...in this issue...

-- Greetings!
-- My Gift to You.

-- Sketches
-- Egos!  Yours, Mine, and Ours.
-- Good Deeds, Done Cheap.
-- Motivating your drama team

-- Do Randy a favor? 
-- Questions & Answers.
-- Sign on free.  Sign off free.  Contact Randy at randy@randymanning.com

Greetings! 

Again, I am not the final say in drama.  I’m not even the “second to final” say in drama.  But I have had a fair amount of experience in church and professional drama and sometimes it’s nice to have someone say, “It’s ok to do it this way, or that way”.

Let’s get started.

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My Gift to You!

Hey!  Tis the season.  Fa La La La La La La La La 

(did I get enough “La’s” in there?)

It’s more blessed to give than receive. 

Right? 

Ok.  Well, I have a Christmas gift for you.  My loyal subscriber. 

Your gift?  A sketch. 

Want to advertise the new drama team?  Maybe you’d like to get some fresh blood into the existing team? 

Here’s a simple, (and silly), little sketch that you can perform for your church.  It advertises your first, (or next), drama team meeting. 

Click here….  http://www.randymanning.com/Christian%20Drama%20Drama%20Team%20Ad.htm

Print it out…

With this gift goes the performance rights. 

In other words…If you like it…use it…if you don’t like it…don’t use it.

It will only be up for a limited time, so go ahead and print it out.  (You can always use it later.)

Merry Christmas!

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Sketches!  Sketches!  Get your Sketches here!

Check them out at www.randymanning.com  

Wanna see a sample?  http://www.randymanning.com/Night%20Light%20Boy%20Sample.htm

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Egos?  Your’s, Mine, and Ours.

I knew a church that had three “bands” for worship.  One was the primary band.  It played most of the Sundays.  (The other two bands played occasionally). 

For the past year, or so, the primary “band” has been going thru a hard time. 

Why?

Well, several reasons, but…simply put? 

The attendance of the band members at Sunday services was erratic and, therefore, the “sound” that they put out was inconsistent from Sunday to Sunday.

The pastor noticed the problem and asked for a change.  His suggestion?  Take the members of all three bands and combine them into a large band.  The thinking?  That when one or two musicians, on any given Sunday, were absent, (for whatever reason), the impact on the “sound” of the band was not as great.  Eventually, they would have a more consistent band. 

The members of the three bands attended a meeting to implement the pastor’s plan.  But, surprisingly enough, the discussion was not “how to implement pastor’s plan”.  Rather, the discussion was, “why we shouldn’t implement the pastor’s plan!” 

The members of the main band saw no problem.  They failed to see the need to change anything.  It was obvious that their music wasn’t about God.  Nope.  It was about their “Ego”.  They didn’t care if the music they put out was "as good as it could be".  Nope.  What was important to them?  That they be the “piano player”, or “the drummer”, or “the singer”.  They were afraid that they wouldn’t get to be “the star” as much as in the past.  And you know what?  Their egos kept them from looking at it honestly.   

Remember a few months back when we talked about “Feedback”?  Remember how hard it is to get honest feedback in a church?  The people in the congregation are Christians.  They love you.  They do not want to hurt your feelings.  Therefore, they are going to compliment you whenever they can.  Now, that’s a wonderful thing.  But it can pump your ego up too much.  You can get to the point where you believe that your performances are better than they truly are.

The same thing can be said about your drama team.  Do not let your ego hurt your performances.  Always look real close into the mirror. 

How about a few “hard” questions?

Are you really the best person for that part? 

Are you working hard enough on your performances?  (You’ll get compliments no matter how bad your performance is.)

Are you holding the new man/woman back because you’re jealous?

Is it all about God?  (It’s not about you being the guitar player, or the actor in the lead part)

Do you ALWAYS cast based on the best person for the part?

Check out a few of the lyrics written by Matt Redman in his wonderful song…

    “Heart of Worship”

    I’m coming back to the heart of worship

    And it’s all about you.

    It’s all about you, Jesus.

    I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it

    When it’s all about you.

    It’s all about you, Jesus.

We’re actors.  We all have egos.  Including me.  When you walk into drama team meetings or rehearsals….

Leave your “Ego” at the door.

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Good Deeds, Done Cheap

I have been on stage more than once with Mark.  In fact, I was his director a couple of times.  He’s funny, talented, and a good Christian man. 

Recently, his new baby daughter, (Corinne), was diagnosed with brain cancer. 

She is undergoing chemotherapy.

They have a website at….  http://www.caringbridge.org/il/tullisfamily/

Be sure to click on the photo album, sign the guest book, but most importantly… 

…say a prayer for Corinne, Mark and their whole family? 

Thanks.

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How to motivate your drama team.

Last time I asked the question, “How have you dealt with motivating your drama team?  How did you do it?”

Melanie of Crest Bible Church in Kansas City, KS wrote:

Personally, our team has been going through a rough patch.  We sat down and called every single member in order to foster an environment where they felt comfortable expressing pleasure or displeasure with different aspects of our team.  Once we had that information, it was easier to determine in which areas we needed to work. 

For our team, it was 'getting back to basics'.  We had gotten away from having a prayer time and/or devotion before we got started. 

For some, it had become about doing what they wanted, not what God wanted us to. 

Also, by calling people individually, it gave some the perceived permission to leave the group due to their dissatisfaction.  That ended up better for us, because without those team members, we are now more cohesive and a better team.  (We have also gained a few new members who are more spiritually mature.) 

Essentially, until you have aligned yourselves with God's purpose, there will almost invariably be trouble.  Our purpose as drama teams is to share the Lord's word with saved and unsaved alike.  To build up the spiritual lives of the saved and to bring the unsaved in to the Lord's arms.  I know a really great book from Lillenas called "Intermission".  It is a collection of twelve teaching devotionals geared just for drama ministry teams.  I've never seen another like it.  It's written by Jeffrey D Frame and the ISBN# is 083-417-1147.  I buy a lot of my materials through Christian Book & Gift Stores. It's where I found this particular book.

Another thing we try to do is have some kind of field trip every couple of months.  (We will be driving 5 hours to go see The Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in two weeks.)  We go to plays in various settings and discuss them, etc.  Also we watch videos of high school plays and pick them apart so that we learn from them.  Anything of this nature that we can come up with to do is useful. Each member's individual strengths begin to show this way, and when people are given assignments in areas they are good at, they are more likely to stay motivated.