Mike Walker

BIG NEWS!!!!

I am excited to announce the new website for Mike Walker Creative! 

Thank you to the team at Church Media Group for an amazing job! Yuri Star, Travis Gates, and their team did exceptional work! Thanks guys!

Stop by and check it out. The new site will also be the new host for the blog. The new location will be www.mikewalkercreative.com/blog. The past year has been an incredible journey and I look forward to the ride over the next few months. 

See ya there!

Lessons learned from baseball

Every morning I head to Starbucks to grab a Venti Americano and catch up on my ESPN radio.

This morning the announcement came out that Major League Baseball is going to try out instant replay in their fall league. 

A lot of baseball purists are openly speaking out against it as technology shouldn't be a part of the game and it will slow it down (I guess they haven't figure out that it's baseball and there isn't much you can do to make it slower).

The radio host made a brilliant point. He said "do the purists not realize that a good number of people sitting in the stands at the game are working or playing on their PALM or BlackBerry device? They are likely listening to the game on SIRRIUS Satellite radio. They probably purchased their ticket online. And, they probably got to the stadium by using a GPS system. If the people you are trying to reach and connect with are in the 18-28 year old range then they are using technology."

What about in the churches, are you using technology to it's fullest? What audience are you trying to connect with? Are they a group that is tech savvy? If they are then take a leap and meet them where they are and figure out how to incorporate more technology (effective technology) and reach them.

It's ok to try a few things. Going back to some sports examples, the NBA tried enforcing a dress code which many thought would fail and it turned out to be a great thing. At the same time, they also tried introducing a new ball and it didn't last. Point being, try a few things and see where it takes you.

It ain't all about the gear...

I was recently brought in by a church that was experiencing some "technical difficulties" after moving in to their new building.

Upon arriving the staff informed me that they were fairly frustrated and they were not sure what to do. As the conversation moved on they kept expressing over and over how frustrated they were because they had just spent a huge sum of money and didn't feel like their systems were all that great.

After about 2 hours of letting them vent I began to dig a bit in to what all had been put in to play. What I found was that they had some pretty amazing sound, lighting, and video systems put in to play. In fact, they had very little to complain about.

I pulled a team of trusted friends together who were audio engineers, lighting programmers, and video engineers. We were able to come back in and run through a weekend with their staff while operating their recently purchased gear.

At the end of the weekend the staff pulled me aside to tell me how everything looked and sounded different that weekend and wanted to know what we did different. Imagine the surprise of the staff when I informed them that we didn't change a single thing. Which then posed the question....well...then what was the difference?

The ONLY difference was that we had great people at key positions. Great gear is only that....great gear. If you don't have properly trained people then you will end up with a very high priced frustration.

Take some time and do an evaluation of where your staff is and what they are really capable of. If you don't really know how to evaluate them then bring in someone who has a better idea how to bring some light to the situation.

If your staff isn't where you thought or hoped they are not all hope is lost. Invest in your people. Bring in a team of experts who can help bring out the most in your team....after all....it ain't all about the gear.

How'd they do that???

I was in Las Vegas recently and attended the Cirque du Soleil salute to the Beatles called "LOVE" as well as KA as a special guest. They are both definite "must see's".

I have now been doing large scale productions for almost 20 years (that makes me feel old). There isn't much I haven't seen and in some cases done, but there were moments where in both evenings where I found myself asking "how'd they do that"?

This weekend was another one of those moments.

During the past year and 3 months it's been nice to be a church member/attendee. For several years I was in the thick of it "doing church". What always made it tough was, in the process of working it was often hard to let go and be a worshipper or get fed.

Let me be clear here, I am in no way placing blame anywhere.....I am just saying it was tough.

The past several weeks I found myself being able to attend my home church Gateway in Southlake (which I am greatly thankful for the investment they have made in me), but then was on site with different clients on Sunday morning. As I was in the middle of a service on one of the weekends I looked around at the staff and was asking "how do they do this"? Several of the people I have been in contact with are in the throws of doing services and never have the chance to sit in a service to be a worshipper or have a chance to disconnect enough to get fed. Again, it's just hard. It's no wonder that burnout in the church world is so high.

Here's another sobering thought, network television produces between 18-26 episodes a year. The local church has 52 if they only do weekends. What about the ones who do Wednesdays or require additional time from the staff during the week for outside classes or whatnot....wow!

