It’s been sometime since I’ve blogged. What once was an idea in a notebook, then personal blog has grown into this. Lighting vendor? Sure. Design Resource? Ok Repository of cool inspiration? Maybe. The idea which has grown from much prayer and God’s perfect timing and resources is now a healthy handful of things to manage and a growing resource to help churches. Just as with growth in my personal life—growth is good, but it’s often challenging. I’m comforted to read how even giant organizations struggle with brand identity, social media presence, strategy and customer service. It’s good to know the growth Bargeheights is experiencing is good and the challenges we face are not unique.
So here’s where it is for me…
//// I’m still a person and this blog will still be about people, their thoughts, ideas and hearts/// Don’t get me wrong, my friends and I love sharing about how one of our crazy design ideas worked…but this blog is about more than cool lighting and set design ideas. It’s real people. Real lives. Real stuff. It’s the kind of posts I like to read…and the stuff I hope you want to read too 
Yes, Bargeheights offers some really cool lighting and led video products for a nice price. But, it is also two words scratched in the back of a notebook. It’s a group of likeminded church production guys with thoughts, ideas, dreams and a light or two…who want to share their thoughts with the world. We’re just artists, making art because of and in honor of our Creator. These guys also happen to be some of my closest friends….people who care about me, and who I care about. I’m committing to continue to blog about the dynamics of our relationships, the values of volunteers and staff serving in the church and a crazy idea or two
No apologies, Bargeheights is not just gear. It’s people.
Where are you called? Sure, many of us would say “church production”, “technical arts”, “lighting”, “video”….but for who? This weekend was emotional for me. Huge victories and huge challenges. I listened to some teaching about work, occupation and calling which has broken down some of my fairly-established assumptions about my work in the church. My all too simple responses to the “where are you called” question…. “oh–I’m a lighting guy” or “I create worship experiences” is no longer enough.
I heard this weekend that God calls us to use our skill set and experience to serve people we never thought we would serve, in ways we never could imagine. Challenging.
I’ll admit, I’ve never been a youth or children’s minister. I’m not ordained. I don’t pretend to know what makes middle schoolers tick–or how to reach their heart. I know my own kids and I’ve watched the response to the teaching, pastoring and leadership of some talented passionate ministry folks…but I’m clueless to the inner workings of “age-level” ministry. In my experiences volunteering or working as staff in the “big room” weekend-service, I’ve honestly always taken for granted too important work of kids and youth ministry.
I keep finding myself in these situations where I’m privileged to help guys in the trenches of youth and children’s ministry. Why I wonder? I survey my circle of friends in ministry and so many are former kids ministers, college creatives, youth pastors or former high school worship leaders. I’m seriously the last person that would have a clue to understand their world—I didn’t grow up in a youth group. I didn’t have a classic kid-in-church experience. Why are they all soooo appreciative of a tiny fraction of help or guidance? Why do they approach things with such humility? It seems that a spending a fraction of my attention, pouring a few drops of artistry into the world of youth and kids ministry seems to be so transformative for my friends. For guys who do ministry for a year with 200 bucks….or even nothing?
I get jaded sometimes. In some of my work– a couple of LED par cans won’t drastically alter the experience for folks in the congregation. But for other ministries, colored light is transformational.
I love that. I crave that. Maybe venues, experiences and programming outside of the weekend experience are the “least of these”? Maybe we should all take a portion of our creativity, artistry and passion and go help the smallest venue, the children’s room or a no-budget youth retreat. Maybe we’d be the catalyst for a wave of transformation.
As a sort of recap, I have to say from band, to teaching, to production team…WOW. This satellite campus experiment has become a real, authentic place. Not that numbers are a measure of the hearts of people—but we’re continuing to grow. New folks are coming to experience our art in all of it’s many forms. Like so many of you on our team, despite weekend after weekend of early mornings, this venture continues to be rewarding and affirming.
Here’s a song from a weekend or so ago. It’s organic. It’s raw. It’s real. One guitar and a heatfelt vocal. To say moving is an understatement.
Forgiveness
I was inspired by the following statement (on display at Jimmy Johns, or in Dave Berry’s book for those who like to read).
“Don’t be afraid to try something new. Remember a lone amateur built the ark, a large group of professionals built the Titanic.”
Shamless plug—here’s a pic of a recently completed project from our friends at Church Solutions Group (CSG). (and featuring the craftsmanship of our own Tim Booth!) The transformation is obvious! I share this with you as a great example that more often than not, production is about creativity and artistry, and less about acquiring the latest and greatest gear. Look at the difference a little paint makes….the ceiling and walls fade away and draw attention immediately to the stage….just like the use of theatrical lighting highlights the communication on stage. In this example, a little paint and some design tweaks, along with a couple of pieces of gear created immense value.
Just goes to show you—–creativity and out-of-the-box thinking rules!
