Now that we'd created our first draft of 4-6 services (maybe; we may have only finished 2-3), it was time to revisit and refine our design. And it was time to finish planning if it was a longer series.
These meetings also involved more team building exercises and big-picture goal setting.
We would review the services we'd planned, make sure everything still sounded right, and make sure assignments were clear. (This was really important and when I started the team I didn't do it well.)
There were several ways we sought to evaluate the worship gatherings, and this meeting sometimes included those conversations. Other times that took place before brainstorming in session one. We would evaluate ourselves, of course. But we also created a questionnaire that we'd ask a church member to fill out once a month or so. We also tried to listen well in the hallways and corners so we could be aware of what was helping connect the hearts of our congregation with the heart of God. And what wasn't.
One more word about refining. Our team had to be really, really honest. If something didn't work, or, more dangerously, if someONE didn't work, we had to be able to say it. Not to disparage. Not to discount. But to discern. A great deal of our meetings was spent developing ourselves spiritually so we could handle having hard conversations and still cherishing one another and every person who would sit in the worship center every Sunday.
Of course this 4-step process was fluid over the course of 5 years. Sometimes we'd shorten to 3 meetings. Often we did some of what I've described with email conversations. There were times it was hard to get together as much as we wanted to (May, July, December) so flexibility was key.
I mentioned team-building and big-picture. I'm going to start wrapping up this series next time with one of my favorite ideas ever, and one that helped our team immensely. The ROAD TRIP!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
One Creative Process 13, Designing
I'm sure there are better ways to do this, but we found one that worked really well for us.
Remember, by now we knew the over-arching theme, the vibe, the goals of the series and the services, and a good bit of the content.
It was time to pull out the index cards.
Gosh that sounds old school!
I had our ministry assistant make 3x5 cards that had all of the songs we used in our services. Red was up tempo, yellow was medium and blue was slow. The key(s) of the song was on the card too. There were other cards. One each for sermon, baptism, video, communion, song intro, testimony, prayer, scripture reading, offering, and maybe some others I've forgotten.
And there was a large table.
And we went to work.
No givens of order. Sometimes we'd open with a quiet, tender song with lights low and "center" ourselves. Other times we'd open with a bombastic hymn or high energy worship song or video. Really, there were no givens.
The placement of the sermon was key. There were many sermons that lent themselves to an extended time of worship afterwards. The power of song lyrics that express what we've just been confronted with in a sermon is amazing. There were some really great moments after sermons.
Actually, there were really great moments all over the place.
And that's one reason we gave so much care and concern when it came to crafting the order of worship. We wanted to be able to step into and out of those "holy hush" moments intentionally. And so we'd experiment with the cards until we were excited about the order.
And then we'd confirm personnel--who should sing a song, lead a set, share a word, read a passage, etc. This is part of designing worship. Some readers can proclaim joyful truth well, others would do better to share something profound but quiet. This level of crafting was seldom talked about, but it made for some really smooth, fluid, flowing services.
The sense of accomplishment at the end of these meetings was deeply gratifying. Sometimes these meetings lasted forever. And it was worth it.
We learned as we went. We evaluated as we journeyed. More about that next time.
And remember, if you'd like to have some help developing a creative team or developing a team already in place, I'd love to come and do some worship coaching with you. Just shoot me a message or give me a call on my cell phone: 502.229.0114.
Remember, by now we knew the over-arching theme, the vibe, the goals of the series and the services, and a good bit of the content.
It was time to pull out the index cards.
Gosh that sounds old school!
I had our ministry assistant make 3x5 cards that had all of the songs we used in our services. Red was up tempo, yellow was medium and blue was slow. The key(s) of the song was on the card too. There were other cards. One each for sermon, baptism, video, communion, song intro, testimony, prayer, scripture reading, offering, and maybe some others I've forgotten.
And there was a large table.
And we went to work.