If you are a church staff member let me first send out some props...keep going! At the same time do what you can to make sure you stay healthy and aren't trying to pass out something you don't have yourself.

If you know someone on a church staff that is burning it at both ends make sure to keep them covered in prayer.....having been there I can tell you that they need it.

Looking back I am not really sure how I did it....or if I was always successful at it...but recent events have made me take a good hard look at friends and clients and wonder...."how do they do it"?

Buy in

I am currently working on a couple of larger production projects as well as working on buying a company. All of these things require large amounts of capital to execute.

I have a good friend of mine who is a venture capitalist that I went to for some advice while putting all my documentation together. The first thing he told me was "before anyone gives you a dime or buys in to your idea...they have to buy in to you. If you have a track record that will make it easier, but if you don't then you have to sell yourself...then, and only then, will they listen to your idea".

I have heard that said in a similar manner before, but it was a good reminder.

It got me to thinking later about employees. Sadly most organizations see them merely as that...employees there to serve "me" (the leader) to carry out "my" vision.

What if as leaders we viewed our employees as investors? What if we got them to buy in to the vision for the organization to help build it and grow it. What if the organization grew beyond the leader and we were able to grow something larger than ourselves? I think most would say they want that, but not many go out and DO that.

A side note on buy in...it's not fear. Having your employees fear you does not mean they buy in.

Some time ago I was an observer in a meeting. There was a new leader put in place to run a department. I just about fell over when he made statements to the effect (I will paraphrase) "it's now my department so it's my way. I have taken some larger leaders out and I won't hesitate to do the same to any of you if you don't buy in to my vision".

While yes it sounds absurd and cartoonish, but it happened. Consequently, the team, instead of getting on board and helping dig in to grow the vision they now, even to this day, do just enough. They do their jobs and nothing more. There is no buy in.

I have also sat in meetings where a new leader is brought in and clearly laid out the vision, told the team "this is your department. We will grow and develop as to the level you all buy in and contribute. If you are ok with being average then we will be average. If you want to be great then we will do it together."

I spoke with the leader of the organization just the other day and they are still growing leaps and bounds and morale is at an all time high. Everyone is working hard, but they are digging in and doing it together because they bought in to the leader then the vision.

Get the buy in and there's no telling where you can go...as a leader, as a team, and as an organization.

People Solve Problems

I produced a large festival in Dallas, TX for several years and had the privilege of working with a man I had respected for many years named Denny Keitzman who is one of the absolute best production managers the industry has ever seen.

It was an outdoor event and we had seen several days of severe weather leading up to the event as well as on show day. Everyone on the stage was exhausted and starting to fade as the show finally got under way. As we were discussing possible scenarios to preserve the event and make the best out of a tough situation I remember him saying “people solve problems, so let’s make sure our people working have exactly what they need to do their job, they are well fed, and they feel appreciated”.

The first thing we did was have catering bring additional food and drinks to the stage. The next thing we did was huddle the team and figure out what each person needed to be successful that day and we made sure if it was at all possible we got it for them. Finally we made sure everyone knew that they were vital to the success of the day and every chance we got we made sure to thank them and let them know they were appreciated.

What could have been a disastrous day ended up being one we all celebrated together and still talk about to this day.

I see too many situations where organizations forget that it’s people who solve problems and if you want to grow an organization you have to be about people. Starbucks says it best when they say “we are not in the coffee business serving people, we’re in the people business serving coffee. We are passionate about the people who make the coffee, the people we serve, the people we partner with, and the communities we’re a part of”

I think over the years I haven’t adequately been able to state why I do what I do. I think some people have seen the creativity and technology and always thought I was about excellence for the sake of excellence or being great at creativity or technology, but it’s always been about people.

When you take an approach that is people centered it makes it easy to keep an open mind. Through the years I didn’t always just do what I wanted to do or what I thought would be the coolest thing. In fact there were several times I completely thought ideas were the wrong ideas or approaches, but…because it was never about me and it was always about people, the people coming in the doors, the people I worked with, the people I worked for, and the people/companies I kept relationships with, it was always easy get past it and stay about the business of connecting with and impacting people.

Apple is changing the game

Apple announced yesterday that there is an update to Apple TV coming in the next few weeks and months. You will soon be able to rent movies directly from your Apple TV device. I hate going in Blockbuster stores so this is huge for me.

