New Video: Elevate

As many of you know, I (Gary) was a pastor for forever.  I was the guy preparing for the big show every weekend.  All week long, I was thinking, praying, and working toward this one event.  The teams of people responsible for making our weekend worship services happen needed to get ready, so we rehearsed during the week.  So by Sunday morning, our hearts were absolutely prepared to elevate Jesus above all else.

But their’s were not.

For the most part, the “normal” person in the congregation does not come into our worship services ready to surrender themselves, or elevate God.  I am learning this now, because I’m learning how not to think like a church staff member.  I’m discovering that we are, for the most part, good people who are excited about being together.  But we are not generally ready to elevate Jesus above all the other mind-consuming crap in our lives.  That doesn’t make us bad or nonspiritual – it just makes us normal.

That’s the back story for our latest video called “Elevate“.  In this video, we’re trying to give worship leaders and teaching pastors something to play early in their services that will help bridge the gap between self-focus, and God-focus.  Both of the actors in the video have served in full-time Christians ministries for decades, so this is very authentic.

We pray that this video serves the global Church well.  And we pray that it hits home in your unique congregation.

Media From 30,000 Feet

There is a view of media from the ground level. Much has been written about this particular viewpoint. It’s the stuff that slams Christian creatives every day:

* What’s the best way to encode a video if size is the key issue?
* My pastor just had a brainstorm, and now I need to work all weekend. How do I stay creative and positive?
* How do I respond when staff members miss the weekly bulletin deadline?
* How can I add a click track to a video so the band can be in sync with it?
* Should I start a blog? Should I keep my blog when no one reads it?
* How soon should I be expected to get our church’s website updated?
* We need more volunteers. Who are they? Where are they? How can I reach them?

Everyday stuff. Challenges everyone in a media position will face. They’re all great questions, and they’re all from the ground level.

But what happens when we jump into an airplane, and leave the ground? If you could free yourself from your unique daily challenges and expectations for a short time, and take a step up to see your ministry with the eyes that once launched your dreams in the first place, what would be there?

As we’re sitting on the plane, two courageous questions move us in the right direction:

Question #1: What do I hope to accomplish?

Ministering in any capacity—whether part-time or full-time—has a way of making us forget what we truly hope for. The daily urgent makes us forget our dreams. When we create anything, what are we hoping will happen to those who view our creation?

For me, every time I create a mini-movie for the church, I’m hoping that all who watch it will experience a stirred heart. There are reasons, but that’s for another time and place.

How about you? What are you hoping for? When you’re sitting in the airplane looking at your own creative heart, and you remind yourself of your hopes and dreams, what’s there? What has God spoken over and over to your heart?

Question #2: Is my behavior at ground level leading me into my hope at 30,000 feet?

I’m convinced that vision is not the key factor in realizing our deepest hopes and dreams. Neither are core values, mission statements, a talented staff team, or intentions. All of these things are important, and all play a part. But they are most definitely not the key to everything.

The one thing that has the power to make or break our God-given hopes and dreams is…

Our behavior.

Behavior at the ground level. The conscious decisions we make every day. The plans we execute.

Artists are great at having another new idea. But we can become extremely passive and scattered with the execution of our ideas, with consistent behavior that will lead us into our new idea. We can spew vision, mission, and intention all day long. But if our behavior and our plans don’t lead us into our hopes and dreams, then we’ll feel flat.

And we’ll question everything.

If the videos we create at Floodgate Productions do not stir hearts, I promise you that the answer can be found in the daily choices we make with regard to scripting processes, actors, locations, musical underscore, and other factors. The choices we make daily determine whether our deepest hopes are realized.

Or not.

So if you were to express your hopes and dreams for the stuff you create, and if you were to write it all down WITHOUT editing yourself, what would it say? What do you really hope will happen as a result of your labor? Be unedited. Smile. Cry. Cuss. Don’t worry about proper punctuation. Just answer honestly.

