FIRST IN LAST OUT
BIG ROCKS, SMALL PEBBLES, AND THE POWER TO CHOOSE WELL | Todd Elliott
What is it about January 1 that makes so many of us pause and reevaluate our lives? I’ m doing it right now. And I’ m not entirely sure why. It’ s just one more day on the calendar, but there is something about the beginning of something new that makes me want to take a hard look at my life and figure out how to make it better.
Here’ s the question I keep coming back to: If I don’ t stop, or at least slow down, to examine the past year, how can I realistically hope to improve the areas of my life that need improvement? a leader, I can’ t afford to live only in response mode. My team can’ t afford for me to live there either. If you’ re leading a worship or production team, they don’ t just need you to solve today’ s problems. They need you to spend time on the bigger issues.
• Improving a process? That’ s a big rock.
• Planning a retreat? Big rock.
• Recruiting and developing more volunteers? Big rock.
• Building a healthier team culture? Big rock.
That verse changes the conversation about resolutions. Spending time identifying what matters most in my life is a huge first step. But following through on those decisions is the real challenge. And when I’ m faced with the choice to honor a commitment I’ ve made or quietly walk away from it, I’ m trying to remind myself of the power at my disposal to choose what I’ ve resolved to do.
Not white-knuckle discipline. Not willpower alone. Not guilt-driven productivity.
Most years around this time, I find myself thinking about the classic illustration of the bucket, the big rocks, and the pebbles. You’ ve probably heard it before. If you fill a bucket with small pebbles first, there won’ t be room for the big rocks. But if you place the big rocks in first, the pebbles will naturally fill in the gaps around them.
The longer I lead in ministry, the more painfully aware I am that my life is overflowing with small pebbles. They’ re everywhere. They show up as emails, texts, meetings, production emergencies, last-minute changes, and a constant stream of things that feel urgent. And if I’ m honest, I’ ve become pretty good at making space for those pebbles simply because I haven’ t always taken the time to figure out what really matters most to me.
As a production person, I spend a lot of my life reacting to other people’ s plans. Small pebbles. As a technical artist in the local church, much of what I do is responding to the needs of the moment. More small pebbles. That part of our reality is unavoidable. Ministry is dynamic. Sundays come fast. Things break. Volunteers cancel. Plans shift.
But what can happen, at least for me, is that reacting becomes my entire reality. And when that happens, something important gets lost. As
Those things don’ t happen accidentally. They require intentional space. And that space never opens up on its own. You have to make it. One idea that’ s been shaping my own thinking lately comes from a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:“ Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.”
I can’ t tell you how much time I’ ve wasted simply because I didn’ t have a plan for my spare moments. Scrolling. Clicking. Zoning out. Filling time with noise instead of purpose.
This year, I don’ t want to waste those moments. That doesn’ t mean I can’ t rest or relax. It just means that I want those moments to be strategic instead of accidental. I want them to exist because I’ ve thought them through, not because I drifted into them. Of course, coming up with a plan is one thing. Sticking to it is an entirely different matter.
Here’ s the part that’ s been grounding me lately: the same power God used to raise Christ from the dead is available to me. That’ s not poetic language. That’ s biblical reality. 2 Peter 1:3 says:“ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
God’ s power. God’ s provision. God’ s grace at work in real, everyday choices.
So, here’ s the question I want to leave you with: Have you set aside time to identify what the most important things in your life and leadership really are? Not what’ s loudest. Not what’ s most urgent. Not what everyone else is asking you to fix. But what actually matters most.
When you do, remember this: God has already given you everything you need to live a godly, meaningful, and faithful life. Your job isn’ t to create more time. It’ s to choose your big rocks wisely.
Todd Elliott Todd is a writer, speaker, technical artist in the local church and Founder & President 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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