Hey Tech Leader, today's question is...whose agenda is in your crosshairs?
I'm sure that sounds harsh, but it's a legitimate question. We live in a culture where “me,” or “I” tends to dominate our approach to things. Selfishness permeates every aspect of our society. Even children are proclaiming, “Mine!”, almost as soon as they're talking. We'd like to think that this thinking doesn't exist in the church world, but it does.
Why? Because we're all human.
So what do we do to combat this thinking?
Does this mean we can't get upset or show emotion in the face of adversity? Absolutely not! But the way we respond will reflect our heart.
The first step is to realize our position within the church. We're working to further God's kingdom, so it should be natural that we assume an unselfish approach to ministry. We want to see Christ glorified in the sound, lights, and video presentations, yet when things go wrong, or we're criticized, our reaction might be anything but holy.
The second step is determining what our motivation is as tech leaders and operators, or better yet, “who” our motivation is. Are we motivated by the good mix, cool lighting, and great camera work, or are we motivated in the knowledge that lives will be changed for Christ in part through the environment we help create?
In a truly servant-minded setting, our response to adversity, whether it be technical failure or human failure, will show where our hearts lie. Does this mean we can't get upset or show emotion in the face of adversity? Absolutely not! But the way we respond will reflect our heart.
I remember one Sunday many years ago when the father of the bass player approached me in the booth. He unhappy because he couldn't hear his son playing. The timing of this criticism was not good as it was right before the next service was to start. I did my best to encourage that dad that we were doing our best in the mix considering all aspects of our room and recordings. Did I respond correctly? Maybe, maybe not. Was I offended? Yep. After all, I'm the one contracted to mix the services. I understand how the room dynamics work.
Hmmm. Who was I thinking of in that response? Me, of course, and I believe I kept those feelings to myself, but God knew my heart that day, and it wasn't in the right place.
How can we stay ahead of these feelings? That's our third step. I'm a firm believer in leading the team in prayer before the day begins. In our church, the leaders meet for prayer before the day begins, but it is always my goal to gather the tech team together to establish unity in our unique purpose. Those times of prayer were often emotional for me as I sensed the scale of what we were about to engage in.
Once we get ourselves out of the way, our mission will become clearer, and the impact of the tech team will be for the purpose we hoped for: to glorify the Father.
