I'd love to see the time when artists are thought of as peers to the church leaders. Essenitally prophetic, and a huge inspiration to those that lead them. Not seen as the wild child of the church, but a unique voice that doesn't exist in any other context.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Me too Jeff. Dan Allender calls artists the pastors of the 21st century - an interesting concept to consider. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Jeremy T.
· 2 months ago
One of the biggest things I have always needed from my leaders is truly a grasp of what is to be accomplish. When meeting with Pastor and the Worship Design leader - either they have either decided my job for me - leaving me no creative freedom to conceptualize and find the best way to promote the series or event that we are planning. Or the opposite where they have no idea what is happening nor any details and ask me to create something out of thin air. . I would prefer it if they had a basic framework of what our goal is - what it is we are looking to accomplish and bring me in early enough to have input on ideas that can help shape the project rather than meeting with me after all the planning is done. or bringing me in before any planning is done. I much prefer them to come to me with an Idea that I can help develop rather than being stuck designing and producing content for a project in which my hands are tied
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Jeremy, I hope you can share these words with your leadership and that they will hear and validate them. What you're asking for is of utmost importance - for your sanity and for the health and growth of your organization. Well said.
stgoebel
· 2 months ago
TIMELY and STABLE information. It is very difficult to create services if there is no space to create. Also, and OPENNESS to ideas.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Agreed. I hope you can lead your organization into a reality that includes all three.
brianbeatty
· 2 months ago
Clear direction. Don't give us, "come up with something fun, creative and edgy." Also, don't be afraid to hurt feelings...contrary to opinion, creatives tend to have thick skin.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Love it. I oscillate from very sensitive to nearly cold. Hopefully you can live somewhere in the middle and listen well to your critics. I'd also encourage you to push your leadership to better define those words, "fun, creative, edgy." What exactly to your leaders mean by those words? Obviously they aren't always helpful for you - or me, for that matter.
restlessboar
· 2 months ago
great, great comments already... I need risk and failure to be appreciated and encouraged. I need trust that my unique voice and perspective is one that at least a percentage of others can identify with. [Professional Team Management Tips For Creative Folks]
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Thank you for sharing that link. I hope deeply that you can get these things from your leadership. Risk, opportunity for failure, and trust. Well said friend.
Dean P.
· 2 months ago
Clear and concise communication between the leadership team and the programming team is, of course, of primary importance when talking about content development, but even if that is happening at the top there needs to be a continuation in the pipeline all the way to the people actually doing the work - creating the concept - working the details. The commitment level of the producers has to be equal to or greater than that of the idea engineers to translate accurately the passion of the original idea to completion on the stage or screen at service time. Also, the people that are the doers need to be a part of that idea generation process as well, I feel, so that their creative gifts can influence the process and not just be button pushers...
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Dean, you've spoken your frustration well. I hope that your leadership will hear your words and respond.
B
· 2 months ago
-Specific encouragement when something goes well. For some reason, it's easier to talk about the critiques and the things that need to improve, but I need celebration to balance it. My leaders are good about this - but I know that it's vital for me in ministry.
-Occasional big-picture discussions where we reiterate what we're about, why we approach things the way we do, and what we want to focus on for the next season. That's partly my personal wiring - but I think it gives context for the weekly tasks.
-Honest, transparent, considerate, prompt communication. Which is a total 2-way street.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
I love what you said about being part of big picture discussions. We must always hold the vision that even the most menial tasks are part of something much bigger. Luck to you!
jweygandt
· 2 months ago
For me, this is not about "what I don't get from my leaders." Many times I do receive these and sometimes not.
