CHURCH TECH
WHEN THERE ’ S NO LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL | Todd Elliott
I ’ m working with some great people right now that are some of the hardest working people I know . Super responsible . Striving for excellence in every area . Kicking butt and taking names .
Unfortunately , they are all overworked . System upgrades , routine maintenance , volunteer recruiting , set changes … the list could go on forever . And it tends to . There is no end in sight .
Most every tech person I ’ ve ever met , looks at this pile of work and sucks it up and keeps moving forward . That is , until they crash and burn . I think it is probably pretty universal , that when you can see light at the end of the tunnel , most of us can push through to get something done . The difficult part is when there is no light at the end of the tunnel . Or maybe worse still , the tunnel has no end . And maybe even worse , you ’ re surrounded by people who keep telling you it will let up any moment .
So , what do you do in this situation ?
LET YOURSELF OFF THE HOOK . For me , I have to be really honest with myself and realize that I can ’ t do everything . Over the years , I ’ ve had to sit down and figure out what I can reasonably accomplish in the time I have . After that , I need to let it go .
Easy , right .
COMMUNICATE WHAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED . Once I ’ ve figured out what I can accomplish in a normal week , I need to tell my boss . Most people have no idea how you spend your time . Educate them . Give them a glimpse of how you spend each hour of your week . Help them see how insane it can be .
PLAN FOR LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL . Figure out when the crazy times will be . Work yourself up to them . For the non-crazy times , make sure you create space to catch your breath . If you don ’ t figure it out , nobody else will . With your boss ’ s help , don ’ t let events get planned on certain days during that time . Make sure there isn ’ t a women ’ s conference piled on top of a men ’ s conference , on top of a children ’ s conference , on top of a … you get the idea .
This type of planning can ’ t happen in a vacuum . You must have your leadership on board with this idea . And you can ’ t have your leadership on board until you ’ ve figured out what you can accomplish and you ’ ve talked to them on a regular basis about the realities of how much it takes to get work done .
LIFE IS A SERIES OF TUNNELS , NOT ONE LONG TUNNEL .
If you are a leader of people , it is important to not just keep your people in the tunnel all the time . They need to see day light . To get the most from your people , they need space to think and dream . They need to not always be reacting . They even need a say in which tunnel we are going to dig and which ones we are going to stay out of .
To get the most from your teams , they can ’ t just stay underground forever . They need breaks . Sure , they need to work hard too . But if all they ever do is work hard , eventually , they will get worn out and that will be the end . They will force the end of the tunnel .
Working really hard with no let-up is a recipe for failure . You ’ ll never make it to the end of the tunnel . I want to be a part of a team and a part of a work environment where we work hard , but then can have light at the end of the tunnel from time to time .
Todd Elliott Todd is a writer , speaker , technical artist in the local church and founder of FILO . 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 . Residing near Chicago , he and his wife Bissy have three kids and a dog ... none of whom are into production .
@_ ToddElliott www . filo . org