a workday to spread some Christmas cheer ( nothing raises the Christmas spirit quite like little kids dressed in holiday garb !), and helping set up decorations in the lobby were all ways that our family joined together to help our church ’ s Christmas season happen .
As a result of having a vision for our family at Christmas , we ended the year being able to look back and remember all that God did in and through our family , and not just wishing that next year ’ s Christmas would be better .
MAKE A PLAN Just like we need to introduce some strategy into how our family thinks about Christmas , we need to be strategic with the time we have available .
Sit down with your calendar and map out the responsibilities you have . Then figure out how to use the rest of the time in the most strategic way possible .
As I mentioned earlier , I used to let the Christmas season drag me along until the end of the year , with no thought that things could be any different . Until 2001 when things changed for me . I ’ m a huge Lord of the Rings fan , and the first movie was coming out that Christmas season . Right in the middle of our rehearsals . I ’ m not usually a “ go see a movie at midnight on opening day ” guy , but this was LOTR !
I told my team that I didn ’ t care where we were in the rehearsal process , we were shutting it down so that I could go to this movie . Before that time , we just kept plowing through until the early morning if that is what was required . For me , it felt like a big risk to give up that rehearsal time . In reality , it didn ’ t seem to affect the end product in any way . In fact , in subsequent years , it became our Christmas tradition to shut down rehearsals and we go to the LOTR movie on opening night together .
This opened my eyes to the fact that without a plan , all the time I have will get filled up with Christmas stuff . But , if I have a plan , then what is important to me will happen , then Christmas will fill in the empty spaces .
Having a plan , revolutionized the time with my family . Instead of wishing we might stumble on some time to take the kids to see Santa at the mall , we put it on the calendar , and it happened . If there was a family gathering , it made it to the calendar . If our team needed a Christmas party , we put it on the calendar ahead of time .
The run up to Christmas is not easy . For those of us working in the local church , it is and probably always will be our busiest season . Instead of wishing it were different , we can embrace it and turn it to our advantage . Like most things that matter , that will only happen with a clear vision and a plan to make it happen .
It ’ s never too late to sit down and figure out what matters and what doesn ’ t , then make a plan . If nothing else , you ’ ll get a chance to try out a few ideas now , and then be ready for next year ’ s Christmas season .
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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