I finally made it home from WFX , and that was no small feat. It was probably one of the worst flights I can remember - definitely in the top three. A storm front blew through as I was making my way to the DFW airport and created quite the logjam of airplanes. As I sat there, delayed for quite some time in an incredibly crowded Terminal A, I began to reflect on the previous three days. While most of what was experienced focused on the technical aspects of church work – there were still some spiritual takeaways.
Having grown up in the church, I have been to many conferences, retreats, and heard numerous motivational sermons. It's easy in the moment to become fired up and feel that nothing in the world can stop you --- the proverbial mountaintop experience. During the conference last week we also were fed with technical knowledge and training, but we were also challenged spiritually on many different levels. And that begs the question, "So what are you going to do now?"
Many of you are returning to your church from WFX this week completely fired up – some of you will be met with a bucket of cold water, and others won't know where to begin with all they heard.
How do you avoid this? I'm not sure, but I know the things I've done in the past haven't worked. My game plan this time is to commit it to prayer. “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” Proverbs 16:3
Committing my work to the Lord actually became my big take away from last week's WFX conference, and it came on the first day during the Tech Leaders Retreat. If you weren't able to make it, just imagine a room full of 200+ tech leaders at large roundtables with a group of our peers taking on the role of panelists. (I urge you to make it next year in Nashville, TN.)
Someone who was new to ministry asked the group of seasoned panelists what they wished they knew when they first started. I think this is an important question for all of us that are in ministry. We should ask it of ourselves on a regular basis. It can help to center us and remind us why we're in ministry in the first place.
The first panelist mentioned making time for spiritual disciplines – saying if they were easy they wouldn't be disciplines. These are things we have to commit to every day and find what works best in our lives to make them happen. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” - Matthew 6:33. Maybe it's first thing in the morning or the last thing before bed. Whenever it is, you have to make time for it. I know, as tech people, it can be difficult to make time for these things. Devotions and prayer seem to take a back seat to creative meetings and rehearsals. But without taking time to feed our own spiritual lives, how will be ever be able to pour into those we lead?
The second part of this ah-ha moment for me was the idea that we have been entrusted with leading our teams. We need to be praying for them – by name. While we may not carry the title of pastor, that doesn't free us from caring for our teams. Justin Firesheets from Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, AL shared from Ephesians 2:8: “For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” We as tech leaders are stewarding God's masterpieces, those people who join our teams, and in order to do that, we need to be rightly prepared ourselves.
While I learned that I really want a brand new SSL audio console and that the laser projectors are really cool, my biggest take away from WFX is that my job is so much more than gear. It's about relationship and people. I need to first make sure I am spiritually set on solid ground before I can effectively lead my team. Much like how the flight attendants insist you put your own oxygen mask on before helping the person next to you. (I'm sitting in an airport, - pretty good example right?)
I am committing my self to create a routine of spending time in the Bible and praying for my team, and sure I may even pray for an SSL console too. I know that while I am on the mountaintop, there is a valley below. My goal is to know that at some point I will have to walk through that valley, but this time I will be better prepared through prayer and faith to not let it affect me as it has in the past.