1. I most want vision. To me that means BIG PICTURE. What are we really trying to accomplish together? Are we cutting down the right forest? Are we even in the right forest? 2. That word: TOGETHER. I want to know that we're in it TOGETHER. I expect the leader to create the sense of TEAM-NESS. 3. CLEAR COMMUNICATION. Vision and Team mean very little if communication is poor. 4. Lastly, if we're talking about a supervisor (boss) type of leader, I really need ADVOCACY. Someone who knows me and gets me and will include me... assuming my unique contributions are desired.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Well said. Vision. Vision. Vision.
hollylaurent
· 2 months ago
Time and space to create-get feedback-create-get more feedback-create, honest crit and criterion to judge by, an ability to articulate what they want and vehemently protecting the kitchen from filling up with too many cooks, trust in my ability and voice, courage to risk and fail and learn, a desire to move beyond the status-quo and vision to do so, but most of all proximity and relationship. I love having a leader that is available, and if we have a relationship it covers a multitude of shit.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Ah yes. Proximity and relationship. The work can often so easily subvert relationship. Ugh. Let us all pray for leaders who are more available.
jeffbeaumont
· 2 months ago
A vision and trust. A clear vision of what needs to be communicated, and trust in our team ... that we can create it. Resources are nice but you can communicate without them. (storytellers, minstrels, griots) Without a vision, whatever you communicate is like an arrow in search of an unseen target. Without trust there is no community. And without community why are we doing this in the first place?
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Thanks Jeff for your words. Yes - if no community, then what the what are we really doing? And what are we doing it for!? Well said.
duregger
· 2 months ago
Allow freedom to question, challenge, and wrestle with the status quo.
Support the creative process: artists wrestle with truth as it relates our everyday lives - using multiple genre and mediums (ie: music, paint, spoken word, photography, dance, et cetera).
Celebrate the differences: artists see things in a more abstract way than what is common in Church leadership circles....
Embrace the renegades, don't fire them.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
'Embrace the renegades. Don't fire them.' So good. Can we hold the idea that yes, we are a little different, and yet not wear it as a badge of honor? Artists may be different, but certainly not better or more special.
mikehadley
· 2 months ago
Time and Deadline.
Without time, creativity is squished and limited. Excellence can slip. I'm left to wonder, "what COULD that have looked like?"
Without deadline, I continue to snip/trim/tweak/mull/overthink/procrastinate.
These two, at the surface, seem to contradict each other. But when a balance is struck between healthy amounts of time and hard deadlines, I think an artist like myself can thrive.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
The quintessential both/and. Time and Deadline.
emma
· 2 months ago
Permission to risk & sometimes fail. Even the failed pieces are important.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
I think Twyla Tharp said that as well. Let your failed pieces be the spine that holds the new thing you would have never come up with out failing first.
lisahammershaimb
· 2 months ago
wow. so many things. i've been fortunate to work under some amazing leaders and unfortunately, some not so amazing ones.
i'd say a leader needs vision, the ability to totally be there for me yet also ignore me when i need space to create on my own, trust and humility so what i create has the freedom to be mine and not their regurgitation. a leader has to inspire and manage the big and small stuff. oh, also clear communication for what is needed, when communication breaks down things crumble and turn into safe and boring rather than memorable and appropriate.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
I agree. Vision for me is almost always the most important thing!
Rob Hueniken
· 2 months ago
I think that personal appreciation and public recognition of artistic efforts are important, especially for non-music related creatives. There's a lot of work done on stage design, props and infrastructure that goes under the radar.
If there isn't an actual spotlight on an artist then very likely they are under-appreciated.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Yes! This is so important Rob. Thank you for saying it. Without someone to run it, there would be no spotlight in the first place!
loribiddle
· 2 months ago
I DO get many opportunities that still astound me after 13 years from the leaders in our ministry. I feel unworthy of their confidence many times.
I DON'T always get timely decisions which seriously limits 'what could be'...
Still I DO fully trust their leadership and God's last minute tugs at their hearts...
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Well said. What a great 'third way' posture. We can learn a lot from you Lori. Thanks for sharing!
Lauren
· 2 months ago
AFFIRMATION. as much as I need pushing in creativity, and an open forum to let ideas run, I need good ideas to be affirmed and appreciated. I'm my harshest critic anyway, so I need leaders to encourage me in my own creative endeavors.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Lauren, I truly hope you can get this from your leadership.
