Unsplash.com; Laurenz Kleinheider
I was once at a movie with my five-year-old son. I looked over at him and there he sat, pretty much a mirror of me. He listens and watches my every move. He adds to his vocabulary and actions based on how I handle situations, discipline him or praise him. Am I a mirror to him? Am I a manager of him? Am I a leader to him?
A mirror reflects who we are, but doesn't mold people. Managers oversee and execute. In order to have a better team, leaders make tough decisions, even if it makes things harder.
The key to leadership is thinking differently and setting the vision. Leaders understand the vision and prioritize it. Managers reflect it out to the team. Leaders understand that a team of one is a team of none, which means you must believe in multiple people to accomplish your task. You must trust the best in people and know that the team can help them grow. Steve Jobs said leaders should "be a yardstick of quality" because, "Some people are not used to an environment where excellence is expected." Essentially, leaders have to push people towards the virtues that make it possible for those participating in church production to fulfill the Great Commission. In order to do that, we have to think differently. We have to build people up.
How do we think differently?
Max Lucado defined this by saying, "A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd." Leaders must turn their back on the crowd and face their team. We are not managers of the team. We are the face of the team. A face that constantly drips the vision and sets the priorities of that vision.
"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd." Max Lucado
What are the priorities of vision?
First, understand that vision comes through using your God-given spiritual eyes, prayer, leadership's input into your life, goals, tasks and spiritual revelation. Every vision that I have developed is from all of these. You must go through a process to attain the vision for your area. I repeat this process every few years or when I feel leadership's global vision is shifting.
... understand that vision comes through using your God-given spiritual eyes, prayer, leadership's input into your life, goals, tasks and spiritual revelation.
Second, understand the vision must constantly be repeated. Over the years, I've found that teams will drift from the vision's core. Constantly repeating and re-enforcing the vision is important. Even if you don't have a written vision, you can be effective if you constantly remind the team of the vision and point towards the results of the vision. Many times your team's vision is far more effective when not written down, but repeated amongst the team in every scenario they tackle.
Third, understand that setbacks will happen. Own those personally. When you have successes, give credit to the team. When a problem or mistake happens, take responsibility for that issue and do your best to communicate how it can be resolved or avoided in the future. When a success happens, make sure everyone hears that it was the team that brought this about. Good leaders figure out how to make others better.
Lastly, understand your technical teams are at the front of the worship service, not at the rear or in the shadows. God is using them to worship Him.
Lastly, understand your technical teams are at the front of the worship service, not at the rear or in the shadows. God is using them to worship Him. I believe technical teams are the same as the worship team, teaching pastor and/or any other team that facilities a service. We worship God on our consoles, stage setup or any other technical task. There is no difference between a musician worshipping God through a keyboard and a technician worshipping God through a console or a camera. Your team must understand that through any vision that is set, they are critical. How they dress, act and are perceived is important. It sets the physical and spiritual atmosphere of the service.
Phillipians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I believe that when we worship God through the skills and talents of church production, He will strengthen our minds while opening our eyes to ideas, innovations and ways to fulfill the digital Great Commission of using audio, video and lighting to transmit the Gospel to every nation, facility and person.
[Editor's note: This piece was originally posted in October 2016.]
