I have a really difficult time with the idea of something being sacred or secular. Whether it is a painting, or a piece of music, or a story, it feels very shallow to think of something be either all sacred or all secular. For me personally, what defines something as either sacred or secular is the intent of the person who is behind the creation of the thing.
I had a conversation with an old friend, with who I also have the privilege of doing some pretty huge productions from time to time. He brought up a topic that we have talked about many times before, the difference between doing a big production because it is your job and doing a big production because the production itself is worth pouring yourself into it.
There are maybe two sides to what defines sacred versus secular production: HOW you do production and WHAT you are doing production for. The WHAT is the easy one. Some events are for a pharmaceutical drug launch and some events are for more spiritual and eternal purposes. To define one as divine production and one as secular tech isn’t right, especially if it has anything to do with the intent of the artist. That leads us to the HOW of production which I believe really determines the character of production.
I’ll take the next few posts to explore various aspects of what I have been thinking about the HOW that separates a secular and a sacred view of production. Today’s post is about the foundation, our worldview.
It is all about me or it isn’t about me
This speaks to something that is true regardless of if I am a production person or not. How do I view the world and my place in it? Am I living in such a way that I am only looking out for my own interests, or am I living for something larger than that? Am I serving others or am I only concerned about my own issues?
In Luke 6, Jesus lays it out for us:
30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.
This command from Jesus doesn’t specify a specific group, though if it were up to me, I want it to apply to everyone else. “Do to others as you would have them do to you” does not sound like your typical production experience, in the church or otherwise. Many tech people I know have been so beaten down over the years, that it seems like the only way to survive is to look out for my own interests.
Where this comes into play as a technical artist is how I conduct myself in every situation. How am I treating people as I go? Am I loving only those who love me back? Am I doing to others what I want to be done to me? The WHAT of the production is secondary to this basic idea of, am I loving people?
Whether I am working at a corporate event or a worship service, this must be the foundation of how I conduct myself as a technical artist.
Am I characterized by treating others the way I want to be treated? Do I show love to everyone or just the people who love me back? If I were to ask those around you, would they describe you in terms of Luke 6:30-32?