Brandon
· 2 months ago
time (time together and time to be creative)
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
So good. So important.
MichaelJarb
· 2 months ago
Faith in the 20 somthings... it's depressing to get less respect and less freedoms just cause your under the age of 25! Church leaders: please support your 20 somethings in leadership! They're bursting at the seems with passion, vision, and a great understanding of their own generation.
1) Whatever information is available about parameters, expectations, and the time-frame. If any new information comes in, I'd like to get that info ASAP- so I don't spend time on a problem that may not exist.
2) Lots of grace when you meant to give me a parameter, but forgot.
3) I like to be swamped with projects and plenty of time to do them all. Perhaps unlike the usual worker, artists/designers/developers work creatively and efficiently when INSPIRED. If I love what I'm working on, I'll likely be working on it at home and in my sleep because I'm enjoying it.
4) I think everyone else hit well on "affirmation". Occasionally, it's good to know being creatively vulnerable is paying off for others as well as ourselves.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Grace. No one has said this yet Cliff. Thank you for that. I hope that for you also.
blainehogan
· 2 months ago
Wow. Thank you everyone for your comments! I'll be sharing these later today with the leaders at Cultivate. Your honest thoughts will most certainly provide context for a great conversation. I'll continue to collect your comments until my session at 2:30 CST if you want to add more!
Russ
· 2 months ago
I wish that our church leaders even knew that artists existed in our church. Our church is more traditional, but some people here and there are trying to get more artists involved. I used to be involved in writing skits and VBS programs for our church, but I got burned out because our leadership never treated them seriously, and they came up looking like a unrehearsed mess. And maybe I have more of a critical eye because I wrote it and maybe I just am not seeing how God could have impacted people through that work, but it frustrates me to the point where I would rather bottle up my voice in that arena and not go through the effort of using my gifts in my church and would rather look for some new venue to be able to use the gift that God has given me.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Please, please, please continue to share and don't give into the temptation to bottle up your voice. Art has the potential to reach hearts in ways a sermon never could. Both are to be highly valued and I pray that your leaders will come to realize this themselves.
AR
· 2 months ago
Relevance, not just "pretty/happy/smiley things" Love for justice and mercy outside of worship
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Yes. We must hold the darkness AND the light.
glenndavis
· 2 months ago
Visual and performing arts that support teaching moments for a weekend or holiday service are very powerful ways of communicating. I believe most leaders and some artist as well are not aware of how imagery plays a large roll in making information memorable, an important part of recall. Education is the key that unlocks the door for both parties. Second of all, if God has brought gifted visual and performing artist to your church, they are there for God’s purpose to not only edify the body but touch the hearts of the one’s who don’t know Christ. As leaders what is your vision for the use of artistic individuals in a service? Third, in order to make a service effective by the support of artists, there needs to be communication early on toward what that service is about. Five to seven weeks are ideal. The biggest mistake we as leaders are making is putting God in a box that He only whispers to us, a few days before service. Time to prepare is very important.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Glenn!
iHateChurch
· 2 months ago
b :: great discussion today at cultivate. wish we could have heard more of your challenges and victories ... will be looking into the 99% jumpoff or whatever its called. cheers.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad the discussion was worthwhile. I didn't have a ton of time to prepare and was honored to see so many people in that session. 99% - so good. Maybe we'll see each other there.
Isaac Downing
· 2 months ago
Great discussion at Cultivate yesterday. (I was the guy directly in front of you in the back row). Thanks for opening up about your journey. Hope to connect again soon!
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Isaac, thanks for attending the session. I look forward to connecting again as well. If there is anything I can do to assist you on your journey, please let me know.
