‘Tis the Season for an Ego Check

My title is “Production Director.” But in actuality, I’m not really the production director. Our senior pastor is. I'm just here to serve.

by Justin Firesheets

12.07.24

9:39 PM

Photo by Kevin Ianeselli on Unsplash

My title is “Production Director.” But in actuality, I’m not really the production director. Our senior pastor is. I may think that I get to determine our stylistic approach to services, but I don’t. I don’t get to determine how loud the music is or how much the lights move. I don’t get to decide how thick the haze is or how heavy the bass is. I don’t get to make the call on what camera shots we use or how fast we cut them. The senior pastor does.

Psalm 133:1 (NIV) proclaims, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”

For many of us, this can be not just a shock, but also a great source of frustration. After all, if I was hired into a role because of my skill or experience, why would I not be able to use those things to shape the direction of the service?

But, it’s not about my particular style, preference, approach, or experience. Because at the end of the day, I must understand that the ultimate responsibility for creating an atmosphere of worship and stewarding the spiritual health of the congregation lies with the senior pastor.

So how does that work? Does that mean I need to always keep my mouth shut? No! In fact, there are many senior leaders that would freely admit they don’t know (or perhaps care) enough about production to have an opinion one way or another, and are perfectly comfortable deferring to their tech lead’s experience and judgment.

On the flip side, there are plenty of other leaders who do have opinions or preferences, and that’s where there can be tension. When that pastor has a perspective contrary to my own, whether valid or not, that’s often where the “us vs. them” mentality comes into play. Because he wants something different than me or is making a decision that I might not agree with, I sometimes feel entitled to play the blame game, suggesting that the clueless, narrow-minded leaders (“them”) are making the wrong call and will screw something up, simply because they wouldn’t listen to the advice of the experienced tech person (“me” or “us”).

... the ultimate responsibility for creating an atmosphere of worship and stewarding the spiritual health of the congregation lies with the senior pastor.

This approach is unhealthy and wrong on so many levels. Not only am I sinning by disrespecting and dishonoring the spiritual authority that God placed over me, I’m also cutting myself off from opportunity for blessing and advancement. As Psalm 133:1 (NIV) proclaims, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.” And Romans 13:1 reminds us that there is no one in a position of authority (even the authority of leading a tech team) that God hasn’t placed there. I may not always agree with my senior pastor when it comes to the worship environment, and that’s fine. But I still need to honor his or her decisions and model for my team what it looks like to gladly serve under the vision of the church.

I’m not the Production Director. I’m just here to serve.

Comments (2)

Comment Feed

Worth a Re-Thinking

I understand the possible intent and spirit of the message here, but I respectfully would ask for people to reconsider the points made. It would be a scary thing if one person had the final say in everything and to dictate how things are going to be. The model presented leads one to think - would there need to be anyone else in a leadership position? The understanding of submission as related to today's world lends itself to misuse and abuse of power. (And there is plenty of that in churches and the business world today). Depending on the size of the church and the staff structure - that would guide who does what and the chain of command. If you work, like my church, with a team of pastors, multiple worship directors, a tech director, etc.. then the planning and job of cooperation are how things are agreed upon and accomplished. The job of the Senior Pastor is to cast the vision and the spiritual context of the service; make sure the rest of the team is doing their jobs - along with ensuring the teams have the tools and resources they need. I think the better message and best practice would have been an article about how to navigate team dynamics - I call it the "no one has the ultimate veto power" an idea based on their opinion alone. The senior Pastor should be casting a vision and then let the team bring experiential creativity to the vision and then agree on the plan. Then once agreed upon the teams implement their areas together - all doing their part. How does music interact with tech; and pastors with tech (and so forth with different teams). How do we work together and support one another to successfully present the vision of the service or worship experience? Another thought for an article is, "How do I navigate my ego (or preferences) to accomplish the spiritual message and experience we want to create/present?" Food for thought.

Wayne more than 3 years ago

"Just" Here to Serve?

I applaud your desire to crucify your flesh (i.e. ego) and be a servant, but must point out that your senior pastor is also "just" there to serve. Senior pastors are just as likely—or even more likely—as any other church servant to get on ego trips, be control freaks, think they know "best" or be dictators. But God is the One ultimately responsible for the spiritual health of your congregation, not your senior pastor. It is Christ's Body and His vision that's most important, not your senior pastor's personal opinions. We are all called to submit to one another, and consider each other as better than ourselves, and that includes senior pastors too! The attitude of a servant is what Jesus Himself modeled, and directly instructed His disciples to emulate, particularly when it came to questions about who was "the greatest" authority (Matthew 20:25-28). If we are all doing this, then we will experience true unity and peace.

Cory more than 3 years ago

‘Tis the Season for an Ego Check

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