More Than I Can Do Alone

Jason over at Granger Community Church mentioned the iDate video that Jeff, one of their video creation gurus, put together.  Watching the video is just amazing, but I was also surprised to watch the credits roll by.

There were a bunch of different people that went into making that video a reality (not to mention the 5 days it took for the computer to render the video).  It wasn't a team of 20 or anything (looked like about 5 by my count, not mentioning the network storage guys) but it wasn't just Jeff either.

I have no doubt that Jeff could have created something amazing all by himself.  For all I know he could have done 99% of the work himself.  The fact that other people are listed makes clear that there was a lot of input into that video.

I have just finished Reclaiming the Fire by Dr. Steven Berglas (on the whole a book I don't really recommend) who referred to Lou Gerstner's story:

Apart from his managerial skills, Gerstner's success was due, in large measure, to a passionate refusal to live a lie.  After being touted as the ubermanager responsible for RJR Nabisco's profitability, he took the top spot at IBM... He admitted he knew little about the technological underpinnings of the business he was hired to manage... and could not have cared less.  Gerschner was strong enough to allow skilled IT professionals to do their specialized engineering work while he did what he knew best: creating efficient systems to market, sell, distribute, and service the product. (emphasis added)

There are so many times that I see a need and want to learn whatever I can to try and meet it. 

Right now we've recently implemented an Active Directory environment at church, something I know little about besides that we need a central control of users.  So I have books on Windows Server and Active Directory, learning what I can.  It's been interesting and even fun (I'm a geek at heart) but I know there are more knowledgeable and more interested people out there I should be relying on (thankfully I think I found a co-worker who will help).

My point is this.  I could never make a video like the iDate video.  In fact I'd be irritated that a ton of my work went into something that was seen only a few times and then shelved forever.  There are much more artistic, technical and experienced people that love this stuff.  I might have a vague idea to pitch, but it's the team of people that love what they do who will make it happen.  If I tried to do it myself you'd see a 5 second video of two stick figures making out (and by video I mean video taped flip-book).

I'm so glad there are people around us that have passions which I don't share.  People who are so much more talented than I am.  I really need to keep myself focused on God and pray that He continues to bring these gifted people into my life and gives me the guidance and trust to let them do what they do best.

Peace,
+Tom/Bob

posted by Tom at 4:25 PM