This news started my brain going. I have been doing some extensive research and reading on the topic of broadcast culture versus digital culture. Here's how it relates in this instance. Broadcast tv, radio, etc...decides what's going to be the show you will watch or the program you will listen to at a certain time. In a digital culture the options are more wide open. Imagine you being able to tune in whatever you wanted when you wanted. I could elaborate more on this, but I'll leave that for later.

So what does that have to do with church?

Most churches have audio, video, teaching materials, etc...that the public can go online and access. In some cases there is a cost involved and in some it's free information. What if...WHAT IF....the public could access all your material at any given time, watch it when they want or read it when they want? What if we were able to basically set up our own networks so people could access it and build their own playlist?

Think about it, not only would this allow public to listen to or watch what they want from your organization when they want to, but think about what you could learn about your audience. Your audience will automatically tell you what THEY think you are great at communicating about. The information that would be collected could drastically tell you how well you are doing with branding...if you are branding at all.

Again, I could go on and on about this....and I will be.....but I think the possibilities of thinking in a digital world open whole new spaces for us in the church world to start considering.

Satellite Church

In my last 2 years at Fellowship Church one of the things added to my list was to help launch 4 satellite (distributed) campuses (3 of which opened within 3 months of each other).

I come across a lot of churches who want to expand their reach by opening satellite campuses. Whether or not it's for you really depends on your situation, but there are some definite perks to doing satellite church:
1 - If you are already a megachurch and looking to expand, you are talking about $15-20 million easy for a new building to seat 3500-4000 people. You can build a well outfitted (depending on your technology model) building for between $3-10 million. Beyond the costs of building there is also the cost of ownership after you build. Maintaining a building that seats 1500 is a lot easier than 4000 (and less expensive).
2 - It makes you more accessible to other communities that might not know about you, but also might not be inclined to make a drive to your main location. Think about this...a youth department that has a local set up near 8 high schools has more influence than if they just had direct impact on 3.
3 - It gives you opportunity to expand the leadership within your organization. The more you grow the more capable leaders you will need. Having a bunch of great leaders around is never a bad thing...as long as they are led well. A bunch of great leaders without good leadership above them ends up being groups of renegades.

I could keep going, but you get the point.

Over the next few weeks and months we will talking about what things you need to have on your checklist if you are thinking about launching satellite campuses.

Be back soon.

Senator Grassley Investigation Update

The deadline for the 6 ministries publicly named in the Grassley investigation was this week.

I had a conversation recently with a friend who I used to work with who is fairly worried about the investigation and how it will affect churches long term and whether or not it affected the whole seperation of church and state.

The issue has nothing to do with religion. It has everything to do with privelege. By signing up as a 501c3 tax exempt organization it carries a lot of benefit. It also carries a large responsibility. The investigation is merely wanting to ensure that money people give to organizations are going to worth while ministry and not lavish lifestyles.

For those of you who dabble in stocks, when you choose to invest in a company you most likely want to know how they spend their money so as to know where your money is going. Would you invest in a company that spends frivolously? Of course not...

As a giver you should have that same desire....how is the money being spent? You can agree or disagree with it, but I think it's ok to ask. Everytime you say yes to one organization you say no to another. Knowing where your money is going is a big deal. There are organizations out there doing a GREAT job of making sure the money you give goes to what you think you are giving to.....I know others who do not.

The issue here is not religion or theology, it's merely tax laws and benefits and whether or not some of them are being abused. Our government set up laws for us to live by. They also set up some benefits for those involved in ministry. I personally don't have a problem with them checking to make sure that organizations are staying above board. We live in this society and we should honor the laws and governing folks above us.

If ministries want the privelege of maintaining 501c3 tax exempt status then don't be upset about disclosing the information. If you want to exist in a commercial society and have all the benefits of a lavish lifestyle, then don't worry about your tax exempt status. It was set up to aid organizations that are trying to do charitable work.....not make it a tax shelter for those who want to make a ton of money under a religious umbrella.

Here is a link for an article I came across that might shed some light on the investigation.

Great thoughts on email

I read the following post from Phil Cooke who had some great thoughts on email.

I recieve on average 55-70 emails a day (not including junkmail) and it is so easy for me to get caught up in quickly responding that I could eat up my entire day doing nothing but emailing. I forget sometimes, that while email is nice and handy you also need to completely think through what you type.

Take a minute and read this. It will help you both personally and professionally. If you don't have policies regarding email I would encourage you to put some in place. It can bite you real quick...