And, while you’re looking at your unedited page of hopes and dreams, will you have the courage to ask yourself: Is my daily behavior leading me into my hopes? Into my dreams?

If not, it’s time to change your behavior. Because your hopes and dreams will never go away.

They’ll just become a thorn of frustration.

This article originally appeared in Collide Magazine – a great magazine that all media pastors and volunteers will greatly benefit from.

Father’s Day Store

Have you ever noticed the difference between what churches do on Father’s Day, and what they do on Mother’s Day? On Mother’s Day, there is an overwhelming message to moms that basically says, “You’ve done a great job!”. And that’s the right message to communicate. But on Father’s Day, there’s an overwhelming message to dads that basically says, “You’re not doing a good enough job.” It may not be that overt in your church, but the goal of challenging fathers will most likely be present.

At Floodgate, we’re wondering if these two messages need to be brought into a more accurate balance? The videos we’re offering you for Father’s Day do not assume that dads are doing a bad job. It’s actually the opposite. Our videos assume that dads are already trying their very best, and already have the best interests of their families at heart. We assume that dads need to be honored for the important roles they play, and reminded of how life-giving those roles can be.

You can jump into our Father’s Day Store from here, or you can browse the following topical options

• THEME: God as Father
• VIDEO OPTION: Thanks Dad

• THEME: Honor More Men Who May or May Not Be Biological Fathers
• VIDEO OPTION: Father’s Day – A Broader Perspective

• THEME: Family Members Are Learning from Us
• VIDEO OPTION: I’m Watching You Dad
• STILL SET:  Sermon Graphics Pack

• THEME: I Didn’t Have a Very Good Role Model
• VIDEO OPTION: Father’s Day Honest

• THEME: General Father’s Day Sentiments
• VIDEO OPTIONS: A Father Is, A Father’s Day Welcome
• STILL SET:  Sermon Graphics Pack

And here’s a great special for those of you who are looking to cut media costs: Spend a minimum of $15 on any Father’s Day video, and get our “It’s Great to Be a Guy” countdown for only $5. Simply add your video AND the countdown to your cart. Next use the coupon code “FGDadsDay09″. You’ll receive an immediate $10 discount for your total order.

Happy Father’s Day from the Floodgate Creative Team!

DVD Volumes Are Downloadable

We’re very excited to tell you about our latest method of getting our mini-movies to you. Pastors and church leaders can now download an entire Floodgate DVD Volume, for the same price as the shippable DVD Product! We’re hoping that this will get more mini-movies into the hands of churches who want our media, but will also save you some money.

We’re making this available on Volumes 1, 2, 3, 3b, and Coffeehouse Conversations only. This offer is not available on any of our 2-Packs, 3-Packs, or 4-Packs.

Want some more information? Go here.

Mother’s Day Media Ideas

There’s been an interesting development in churches over the last ten years. Mother’s Day has become the second-most evangelistic seasonal opportunity, second only to Easter. This is due to one fact: Everyone goes to church somewhere on Mother’s Day – especially unchurched people. If this is true, then it becomes very important that pastors and church leaders think through the elements of their Mother’s Day services.

MOTHER’S DAY MEDIA IDEAS

IDEA #1: Floodgate Mother’s Day Logo Packs – Each of these beautiful logo packs includes a print-ready, full-color image to use on your church’s bulletin. All you need to do is print the back side, and get it distributed to your community. These packs even include Powerpoint/Keynote backgrounds! All for only $10.

IDEA #2: Floodgate mini-movies. Our Online Store offers a wide variety of Mother’s Day mini-movies, all aimed at the heart of a mother.

IDEA #3: Floodgate Mother’s Day Media Bundle. Have you thought about what people will see on the screen as they enter and leave your auditorium? We’ve designed a loop specifically to welcome people to this important service.

We’re praying for Kingdom potential to be realized in and around your church this Mother’s Day!

The Floodgate Media Team