episode 114: Toby Walters, Blake Hodges and Todd Elliott May 06, 2024

Show notes

Toby and Blake wrestle the hosting role away from Todd to talk about everything that's happening at the FILO Conference starting tomorrow! Show Notes: FILO 2024: Conference starts tomorrow! Live Stream and In-Person tickets are still available. Learn more at filo.org/filo2024. Don't forget, the 10% off discount code for podcast listeners is "podcast10". Subscribe to the FILO Podcast: Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the FILO Podcast on your favorite podcast platform and be alerted any time we launch a new episode. Leave a review of the FILO Podcast: Your ratings and reviews help spread the word about the FILO Podcast to others. We'd appreciate your help! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Have ideas for the FILO Podcast? Email your feedback, send us your topic ideas or names of people you think we should interview! filopodcast@filo.org FILO Emails: The best way to stay in the loop with what FILO is up to, is to sign up to receive our emails. Follow FILO on Social Media: Instagram | Facebook

in a rut Apr 19, 2024

Show notes

I was serving at my church recently and it is amazing how easy it can be to get in a rut. So much of what we do each week can start to feel the same and so we enter into each service with a mind set of “I’ve done this before. Let’s repeat what we’ve done in the past.” There is something really good about saving our energy and not reinventing the wheel every time, but I think we do ourselves, our teams and our congregations a huge disservice by not really living with and knowing the service as if we’ve never done it before. While the songs might be the same, and the order is pretty similar, God might want to be about something new this weekend. How is God moving in your life personally right now? It is probably different from the last time we did this same set list. If you sit with the songs for this weekend, they will probably hit slightly different from the last time we did them. God is always doing a new thing. And for us as humans it is easy to get into a rut in the name of simplifying or because we don’t give ourselves the time or space to get out of the rut. Whether you’re a worship leader or the audio engineer, drummer or lighting designer, God wants to do something new in our lives and in the lives of the people we are serving. What if we created space to engage with our services as if they were brand new to us? Looking for opportunities to gain a new perspective and be in community with others facing the same challenges? Check out our FILO cohorts!

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