How many times as a church creative or someone who is in a place to make changes has heard the old saying “Don’t try and re-invent the wheel?”
While there are certainly times when this may apply, there is something that nearly almost everyone fails to recognize and act upon accordingly.
In the image I utilized for the featured image, it’s a photo of a car showing the hub. Notice, though, that the wheel is missing.
This is something that a lot of individuals suffer from. Whether they be in charge of the media ministry, worship team, or in charge of a certain group within a church.
There comes a time in nearly every ministry that you determine that something just isn’t working or going as smooth as you had anticipated.
Is it possible that you have experience a flat spot in your wheel?
This is no different that applying this theory to the maintenance of a car. You can have it all shined up, all the fluids are topped off. Your engine purrs like a cat. Then you begin to take a leisurely drive and realize that there is a bumpy feeling happening as you drive down the road.
Upon getting out to evaluate what is going on, you find out that there is a bulge in one of your tires that is responsible for this upset in your driving experience.
The very same thing can apply to various aspects of ministry, particularly when it comes to those charged with the digital media within a church or ministry.
If I had a nickel for every time I have heard the expression “If the wheel isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it,” I would probably be able to retire and never look back.
When it comes to making significant changes to various things, particularly in the media department of any church or ministry, it’s vitally important that you examine all the moving parts of that area of ministry.
Let’s begin addressing the issue of how to overcome this scenario and reach a mutual ground.
There are a lot of various church creatives that I deal with on a daily basis in assisting them in how to achieve various things.
Whether that be in the right choice of colors, stage designs, equipment, all the way down to putting together the production of their live streams.
What I typically see all the time, is a bombardment of a thousand different questions and the person asking them nearly at their wits end ready to pull their hair out.
I usually ask them to put the K.I.S.S. (keep its solution simple) into play.
Start with the easy things to modify or make changes to. Also, and this is highly important, try to implement your changes slowly and over a period of time. When you try and introduce 10 different major things at one time, you will certainly be met with a high level of opposition.
If you haven’t noticed already, most of the older generation within your church or ministry seem to nearly choke every time something new is introduced. You have to walk them into changes slowly.
For those who are charged with and responsible for securing new or updated equipment, you should know that many of the price tags of the very things you are going to need to either further your digital outreach or upgrade it come with a significant price.
Everything from mixing consoles, video switcher’s, upgraded cameras, lighting and other related gear, don’t come cheap these days.
If you choose not to replace that tire that was causing the issue as previously illustrated, needless to say your road trip isn’t going to get any better.
There are always those who will try to be the “negative Nancy” if you will. They are always going to try and justify the necessity of not upgrading any equipment or making changes.
It is up to you to be able to substantiate the costs behind the things you are asking for.
The answer I like to provide to those who approach me with the whole “Don’t try and re-invent the wheel” statement is “Fine, but if your tires on the wheels won’t take you down the road comfortably, then there’s going to be issues.
Trust me, I get it. Imagine taking a church who was almost stuck in the rock ages into the digital millennium. Talk about kicking and screaming through the whole process. Furthermore, trying to bring light into how making certain advancements would be a blessing not only to the church, but the community was nothing short of tasking.
Now add to that the whole “Pandemic” issue and concerns and the need for many churches to be able to produce a live stream, caused a lot of “Old Time” churches to close their doors.
COVID has forced churches and ministries across the world to re-evaluate how they present the Gospel message and make it available to the masses.
Moving on past the pandemic has broadened a lot of churches with a better set of tools that in years gone by to effectively improve upon the way they conduct missions.
Just like any good car mechanic, half of the battle is being able to identify the problem to be able to deliver any type of corrective action.
Sometimes it takes multiple things to repair the problem.
In addition, have a checklist of things that are currently you sore points if you will. Then begin to have a column next to it to have a list of potential ways to resolve the issue. If those item’s carry a big price tag, work on them one at a time if your church’s budget won’t allow or permit for multiple things at one time.
Furthermore, be willing to have collective data available to produce. What was it like prior to the fix, then again possible 6 month’s later with the increased and improved results.
Many people are driven by data and facts. You can certainly expect that from anyone over 50 from whom you need to seek the approval of to many any changes that is going to take any sizable financial investment from.
I’m going to go back to the flat tire scenario on a vehicle.
Have you ever purchased a set of new tires for your vehicle, then driven on them for a while only to find yourself complaining about the quality of the ride?
We’ve all experience it before. You know, you found a cheaper set of tires and thought “Why Not?” Thinking to yourself that it’s just a tire and they all should ride the same.
I’m just going to tell you straight up front, that is complete and utter bunk. Tires are not created equal and taking the step to upgrade to a better quality will and does improve on the drivability of your vehicle.
It’s no different than when making advancements in your technological capabilities when trying to pull your multimedia equipment together.
Take the time to choose not just what works, but what is the best gear you can get to deliver the desired results. There is absolutely nothing worse than making a purchase, then having to go back six months later to ask for something else that carries a higher price tag.
Preparation is half of the battle.
I’m just going to flat out tell you, there are always going to be a fair share of those. Some people will complain about taking a ride in a Rolls Royce or Mercedes Benz.
It’s been a fact of life for as long as I have been alive. There’s just no getting around those.
However, you must be able to keep pushing forward regardless. Remember, who is it that you truly work for? It’s not for the people but for God Himself and ensuring that His message is being able to be delivered to get more people to commit to a relationship with Jesus Christ.
There’s an old saying that still applies and is true in today’s world. If you are not a part of the solution, then you certainly are a large part of the problem.
It’s perfectly acceptable for people to be a little apprehensive about significant changes in the beginning, however, if after several months of delivering a solid production, move past them.
I have told more than one person that I appreciate their input but it won’t have any bearing in changing how things are done. These are usually my “Negative Nancy’s.”
We all have them within various areas of ministry. Always wanting something to complain about.
That’s right!
It’s equally important that the leadership of any church or ministry assist their creative team in both addressing and correcting any broken wheels that exist.
More importantly, it’s important that you acknowledge your creative team in the work they do. Chances are you’re not paying them and they bring to the table all of the skills that would cost you thousands of dollars if you were to hire it done from the outside.
Be willing to listen to the advice of your multimedia team. Be willing to do what they ask. Sometimes it can be as simple as choosing the right colors of clothing to wear on the stage. Now that may seem like a bit much, however, if you don’t have the best lighting, certain colors are going to make things very difficult in getting you to show up nicely in the live stream.
In addition, listen to suggestions they may offer in regards to such things as:
Okay, I’m through picking on the pastors now. Lol
On the average, many creative teams are putting in 25-40 hours per week in preparation for just the Sunday morning live stream. Show them some love and be willing to be as much of a blessing to them as they are to you!
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