FIRST IN LAST OUT
SET THE TABLE | Todd Elliott
Remember that time you decided to have the whole extended family over for Easter brunch , even though you were busy trying to pull off an Easter production ? One of the things I love about having people over is that it causes a flurry of activity to clean up , pick up and organize our house . For many of us , the mess in our homes becomes invisible to us , and we let things pile up . Having people over means that they are going to see the mess that we ’ ve been living with for who knows how long .
On the other hand , one thing I don ’ t love about having people over is that it takes so much work to get the house ready and presentable . But it must be done . And it must be done before anyone arrives . I don ’ t want people walking in while I ’ m still cleaning up . I want to be relaxed so I can enjoy our guests . The guests have a certain expectation that they will be taken care of . They are anticipating an enjoyable , relaxing time .
My friend Marty O ’ Connor , a fellow technical artist , taught me that the principle of being ready for your guests applies to what we do as technical artists . One of the key factors in being prepared is that we have the table set , so to speak . When our counterparts on the stage arrive , everything is ready for them to dive into the task at hand . The musicians , vocalists and speakers who have a task to perform on our stage have many things going on in their heads and hearts as they prepare to lead the congregation . Our job as technical artists is to have everything ready for them so that they can concentrate on the part they need to play .
This means that line check has already happened , that the lights are aimed , and the graphics are correct and ready . The goal should be to have everything prepared before the band walks in the door , much like a dinner party . If a guitar player has to go digging around looking for a music stand , she isn ’ t able to focus on what she does best — play guitar .
I ’ m not suggesting that musicians should be above helping out , but when you boil it all down , it ’ s the production team ’ s job to have everything prepared and waiting for people to walk up and do their thing .
There was a season when we were never finished with our set up on time . We were meeting in a high school auditorium , and we had a lot of stuff to get ready in a very limited amount of time . In order to have the table set , we started a tally of how many times we were ready to go , with our feet up , waiting for the band to arrive . It became a contest to see how many times we could do this . I ’ m sad to say that it happened less than I wanted it to , but it gave us a goal to shoot for and an awareness of getting the table set before our “ guests ” arrived .
As technical artists , our job is to take care of the technical details of our services . Our pastors and worship leaders should be able to walk in and only worry about what they need to take care of — not whether the graphics will be ready .
To take this up to another level , what if you spent some time figuring out how certain people like things to be ready for them ? The drummer only likes to use one tom , not three , so our team takes the time to make it so . The senior pastor always likes a small table for water to the right of the podium , so it ’ s there .
For those people who have ever stayed at a Disney resort , you know that the service is outstanding . A friend was telling me that after housekeeping cleaned their room , his son ’ s stuffed animal was moved around every day and posed in a fun way : brushing its teeth , looking out the window , watching TV . Was the room clean ? Sure . But the housekeepers took the experience to another level by spending a few extra minutes to show some thoughtfulness .
Is this an area you currently struggle with ? Ask yourself the following questions and come up with some tangible solutions for setting your production table : 1 . Are you and your team ready to go when people arrive on stage ? 2 . What do you need to change to make sure the table is set and ready to go ?
3 . How can you go out of your way to create an unforgettable experience for your worship team , your pastors or other creatives ?
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 . In his free time , he enjoys being inspired by Winston Churchill speeches and visiting the gravesites of U . S . presidents . Residing near Chicago , he and his wife Bissy have three kids and a dog ... none of whom are into production . filo . org