We all have little salvageable messes that fester in big, intractable ones.

Answer: Make the Call! Today! Now!

In short, a 5-minute call made right now to deal with a slightly bruised ego or minor misunderstanding can avoid a situation tomorrow that leads to divorce court, a lost employee, or general hate.[via 100 Ways to Help You Succeed by Tom Peters]

I have a context in my vitalist account that is called, @Today/NOT Tomorrow. It makes me deal with conflict/clarity issues sooner rather than later when the issue has gotten infected and puss filled (yummy). Most of the time the call goes better than anticipated and it sets a positive tone to the direction of the relationship.

Pass this list onto your techs and ask them to grade themselves on this and then do a sit down with each of them and talk through it.

Our top referring sites. Thanks guys.

1. mynorthwood.org

2. worshipfrequency.com

3. theworshipcommunity.com

4. bigtelicious.wordpress.com

5. joshuaseller.blogspot.com

6.blendingworship.wordpress.com

Continuing our post from this morning...

Training problems are much easier to solve than compliance problems. It requires simple assessment and a training regimen to be applied. After training an additional assessment is done to see if the skill set needed is intact. If not, further training or a role move can be made.

Level 1 compliant problems usually involve pointing out to the individual that such-n-such is important to you and ask them to give it importance.

Level 2 compliance issues get a little tougher as you have to assess if any Level 3 agenda’s are involved in a Level 2 act of non-compliance. Usually a Level 2 compliance issue requires the clarification of roles and systems, explaining why things are being done the way they are and asking them very clearly to do it according to protocol.

A Level 3 compliance issue is unacceptable and reason for immediate dismissal from any leadership/service position. After a hiatus is taken, they rarely may be reconsidered for a entry level role where they can show they support leadership. In other words, “Homey don’t play that.”

Working with people at times will bring forth challenges. Tonight, was our men’s meeting week of my Team (small group). One of the guys told me something very wise that he uses in management. Usually when a people problem arises it can be broken down to one of two categories.

Training/Skill. Some problems are because people don’t have the skill set needed to execute whatever it is they are assigned to do. In that case you must ramp up training and communication to see if their skill set can be brought up to the quality level of the task required. Sometimes it can and sometimes it cannot.

Compliance. A much bigger issue. In this case the person possesses the necessary skill set, but the just won’t execute according to protocol and standards. Why? They might not see something as vital and important (communicating along proper channels, learning their stuff, hitting cues, etc.) and so they assume–the root of all conflict–that it won’t matter if they don’t execute it well (we call it a level 1 compliant problem). Another reason for a compliance problem is that the party doesn’t agree with the system, methods and standards, and they either don’t care or don’t know how to communicate it well, so they take it upon themselves to remedy the problem on their own accord (Level 2). The worst manifestation is a “cut your feet out from you” compliance problem where someone has a personal issue with you and your leadership and they attempt to intentionally sabotage leadership (Level 3). All three of these must be dealt with head-on and using clear language.

Before you open your mouth ask yourself…

1. Is it true?  Am I completely certain that what I am about to say is 100% true? If not, shutup.

2. Is it beneficial? How do I offer a redemptive solution? If what I am about to say has no ability to be reconciled or redeemed with the person I am about to say it to, shutup until I can share it with the party who can either provide redemption to the situation or who needs to hear that there is a need for something to be redeemed. To tell someone that a process, system or relationship is broken who has no power to bring any change is futile. I need to shutup.

3. Is it necessary? How important is this to speak out on? What is the ramification if I stay silent? Not every hill is worth dying on and sometimes things can just be released with no harm.  Some things must be dealt with.  I must ask myself, “What is the short and long-term situation if I don’t say anything?”

Live by these three rules and you’ll find you are a lot quieter and more at peace.  When you do speak, people will listen because you’ll be perceived as a wise person. Our Team at church once said everytime they broke one of these rules we’d throw a dollar into a pot for one month.  At the end of the month, we bought a housewarming gift for our Habitat for Humanity family. I believe they got a large plasma TV with the huge amount we “raised.”

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

We were recently visiting with someone and gently reminded them that the line between critique and criticism is very thin. They asked, “Well what am I supposed to do, never say anything even if someone asks my opinion?” My answer is easy,

1. If you are in a conversation with another person (or group) and the person that the conversation centers around (either directly or them as causative agent) walked up, would you have to quickly shut-down the conversation or change its tone to avoid embarrassing them or yourself?

2. If yes, you should have not been in that conversation.

3. I always try to think, “If so and so were standing around the corner, would I be speaking in the same way and manner.”

It doesn’t mean we are not honest and fail to offer critique. We shouldn’t become negatively critical. One way to do this is to get the person who seems to be being critiqued involved in the conversation quickly. Easy to remember, harder to do. prices wooden storage sheds test

Finally and instrumental acoustic player who understands amidst the slapping and popping you still need a melody. Very nice. (I’ll even overlook the Ovation)

And the greatest of simultaneous guitar/bass player Charlie Hunter who for some reason NEVER comes on tour to Texas…..C’mon!

