Personal Log 3.4.2018

There's a difference between “can't” & “won't” 

& sometimes success or failure 

hinges on knowing that difference.

I've worked for a few different employers in my lifetime & some bosses were good, others not so much; some were very open to new ideas & new ways of doing things, those were the bosses I loved to work for. Some pastors/leaders I know were the same way, they loved feedback, they thrived on new ideas. On the other hand, we all know some bosses & some pastors/leaders who are the complete opposite… they hold a very tight grip on their business plan or ministry model & as a result, are squeezing the respective life out of each.

When I was younger I used to say, “This is my ministry & I know what I want & I know what I'm doing!” I have since repented of that; as I've grown & matured I've come to be much more flexible in regards to both business & ministry. I constantly seek the Lord in regards to new methods, to new ideas & simultaneously I feel people out on what they're thinking & feeling, on what they like or would like to see. It's humbling when you realize you don't know it all & but it's also quite liberating when there's a sharing of ideas because those that work w/ you & those that you minister to/with feel like they're a part of the process & that their opinion is valued. Those things are very conducive to a sense of unity in any business or fellowship.

Even in the last couple of weeks as I'm trying to lay down some tracks for a worship CD I'm looking at my songs & saying, “can I do anything different w/ arrangement or sounds?”. Sometimes I just get tired of the same old formula of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus: it's boring, predictable, safe. If I'm bored w/ the songs, will the listeners also be bored? 

In worship ministry, I have my core sound but if that's all I use in my arsenal then it gets a little stale, so occasionally I have to add a leslie, a wah or a pitch shifter to have some variety. I personally know four worship leaders who lead from a keyboard & they only use one patch & they play all the time. So here they plead for a $2000 keyboard w/ all kinds of patches, sounds, midi, sequencers, etc & they only use the piano or piano w/ strings patch. It's not that they can't use anything else it's that they won't.

I talked w/ this worship leader once about a stripped-down, intimate, candlelight, acoustic Sunday morning worship service, just a piano & one acoustic guitar, give the worship team a break & keep it simple. She loved the idea & started getting songs together, well as the week wore on she kept adding people & when service came around, it was the full compliment, the full team; the only difference was she was on the piano & not the keyboard! I had to laugh... it's not that she couldn't do anything different it's that she wouldn't do anything different (at least too far from the “norm”).

I've had alot more success w/ business owners/leaders in regards to change & even then, it was still a small percentage who were actually open to new ways of doing things; I chalk it up to human nature...

In talking w/ pastors all over the country I feel them out & I'll half-jokingly ask: "why don't you take up the offering at the beginning of service?" responded quickly w/ "oh we can't do that!" when in reality they just won't do that... or "why don't you preach first then have worship" again responded w/ "oh we can't do that!" when again it's not that they can't they just won't. 

I'm not slamming anyone, these are just my observations & experiences. Doing something different is hard, I realize that, there's a learning curve involved whether that format, structure, patches, effects, business, sales, marketing, ministry, etc & sometimes things sink & other times they soar but we'll never know if we can walk on water unless we get out the boat.