Hey friends,
It’s George.
In this week’s podcast, we dove into a topic that so many church creatives and leaders feel—but rarely talk about openly:
🧠 What happens when expectations are unclear, mismatched, or just outdated?
As the church grows, so do the expectations. More content. More events. More videos. More everything.
But here’s the tension:
Churches want creative excellence.
They want original content.
They want innovation, quality, and speed.
🎯 But without aligning those expectations with actual time, budget, team capacity, or clarity of role?
That’s where burnout, frustration, and miscommunication creep in.
⚠️ 3 Key Warning Signs of Mismatched Expectations
You want cinematic video in 48 hours—but gave the creative team the idea yesterday.
Creative excellence takes planning. Not just passion.
You’ve combined 3 job descriptions into one staff hire—and wonder why nothing’s working.
Creativity needs margin. Not multi-tasking to the point of dysfunction.
You’re chasing the output of bigger churches—with a fraction of the budget, staff, and tools.
This isn’t about competition. It’s about clarity.
Are you called to make films? Run songwriting collectives? Produce content daily?
Or are you copying someone else’s blueprint?
🛠 What’s the Fix?
Build lead time. Creativity thrives when there’s margin to think, plan, and execute. Not when everything’s last-minute.
Clarify expectations. Staff need to know what “success” actually looks like—before they’re held to it.
Respect the craft. Just because something looks simple doesn’t mean it is. Great design, editing, songwriting, and storytelling all take experience—and time.
Focus on sustainable excellence. Be excellent at the 1–2 things you’re called to, not the 12 things you’re trying to keep up with.
🎙️ Want the full conversation?
In Episode 4 of the City On A Hill Podcast, we go deep into:
Why creatives are burning out
The myth of “just one more thing”
How production has changed in the last 10 years
What real collaboration between leads and creatives looks like
Why your internal culture is more important than your external content
🖥️ Watch or listen here →