Lori Zimbardi
· 1 month ago
So I may be out of my realm of service and not qualified to comment since I am not an artist but... I serve in a ministry for my church so I have a different perspective but hopefully it fits here. My biggest obstacle with our creative team and it's leadership is that all ideas must be their ideas. They are amazing but there is little mind expansion to see a design idea or concept that is not their own taste and style. Our creative team creates all of our media, videos, handouts, t-shirts etc. Anything that is visual for all ministries must be approved by the creative team. I have begged and pleaded for our visual team to see things "other" ways not just how Marvel comics would see them. I would love to see our leaders open to consider what different segments and demographics of our church may respond to creatively.
blainehogan
· 1 month ago
Lori, I consider you very qualified to comment. We (artists/creatives) can learn a lot from your words. Curious to hear how others would respond to this... Creative types - Can you respond to Lori's thoughts?
All Comments
I need risk and failure to be appreciated and encouraged.
I need trust that my unique voice and perspective is one that at least a percentage of others can identify with.
[Professional Team Management Tips For Creative Folks]
-Occasional big-picture discussions where we reiterate what we're about, why we approach things the way we do, and what we want to focus on for the next season. That's partly my personal wiring - but I think it gives context for the weekly tasks.
-Honest, transparent, considerate, prompt communication. Which is a total 2-way street.
1. I most want vision. To me that means BIG PICTURE. What are we really trying to accomplish together? Are we cutting down the right forest? Are we even in the right forest?
2. That word: TOGETHER. I want to know that we're in it TOGETHER. I expect the leader to create the sense of TEAM-NESS.
3. CLEAR COMMUNICATION. Vision and Team mean very little if communication is poor.
4. Lastly, if we're talking about a supervisor (boss) type of leader, I really need ADVOCACY. Someone who knows me and gets me and will include me... assuming my unique contributions are desired.
A clear vision of what needs to be communicated, and trust in our team ... that we can create it.
Resources are nice but you can communicate without them. (storytellers, minstrels, griots)
Without a vision, whatever you communicate is like an arrow in search of an unseen target.
Without trust there is no community. And without community why are we doing this in the first place?
Support the creative process: artists wrestle with truth as it relates our everyday lives - using multiple genre and mediums (ie: music, paint, spoken word, photography, dance, et cetera).
Celebrate the differences: artists see things in a more abstract way than what is common in Church leadership circles....
Embrace the renegades, don't fire them.
Without time, creativity is squished and limited. Excellence can slip. I'm left to wonder, "what COULD that have looked like?"
Without deadline, I continue to snip/trim/tweak/mull/overthink/procrastinate.
These two, at the surface, seem to contradict each other. But when a balance is struck between healthy amounts of time and hard deadlines, I think an artist like myself can thrive.
i'd say a leader needs vision, the ability to totally be there for me yet also ignore me when i need space to create on my own, trust and humility so what i create has the freedom to be mine and not their regurgitation. a leader has to inspire and manage the big and small stuff. oh, also clear communication for what is needed, when communication breaks down things crumble and turn into safe and boring rather than memorable and appropriate.
If there isn't an actual spotlight on an artist then very likely they are under-appreciated.
I DON'T always get timely decisions which seriously limits 'what could be'...
Still I DO fully trust their leadership and God's last minute tugs at their hearts...
2) Lots of grace when you meant to give me a parameter, but forgot.
3) I like to be swamped with projects and plenty of time to do them all. Perhaps unlike the usual worker, artists/designers/developers work creatively and efficiently when INSPIRED. If I love what I'm working on, I'll likely be working on it at home and in my sleep because I'm enjoying it.
4) I think everyone else hit well on "affirmation". Occasionally, it's good to know being creatively vulnerable is paying off for others as well as ourselves.
Love for justice and mercy outside of worship
Second of all, if God has brought gifted visual and performing artist to your church, they are there for God’s purpose to not only edify the body but touch the hearts of the one’s who don’t know Christ. As leaders what is your vision for the use of artistic individuals in a service?
Third, in order to make a service effective by the support of artists, there needs to be communication early on toward what that service is about. Five to seven weeks are ideal. The biggest mistake we as leaders are making is putting God in a box that He only whispers to us, a few days before service. Time to prepare is very important.