Some of the best moments during WFX came from the great questions asked by the audience. Two questions really stuck out in my mind during one of my sessions. I thought they were so good that they were worth repeating - and answering - here on my Blog.

"It sounds to me like you're saying that churches need to look at hiring staff if they want to take Media 'to the next level'."

That's right. Look, I'm all for empowering volunteers to do as much as possible - staff or not. However, the biggest factor that will limit the quality and quantity of media and communications is time. There's only so much a volunteer can do above and beyond the requirements of their family and job. And given the fact that the vast majority of church leaders can't plan far enough ahead to give their teams enough time to research, compile, create and polish their media projects, expecting your media and communications to continue to grow is unrealistic with a volunteer-only force. There's a point where the church leadership must make the decision - backed by a vision for effective media & communications - to hire staff.

To that end, I'm a big proponent of hiring volunteers. If they have the skills and passion and if the church has the vision and funding, then hiring volunteers can make a lot of sense. They've proven their ability, shown their dedication and - most importantly - demonstrated their commitment to the church.

"Is it OK to fire volunteers?"

Yes. I believe that volunteers and staff are held to the same standard. The local church deserves our best effort and fervent commitment regardless of employment.

What I am not advocating is a license to remove volunteers because you don't want to take the time to develop relationships with them. It's a truism that techies will often spend more time with gear than with people. As leaders, we must pour into our volunteers and give them the love and care that they need. All too often we unintentionally abuse volunteers because we expect them to serve but we fail to serve them.

Furthermore, we must set goals, establish boundaries and reiterate the vision so that our volunteers know how much we value them, what we expect from them and what they can expect from us. If after taking these steps and loving on even the unlovely you still have problematic volunteers, then it's time to 'fire' them. Unlike in the corporate world, giving them the pink slip isn't the best method. Instead, work with them to find out where their gifts and their temperament can best be utilized in service to the church. This is not the same as shoving a problematic person onto another ministry. Instead, it is an honest assessment to try and keep the person involved and serving.

Finally, if you've done everything above and just have a volunteer with a hard heart or a rebellious attitude, then it's time to tell them they need to move on. Don't let them sit and stew. If they can't buy into the vision of the church, they need to find a church where they can follow the leadership. It's better to remove these people than it is to let them poison the water in your vision well.

There were so many other great questions, but I'm fogging over after three days of teaching! For those of you who attended WFX, what questions were the ones that stuck in your mind?