I have been studying Japanese – my wife is Japanese, which gives me incentive [that way I can know what’s she’s saying about me to her family, lol]. Today, I have a little language lesson for you. Not “This is a pencil” or “Where is the toilet?” [as practical as those both may be]. It’s the word “kaizen” – a term most widely known in the US for its association with Toyota. The general concept is:
Continual small improvements yield big results over the course of time, and;
Every member of the organization is responsible for making things better, and can give input accordingly.
The concept is very effective if put consistently into practice, including in the weekend services of the average church. Our goal should be to make things the best that they can be so that we represent God well, and tweaks in the right direction pay off. To make this happen, there needs to be a service review process. After the fact, talk about what went well and what could have gone better. Make small changes to encourage the good things to happen again, and to keep the less good stuff from reappearing. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. It’s like exercise – if you’re faithfully consistent, you’ll be surprised at the results that are possible…
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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