No givens of order. Sometimes we'd open with a quiet, tender song with lights low and "center" ourselves. Other times we'd open with a bombastic hymn or high energy worship song or video. Really, there were no givens.
The placement of the sermon was key. There were many sermons that lent themselves to an extended time of worship afterwards. The power of song lyrics that express what we've just been confronted with in a sermon is amazing. There were some really great moments after sermons.
Actually, there were really great moments all over the place.
And that's one reason we gave so much care and concern when it came to crafting the order of worship. We wanted to be able to step into and out of those "holy hush" moments intentionally. And so we'd experiment with the cards until we were excited about the order.
And then we'd confirm personnel--who should sing a song, lead a set, share a word, read a passage, etc. This is part of designing worship. Some readers can proclaim joyful truth well, others would do better to share something profound but quiet. This level of crafting was seldom talked about, but it made for some really smooth, fluid, flowing services.
The sense of accomplishment at the end of these meetings was deeply gratifying. Sometimes these meetings lasted forever. And it was worth it.
We learned as we went. We evaluated as we journeyed. More about that next time.
And remember, if you'd like to have some help developing a creative team or developing a team already in place, I'd love to come and do some worship coaching with you. Just shoot me a message or give me a call on my cell phone: 502.229.0114.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
One Creative Process 12, Deciding
This deciding-making step was sometimes easy. Sometimes it was really hard. We usually had 25-30 ideas from which to pick. Now, we had to choose. It was pretty easy to get down to a handful, but it was harder to get to THE idea.
As I mentioned last time, there were some planning cycles where we'd walk into this 2nd meeting knowing what "the" idea for a series was. There were also a few when we'd just sort of start over. But usually we'd just cross off the bad ideas until we were left with 2-5 really viable options.
The voice of our pastor was large in this conversation. If the "packaging" was in any way disconnected from his subject matter, we had to pitch it... even if it would be the coolest thing ever. I'm glad we stuck to our guns there.
Sometimes an idea would be something we'd prefer to do but we just didn't have the time, the personnel, or the money to do it. But these were few and far between. I had the most amazingly resourceful people on my teams. We almost never had money to spend, but we all had basements, garages and friends with the same.
This meeting was also a key part of our creative process because we started putting flesh and bones on the skeletal idea. Song ideas would emerge. If drama was a part of the vision, we would spend some time fleshing out story lines. This is the meeting where we'd determine if we wanted to invite a guest artist--painter, sculptor, potter, etc.
If you've ever created anything on your own, you can imagine the delight in this stage. It isn't just an idea anymore but it is starting to take on substance. In child development I'd think of this stage like when a baby starts to have personality. It's just fun!
I'd also say this was the most difficult stage to get through. It felt like work. It wasn't as filled with hilarity as brainstorming or as gratifying as design. But our first glimpses of the God-activity we would envision often emerged here too.
I may be projecting a bit. By personality, I'm not fond of decision-making. I like gathering input and generating ideas more than making decisions. But they needed to be made and I am grateful for teams that helped me decide well.
There it is... another reason to work in teams.
Next time? The nuts and bolts start coming together.
As I mentioned last time, there were some planning cycles where we'd walk into this 2nd meeting knowing what "the" idea for a series was. There were also a few when we'd just sort of start over. But usually we'd just cross off the bad ideas until we were left with 2-5 really viable options.
The voice of our pastor was large in this conversation. If the "packaging" was in any way disconnected from his subject matter, we had to pitch it... even if it would be the coolest thing ever. I'm glad we stuck to our guns there.
Sometimes an idea would be something we'd prefer to do but we just didn't have the time, the personnel, or the money to do it. But these were few and far between. I had the most amazingly resourceful people on my teams. We almost never had money to spend, but we all had basements, garages and friends with the same.
This meeting was also a key part of our creative process because we started putting flesh and bones on the skeletal idea. Song ideas would emerge. If drama was a part of the vision, we would spend some time fleshing out story lines. This is the meeting where we'd determine if we wanted to invite a guest artist--painter, sculptor, potter, etc.