Changing your even name or logo ain’t gonna change a thang (thanks for teaching us Starbucks).  Your church’s brand is set by:

1. 1. Who people say you are on the street.
2. 2. They expectation people have when they make contact somehow.
3. 3. The aftertaste that they walk away with.

 So how is your church branded???

I don’t watch American Idol except the first week when the bad singers sing.  Evidentally AI has generated a bit o’ controversy which the wise Bob Kauflin has made the most insightful comments about it of all the blogs  I have read on it.

When you build any personnel system, clearly define the communication/authority channels so people know with whom they need to communicate their ideas, plans, calendar, challenges and disagreements. The old school organizational chart is still the best means to promote this. It prevents confusion over who is responsible for what area and who answers to whom. As a leader, hold the org chart sacred for ministry tasks but not for pastoral tasks.

If D wants to make a systems change or has some type complaint or critique, they should first go to B.

• 1. If D comes to me as A, the first thing I will always say is, “Have you talked to B about this and are they thoroughly informed?” I then go to B and ask them to brief me on what is happening and tell C I will communicate with them again as soon as B and I have talked. I never want to undercut the authority of a captain of an area.
• 2. If D is intentionally trying to do a run around, I’ll call them on it and say you know you should have talked to B first.
• 3. If D goes to c, now we have room for dissension, gossip and more because C is not in a position to effect change.
• 4. If D tries to communicate thoroughly with B and they are at in impasse, then they can come to me and I’ll try to attempt to resolve the problem.
• 5. B and C should guard against gripe sessions with one another as they are not productive because C is not in as good a position to exact change as A.
• 6. Pastorally, I do not hold this chart tightly. At any point D can come straight to me as A and say, “Hey man, I’m really struggling with life.” Though our pastoral systems for care are designed with areas of shepherding, we don’t hold a tight line on this. Respond at the moment of need.

If you will hold to this and gently remind people of who they are to communicate to, soon they’ll realize you really believe that your org chart represents the leadership positions you feel God has called people to and that they can’t do “end-arounds ” on people or hijack an area because good leadership structures are in place. So simple, but it requires discipline and it is so important.

The first time a mistake happens, shame on no one. The second time the same mistake is made, shame on the operator . The third time, shame on the area supervisor for not creating a system to avoid it. Here is how to avoid mistakes in a service.

1. Realize that confidence comes from predictability. If your video cue-er knows that they end the song like this always then I click the transition video, they will be less apt to miss cue it. This does not mean you have to be predictable to the congregation, but your team needs to have a feeling of confidence. There is a reason pro football teams run the first play series 100 times the week before the game. To get everyone confident because they can predict what happens. This is why its important that noobs have a lot of time in rehearsal to get confident by learning to trust the equipment’s predictable behavior (ex. If I push this button, every time it crossfades between these two sources…wow, every time it does that…okay.)

2. When a mistake is made, document what mistake was made and who made it. This will show you that persons tendencies. Have someone who is always a half second behind on the song slide transition? Work with them or slide them laterally to become a video cue-er or other position. This is not an attempt to be judgmental but simply objective. To have the data you need to avoid future mistake tendencies.

3. After the mistake, ask the person who made it, “What are we going to do to avoid that mistake again?” We had a service where a baptizer’s wireless was not on so our audio tech was stuck. After that service, our TD went to the stage manager and they worked out a system where the line would be checked during the last song before baptisms. Our wireless displays also go to red if they are in mute mode, so our audio tech can call back and say, “Unmute it.”

4. Systematize a process so it doesn’t happen again. Often this means putting another set of eyes on an area at core times. For example, in the above story we put our audio techs eyes on the displays. That extra attention has allowed us not to ever make that mistake again. We have a system/rule that each speaker for the day must soundcheck with the countryman mic on in its final position under the shirt. Our lead pastor one day mic checked by just sticking it on his ear. Somehow as he remounted it later under his shirt and tucked it in, he pulled a connector cable a bit loose and we lost signal. So we created a rule/system process to avoid that future mistake. Another approach could have been to have our tech do the mounting of it under his shirt…okay maybe not.

5. Publicly promote avoidance of the most frequent mistakes. I heard of one tech department who had custom printed mouse pads for all their production room computers that had each areas top 5 “Remember to…” This helped them have a visual reminder of what to avoid. A simple poster board sign can work as well.  If you know a certain person struggles with a  certain area, have another tech or your producer say outloud, “Remember I have video audio coming at you in 5 seconds….” or whatever applies to give a verbal “oh yeah” reminder to their neighboring tech.

These steps will get you closer to mistake free service and we’d be interested in what additional processes you use as well.

You gotta go visit this place. Tons of worship experience implications.  Take your kids for a great summer vaca.