My friend called me at 10:00 am this morning with free tickets to go to the Mickey Mouse Club House live.
He knows how much my little girl, Isabelle, loves Mickey.  She really does.  She is three by the way.

She also has an unbelievable fear of:  loud noises, large crowds and large stuffed characters.

This is a fear she battles with.  When I told her about our opportunity this morning she started  trying to talk herself into being brave, she started faking  a smile and really wanted to go and really didn’t all at the same time.

Long story short, we made it to the lobby and then she could not handle it.

After a few minutes of trying to talk her down, I bailed.

When we got outside I could tell her heart was broken.  With a shaky voice she asked,

“Daddy, why I don’t like Mickey…can we try again nextday when I will be braver?”

My heart broke.

For just a second I felt like God may feel when I lose a battles that wages in my heart.
The good news is that I also realized in that moment that I want nothing more than to see Izzy win this battle.
I think God feels the same about me.

A producer. This is different that the two above.  Don’t be deceived into thinking because someone is good at mass communication they know how to produce every element and also don’t be deceived into thinking because someone is detail minded and a great project manager they can produce the elements.  The producer is in the room for feel.  Here is what I have learned about producing experiences – you either get it, or you don’t.  You probably can not train someone to get the “feel”.

Performers deliver the goods.
Project managers make sure there are goods to deliver.
Producers make sure that the goods are delivered at the right time and in the right way.

Think about message and worship elements as a meal.
The chef is the performer.  His skill set makes the meal what it is, his delivery makes the meal appealing.
The supplies manager is the project manager.  No supplies.  No great food.
The server is the producer.  Great food with lousy timing and lousy transitions is a lousy experience.

The producer has to be able to feel the moment.  You cannot train that.
The producer has to be able to change on the fly based on circumstances.  You cannot be too detailed or OCD.
The producer has to be able tot listen in a creative meeting with an ear for transitions.
The producer has to be able to live with the fact that 99% of the people will not know they exist.

These three positions together make up a trinity of sorts that need to be apart of every experience.  You will add other team players – some will c0me and some will go, but these are the hats that must be worn for success.

Hope you enjoyed the series.
Let me know what you think in the comments.

2.  A project manager. Some of the best music in the world would never happen if there were not project managers in the world to make sure that everything fell into place.  As you plan anything in your teams make sure someone in the room is capable of wearing the project manager hat.

How many times have you had a great creative meeting only to leave the meeting realizing that with a room full of performers and creatives no one captured any notes, made any “next steps” or assigned any tasks or deadlines.  I have.  If you have not it’s just because you are a part of the crowd that does not even realize that those things exist.  That’s okay if it is not your strength.  Again, let the performers perform and the creatives create.  But also let the project managers lead.

Every Senior Pastor needs someone on their staff (volunteer or paid) with the responsibility of weekend project manager (title or no title).    You don’t need every body doing this – in fact that is even worse.  But you need to decide whose responsibility this is and then give them the permission to make things happen.

This post and this post alone could do AMAZING things for your creative process if you will embrace it.