If you've ever created anything on your own, you can imagine the delight in this stage. It isn't just an idea anymore but it is starting to take on substance. In child development I'd think of this stage like when a baby starts to have personality. It's just fun!
I'd also say this was the most difficult stage to get through. It felt like work. It wasn't as filled with hilarity as brainstorming or as gratifying as design. But our first glimpses of the God-activity we would envision often emerged here too.
I may be projecting a bit. By personality, I'm not fond of decision-making. I like gathering input and generating ideas more than making decisions. But they needed to be made and I am grateful for teams that helped me decide well.
There it is... another reason to work in teams.
Next time? The nuts and bolts start coming together.
Monday, February 25, 2013
One Creative Process 11, Brainstorming
Our typical rhythm of planning a worship/sermon series involved four meetings.
Brainstorming
Deciding
Designing
Refining
Today I'd like to provide a peek into the beginning of the process.
These were the most fun meetings I've ever experienced in church-world! Ever. There were many times we laughed until we cried.
And that's reason enough to work for creativity in the church.
There is Godly joy in reflecting the image of God.
I was not brought up in a church that valued creativity, especially in worship. I wasn't taught how to tap creativity in my days at Georgetown College or at Southern Seminary, at least not in this sense. Musical creativity, perhaps. And some of my seminary profs would certainly encourage thinking creatively about music and worship. But not on the scale I've been describing.
The reason I bring this up to you is that I had to change, to grow, to learn. So I read a good deal about leadership and creativity. One really great book, and one I'd commend to any leader striving for creativity is Orbiting the Giant Hairball. Great stuff!
But now, back to our process.
This is essential: We started with the scripture passage being preached/taught. Most of the time we'd know that passage before we met and I'd send it with the agenda ahead of time. I would often include it in a less familiar translation (The Message or NLT or Amplified). We would talk about the passage and our pastor would share key thoughts from his sermon.
If any of the creativity pointed to itself instead of to Jesus, we wanted to scrap it.
So we started with scripture, then sermon, and then the only rule was that we couldn't evaluate ideas, only generate them.
And generate them we did!
Sometimes I'd have to start--prime the pump, so to speak--but not often. I would be at the whiteboard, marker in hand. And they'd talk, laugh, suggest, laugh, forget about the evaluating rule, be reminded, laugh, suggest, develop an idea a little too much, be reminded, laugh, and suggest.
Another key for this process was that we not try to figure out IF we could do something before we decided that it was a viable option. There were lots and lots of things that when we first imagined them, we didn't know if we could pull it off or not. But we couldn't get stuck there. We had to keep generating ideas. That's why it is a brainSTORM. It's messy. It's a flurry of mental activity.
And then we'd stop. Sounds odd, does it? Well, we needed to let those ideas rest. I sometimes refer to it as being on the back burner on simmer. Just let all of them simmer for a few days, then come back. We usually had really helpful clarity after doing this. Sometimes we'd just start over, but probably only a couple of times a year. Sometimes we'd run right to THE idea, probably three times a year. Usually we narrowed it to 3-4 ideas and then talk them out a bit. But I'm getting into the next step with is actually the next post.
I'm curious, what have you found to be most helpful when brainstorming?
Brainstorming
Deciding
Designing
Refining
Today I'd like to provide a peek into the beginning of the process.
These were the most fun meetings I've ever experienced in church-world! Ever. There were many times we laughed until we cried.
And that's reason enough to work for creativity in the church.
There is Godly joy in reflecting the image of God.
I was not brought up in a church that valued creativity, especially in worship. I wasn't taught how to tap creativity in my days at Georgetown College or at Southern Seminary, at least not in this sense. Musical creativity, perhaps. And some of my seminary profs would certainly encourage thinking creatively about music and worship. But not on the scale I've been describing.
