Friday nights are homemade pizza night at the Elliott’s. We make the dough in that popular kitchen appliance from the ’90s, the bread maker, and when I get home from work I begin the hours-long process. It is a great way for me to unwind.
Anyway, last night, I had the show “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” playing in the background, and some restaurant had not changed their recipe in something like 50 years. They have been doing the same thing, the same way since the day they started. Not because they are lazy or without vision, but because the way they have been doing things works and is amazing.
After experiencing DC*B and U2 this past week, I noticed something of the same. From a production standpoint, and for that matter the band’s, you are essentially doing the same thing at every church and stadium. You are trying to make something that has become old and tired to you, fresh and new for the people who are coming and seeing it for the first time.
A few years ago, I had an amazing opportunity to take a backstage tour of the Cirque show “Love” by the head of audio, Jason Pritchard and he said something like:
Most people are coming to “LOVE” for the first time, so I lead my team to give everyone who walks through our doors, the best possible experience. We execute each performance like it is our first and best.
I was inspired by his passion for making the same thing, night after night, the same: breathtaking.
In my world, there are plenty of things that have become mundane to me, that our congregation relies on to be the same. There are things that are old and tired to me, that require me to figure out ways to breathe fresh life into.
So instead of wishing I had the time to craft each element to allow for maximum effectiveness like U2, DC*B, Cirque du Soleil and to some degree Guy Fieri, I am choosing to be inspired by the ability to embrace the tedious and make it fresh and new.
