Much effort is spent these days trying to avoid effort – or, rather, to be efficient. The theory is that the less effort that you put into any given task, the more effort that you will have for other tasks. It may in fact be true in some cases. The problem with the theory? Not all tasks are equal. I’ll say it again, because it’s a critical point. If you take away effort and/or resources from one of the key things that makes you effective, and shift those resources towards other areas [or leisure], you haven’t won.
A real life example… Raising children efficiently does not work. They take time. Focused time, focused attention. It’s true of any relationship that counts. It’s also true in our work. Great church services don’t happen with leftover time and a discount mindset. Ask yourself, does the following idea make sense: “We’re going to reduce the time and money that goes into our services – it’s OK if that reduces our effectiveness, because we can use the time and money that we’ve saved to increase our effectiveness…”
One of the truths of life is that “discount” (whether referring to time or money) and “quality” rarely go together. Invest the proper resources to make the services all that they should be.
“I’m after productivity, not efficiency…” – Michael Hyatt, Freedom To Focus
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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