The reason I bring this up to you is that I had to change, to grow, to learn. So I read a good deal about leadership and creativity. One really great book, and one I'd commend to any leader striving for creativity is Orbiting the Giant Hairball. Great stuff!
But now, back to our process.
This is essential: We started with the scripture passage being preached/taught. Most of the time we'd know that passage before we met and I'd send it with the agenda ahead of time. I would often include it in a less familiar translation (The Message or NLT or Amplified). We would talk about the passage and our pastor would share key thoughts from his sermon.
If any of the creativity pointed to itself instead of to Jesus, we wanted to scrap it.
So we started with scripture, then sermon, and then the only rule was that we couldn't evaluate ideas, only generate them.
And generate them we did!
Sometimes I'd have to start--prime the pump, so to speak--but not often. I would be at the whiteboard, marker in hand. And they'd talk, laugh, suggest, laugh, forget about the evaluating rule, be reminded, laugh, suggest, develop an idea a little too much, be reminded, laugh, and suggest.
Another key for this process was that we not try to figure out IF we could do something before we decided that it was a viable option. There were lots and lots of things that when we first imagined them, we didn't know if we could pull it off or not. But we couldn't get stuck there. We had to keep generating ideas. That's why it is a brainSTORM. It's messy. It's a flurry of mental activity.
And then we'd stop. Sounds odd, does it? Well, we needed to let those ideas rest. I sometimes refer to it as being on the back burner on simmer. Just let all of them simmer for a few days, then come back. We usually had really helpful clarity after doing this. Sometimes we'd just start over, but probably only a couple of times a year. Sometimes we'd run right to THE idea, probably three times a year. Usually we narrowed it to 3-4 ideas and then talk them out a bit. But I'm getting into the next step with is actually the next post.
I'm curious, what have you found to be most helpful when brainstorming?
Thursday, February 21, 2013
One Creative Process 10, Recap
So you've "met" the team. I left most of the names out on purpose because these positions had more than one person who served in that capacity. But I want to show you the big picture of the model itself.
Something I've not talked a lot about is what I would love to have seen God do in the 2-3 years after I left Memorial--and that's developing teams around the teams. So as you look at the chart below, recognize that we did a really good job of filling in the "big bubbles." Those smaller bubbles, though, were less organized than it appears. We basically just kept looking for people to help more than we gave structure to how those helpers could form teams.
Below is how the concept first made sense to me. The key/wonderful change we made after this was created was having the Teaching Pastor share the center of the structure with me. And next time? I'll start walking you through the meeting rhythm.
It's about to get fun!
Something I've not talked a lot about is what I would love to have seen God do in the 2-3 years after I left Memorial--and that's developing teams around the teams. So as you look at the chart below, recognize that we did a really good job of filling in the "big bubbles." Those smaller bubbles, though, were less organized than it appears. We basically just kept looking for people to help more than we gave structure to how those helpers could form teams.
Below is how the concept first made sense to me. The key/wonderful change we made after this was created was having the Teaching Pastor share the center of the structure with me. And next time? I'll start walking you through the meeting rhythm.
It's about to get fun!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
One Creative Process 9, Drama & Dance Coordinator
The folks who served in this role played a part in some of the most moving and powerful moments we experienced as a church. Before I get into more of what this was all about, allow me to return to a concept I haven't touched on lately, indigenous worship.
You may know or recall that this is a concept with great connection to missions. The basic idea, which I gave a full blog post to a few months ago, is that we create worship experiences unique to the community in which they take place. Culture. Language. Fashion. More.
When I arrived at Memorial Baptist in 2000, I was immediately aware of what a significant place drama and dance (interpretive movement) had played in the previous years of ministry at the church. There were key leaders from the local "Bluegrass Theater Guild" in the church. There were a couple of young adults who had done "interp" multiple times. The local dance studio is massive, so drama and dance were already both a part of the church and community culture. If that's not the case where you are, it may be unwise to force artistic forms like these into your worship ministry.
