FIRST IN LAST OUT
WAIT VS CAN ’ T WAIT | Todd Elliott
In this advent time of year , I have opened up one of my favorite advent readings to help me get ready for the coming of the Messiah and what it means in my life today .
Right from the very first day ’ s reading , I was struck by the fact that one of the major themes of advent is waiting … Israel hoping for the coming Messiah . As a technical artist in the local church , waiting is not generally the feeling I ’ ve had as it relates to Christmas . I ’ m usually in the “ can ’ t wait ” category . Can ’ t wait for the set to get finished . Can ’ t wait for rehearsals to be over with . Can ’ t wait for the last service so that I can get home and sleep for a week .
While the jews were waiting with anticipation , I ’ m usually waiting with impatience . I ’ m not expectant . I ’ m just ready to be done .
During this Christmas season , how can I change this about my attitude ? How would Christ want me to experience this time ? If God created me to kill the production for my church at Christmas time , I have to believe that there is a better way to approach the advent season .
TAKE TIME ENJOY THE PEOPLE YOU ’ RE WITH At Christmas time we spend tons of hours with a bunch of people at rehearsals . We go through lots of interesting experiences together ; we work hard together . Take advantage of this time and invest in these relationships . Everyone there has full-time jobs , a family at home , or struggles in their lives , including you . It can be easy to just make it through this time together , on our way to getting back to real life . Well , guess what . What you ’ re doing right now is real life … engage with the people around you . God wants to use his Body for amazing things , like a Christmas service , but he also wants us to be investing in each other , to be engaging with each other ’ s lives while we are together .
The Christmas season will soon be over , but don ’ t rush your way through the times you have with your production and creative teams while you ’ re together . Be intentional with the time you ’ ve been given .
ENGAGE WITH YOUR FAMILY So you ’ ve just spent too many hours at rehearsal and got home super late . You then have to get up and go back to work . Whether you ’ re a volunteer at your church or you work there , everyone has to be back to work the next day . We ’ re all tired .
Guess what , your family is tired , too . Your kids miss you ; your spouse misses you , your family misses you . Don ’ t use your tiredness as an excuse for not engaging with them in meaningful ways . When my kids were smaller , I can remember being so tired after a late-night rehearsal and just wanting to crawl in a hole . My wife was really great to help me engage with her and the kids , even when I was tired .
Christmas will come and go , and my family needs an experience at Christmas that includes me . And not one with Dad on the couch always sleeping . I worked hard at getting over my exhaustion in order to engage with my family after a ton of hours behind a console . I don ’ t
want my kids to remember Christmas without me in their memories . God can supply you with the strength you need to engage with your family .
Be intentional . Be present .
Let ’ s not “ can ’ t wait ” for this to be over . Let ’ s wait expectantly for what God wants to do in our lives in the midst of this busy season .
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Todd Elliott Todd is a writer , speaker , technical artist in the local church and founder of FILO , which stands for First In , Last Out . FILO was born out of his own need as a technical artist in the local church to be in community with other church tech people , to learn new ways of doing things and to be inspired that what he did mattered . The more FILO-type people he met , the more convinced he was that these are things we all need . That ’ s why FILO exists : to equip , encourage and inspire technical artists in the local church to become the best version of ourselves . Formerly the Technical Arts Director at Willow Creek Community Church , he started FILO in 2015 to help other technical artists become more effective so that the local church can be more effective .
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104 December 2024 Subscribe for Free ...