job as possible . Without excuses . Without complaining . Just nail it .
BUY COFFEE Find out your worship leader ’ s favorite foofy drink from Starbucks and show up with it . ( Or maybe they ’ re a Dunkin ’ person . Know the difference !) Do it more than once . Maybe even sit down and drink the coffee together . Talk about stuff . And not all work stuff . Life stuff . “ How are you doing ?” “ How are your kids ?” “ What ’ s your favorite color ?”
Working with someone is not the same as knowing them . The context for our relationship is generally speaking , the pressure cooker of rehearsal and services . When we aren ’ t in the intensity of work , then we ’ re in meetings to figure out what we ’ re doing . Our whole relationship is built around a very narrow window of each of our personalities .
You know what else ? I bet that your worship leader doesn ’ t know all that much about you either . This coffee time is a perfect chance to share about your own life outside of production at your church .
Who knows ? Maybe you ’ ll discover that you like the same college football team , or the same flavor of ice cream , or that maybe you have the same favorite color !
When you know someone beyond just one dimension of who they are , there is a chance you ’ ll trust each other a little more . You know me . I know you . You are more than just the mistakes you make or the ways you frustrate me on a Sunday morning .
SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY Pulling off weekend services together is a challenge . Or at least my part is . Their part looks easy . Not only that , but sometimes it feels like they make my part even more challenging than it needs to be .
The reality is that the people on stage have a difficult job also , just in a different way than me . I ’ m trying to make the service awesome and they ’ re just worried about their indoor man scarf matching their ripped skinny jeans . Right ?
While it seems like we have different goals that are on opposing sides , we are really trying to solve the same problem but from completely different perspectives . I ’ m focused on executing the plan and they ’ re wondering whether or not the plan is the right one .
We need to combine forces on this . We both want to make something amazing for our churches , and the combination of what you do and what they do is the result . Share the load together . Work together . Come up with a plan together . Lift the load together .
Building a relationship with your worship leader isn ’ t easy . It must be built on a foundation of trust . To make the most of each of our strengths , we owe it to each other and to our churches to build a solid relationship .
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 ’ s flagship event happens yearly : Our next FILO Conference will be May 6 + 7 , 2025 in Chicagoland , IL . Register now for best pricing options ! Follow us on Instagram for community + inspiration !
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