When it came to using drama, there were several ways this team member helped. In the creative meetings, they would be thinking about concepts, writers, directors, actors, props, and story lines. Again, because this was IN the creative process--like in the previous post about a tech coordinator--it streamlined the work that took place after our meetings. And some of what this person would do involved lining up those folks. Depending on the specific gifting of the various people who served on the team, some were writers, others creators, others actors, etc. That part didn't matter to me as much as someone who was thinking about spiritual dynamics when it came to how we could use drama to engage the hearts and minds of those gathered for worship.
And when it came to dance, the team member was primarily a coordinator. I'd bring in a choreographer. They would enlist the dancers and coordinate rehearsals. Of course the music we used was determined in our planning process. More about that in about 3 or 4 posts.
Let me share a glimpse of two times we used these tools effectively.
Our pastor wanted to preach a series about the topics we don't talk about in church, things like abortion, homosexuality, atheism, etc. These hot potatoes the church usually avoids or addresses poorly. So we decided to write a series of 6 drama sketches, one for each of the spoofed characters from Friends--the TV show. Our approach in this particular series was to have the drama sketch be fun, funny, and then really tense. After the cast would raise an issue where everyone was holding their breath to see what would happen we would stop the production and our pastor would step in. He could then say something like, "I'm so glad you have friends struggling with these things because the Bible has some amazing counsel to give. Let's dive into the ancient scriptures and see what God has to say." It was powerful. It was effective. It was engaging. People looked forward to what was coming. It was fun!
My favorite dance story involves a dear friend of mine who was battling depression. This particular friend had a daughter who was in a dance piece we did to "How Great Is Our God." They were standing in the back of the room when the dance troupe performed for a full room. And as one of the dancers was raised up like Jesus--in the form of a cross--God broke through the depression and for the first time in 6 months my friend was free to worship with an open heart and mind.
Both of these things took hours and hours and hours of work from many, many people. And it was worth everything. Every. Thing.
You may know or recall that this is a concept with great connection to missions. The basic idea, which I gave a full blog post to a few months ago, is that we create worship experiences unique to the community in which they take place. Culture. Language. Fashion. More.
When I arrived at Memorial Baptist in 2000, I was immediately aware of what a significant place drama and dance (interpretive movement) had played in the previous years of ministry at the church. There were key leaders from the local "Bluegrass Theater Guild" in the church. There were a couple of young adults who had done "interp" multiple times. The local dance studio is massive, so drama and dance were already both a part of the church and community culture. If that's not the case where you are, it may be unwise to force artistic forms like these into your worship ministry.
When it came to using drama, there were several ways this team member helped. In the creative meetings, they would be thinking about concepts, writers, directors, actors, props, and story lines. Again, because this was IN the creative process--like in the previous post about a tech coordinator--it streamlined the work that took place after our meetings. And some of what this person would do involved lining up those folks. Depending on the specific gifting of the various people who served on the team, some were writers, others creators, others actors, etc. That part didn't matter to me as much as someone who was thinking about spiritual dynamics when it came to how we could use drama to engage the hearts and minds of those gathered for worship.
And when it came to dance, the team member was primarily a coordinator. I'd bring in a choreographer. They would enlist the dancers and coordinate rehearsals. Of course the music we used was determined in our planning process. More about that in about 3 or 4 posts.
Let me share a glimpse of two times we used these tools effectively.
Our pastor wanted to preach a series about the topics we don't talk about in church, things like abortion, homosexuality, atheism, etc. These hot potatoes the church usually avoids or addresses poorly. So we decided to write a series of 6 drama sketches, one for each of the spoofed characters from Friends--the TV show. Our approach in this particular series was to have the drama sketch be fun, funny, and then really tense. After the cast would raise an issue where everyone was holding their breath to see what would happen we would stop the production and our pastor would step in. He could then say something like, "I'm so glad you have friends struggling with these things because the Bible has some amazing counsel to give. Let's dive into the ancient scriptures and see what God has to say." It was powerful. It was effective. It was engaging. People looked forward to what was coming. It was fun!
