FIRST IN LAST OUT
PACE YOURSELF | Todd Elliott
As a tech person , I love to go to concerts and shows to see how people are using technology . A couple of things usually happen . I ’ m inspired , then depressed . They have way more money than me , they have tons of great content to make better through technology and they have months of time to rehearse and nail the timing and precision of each cue .
With the weekend rolling around with predictable regularity , it seems impossible to pull off what I see on TV or at the latest touring show , yet that is what we have many times been asked to do , with less time and less money . For many years , my tendency was to go for it , every week ; to push the envelope and do something new and hopefully amazing . I was trying to chase after what I saw out in the “ real world ” and to accomplish what I thought people were asking me to do .
As time passed , I began to realize that I couldn ’ t keep up the pace . Doing something incredible each week started to take its toll . And for those of you who know me , you know that my wife started saying “ come home early ” because of this crazy treadmill I had jumped on .
So , in that season , here are a couple of things I learned :
DON ’ T MAKE EVERYTHING NEW AND COOL . Doing something new always takes way more time than you planned , simply because you have never done it before and have no real idea how to plan . Along with that , it is generally more expensive than you planned .
All that said , some of my most memorable times in ministry involved me trying something new and cool . Sure , I was at work until 2 am . Sure , my budget was depleted . Sure , my kids didn ’ t recognize me anymore . But I had been a part of doing something that helped move people closer to Christ and potentially changed their eternity . As an added bonus , it was also pretty cool .
I think we all need to go for it every now and then . If my whole life was just maintaining the status quo , I would go crazy . I don ’ t know about you , but I was created to dream and to think outside the box from time to time , and always coloring inside the lines doesn ’ t sound like the way I want to spend my life . So , what can we do ?
PACE YOURSELF . In exercise , it is important to stretch yourself beyond what you normally do in order for muscles to grow . Learning and growing as a human being requires you to push past normal to do something out of the ordinary . I run on occasion . When I just imagine pushing myself to the limit every time I exercise , my hips and knees start to hurt . Our bodies need time to recover and adjust to the new , just like our lives
need time to recover from pushing ourselves , after Christmas , after Easter , after that crazy . If you haven ’ t figured out normal , your normal will become like mine was , crazy , every moment . It isn ’ t possible .
As you push your technical self from time to time , what was a stretch yesterday is normal today . What you wouldn ’ t even think of doing a year ago now seems pretty ordinary . Doing something incredible every week can ’ t be sustained , but that doesn ’ t mean we shouldn ’ t go after the dream every now and then .
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FILO Conference 2023 . A church tech conference created by people in church tech . Bring your team to experience community with other technical artists from around the world to learn new skills and to be reminded that what you do matters .
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 . filo . org