My favorite dance story involves a dear friend of mine who was battling depression. This particular friend had a daughter who was in a dance piece we did to "How Great Is Our God." They were standing in the back of the room when the dance troupe performed for a full room. And as one of the dancers was raised up like Jesus--in the form of a cross--God broke through the depression and for the first time in 6 months my friend was free to worship with an open heart and mind.
Both of these things took hours and hours and hours of work from many, many people. And it was worth everything. Every. Thing.
Monday, February 18, 2013
One Creative Process 8, Tech Coordinator
As mentioned in a previous post, I don't particularly like asking people to do things, even things I know they want to do. I'm pretty sure there's some clinical help I could get, but I haven't yet. Anyway, that's a big part of why I originally wanted to have a tech coordinator. But as I'll share below, the benefits were far greater.
Not only did this person handle the scheduling of folks to run sound and screens (and eventually lighting) they also worked as part of the creative team. As I've also mentioned, having sold-out, all-in people around the table was an essential part of our effectiveness.
But what I didn't mention yet, and what was incredibly helpful with this particular position, was that every time we started to get into the implementation part of our discussion my tech coordinator was in the room. They were able to start trying to figure out how to make things happen that required technology and personnel. It wasn't up to me to remember and re-articulate a vision; they were part of creating it. The more technologically involved the particular plan was, the more helpful this dynamic was.
There's another angle to the team approach I've not mentioned yet: they helped me administratively. When it came time for creating a budget, each team member would dream about what the necessities and possibilities were. We'd prioritize them together. Of course it was ultimately my call what to turn in, but we had such great synergy that I'd have been a fool to vary significantly from what the team envisioned.
So by now I imagine you're getting a fuller picture of why this was so helpful, especially if you've read all of the posts in the series. The team wasn't just a group of people to carry out tasks, it wasn't just a group of people to imagine and design creative worship gatherings, it wasn't just a team of people to share responsibility and accountability, and it wasn't just a team of people to walk together spiritually. It was all of that and more.
Next time the last position: Drama & Dance Coordinator.
A word about my Worship Coach consulting--the most impact I've seen in the churches I've visited has been with the tech/media/production teams. If you could use some help in that area, let me know. I'd be honored to talk about what I might be able to do that would serve you and your church!
Not only did this person handle the scheduling of folks to run sound and screens (and eventually lighting) they also worked as part of the creative team. As I've also mentioned, having sold-out, all-in people around the table was an essential part of our effectiveness.
But what I didn't mention yet, and what was incredibly helpful with this particular position, was that every time we started to get into the implementation part of our discussion my tech coordinator was in the room. They were able to start trying to figure out how to make things happen that required technology and personnel. It wasn't up to me to remember and re-articulate a vision; they were part of creating it. The more technologically involved the particular plan was, the more helpful this dynamic was.
There's another angle to the team approach I've not mentioned yet: they helped me administratively. When it came time for creating a budget, each team member would dream about what the necessities and possibilities were. We'd prioritize them together. Of course it was ultimately my call what to turn in, but we had such great synergy that I'd have been a fool to vary significantly from what the team envisioned.
So by now I imagine you're getting a fuller picture of why this was so helpful, especially if you've read all of the posts in the series. The team wasn't just a group of people to carry out tasks, it wasn't just a group of people to imagine and design creative worship gatherings, it wasn't just a team of people to share responsibility and accountability, and it wasn't just a team of people to walk together spiritually. It was all of that and more.
Next time the last position: Drama & Dance Coordinator.
A word about my Worship Coach consulting--the most impact I've seen in the churches I've visited has been with the tech/media/production teams. If you could use some help in that area, let me know. I'd be honored to talk about what I might be able to do that would serve you and your church!
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