Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash
I firmly believe that serving in the church tech world is one of the hardest and most demanding roles in the church today, outside of being a senior pastor.
There is probably no other role that carries the same level of expectation: first ones there, last ones to leave; constantly expected to be perfect and not make mistakes; only get noticed or recognized (from the stage or by the audience) when something goes wrong; supposed to be able to pull rabbits out of hats at a moment’s notice (on a consistent basis, no less!); and oftentimes do this week-in and week-out with no reward or appreciation from those in senior leadership.
For those in a position of senior leadership at a church, I can’t underscore enough how critical it is for there to be a healthy system of support, encouragement, and investment for those leading the tech team.
So, it’s no wonder that there’s such a high level of burnout, cynicism, and frustration among many church techs across the country.
Unfortunately, many senior leaders are never aware of these types of issues that occur or the tension that builds. There’s a misconception that if it all works on Sunday, then everything must be great. But that sometimes couldn’t be further from the truth: a functioning product isn’t necessarily the result of a healthy process.
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. - 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NLT)
For those in a position of senior leadership at a church, I can’t underscore enough how critical it is for there to be a healthy system of support, encouragement, and investment for those leading the tech team. After all, it’s one of the most critical areas of the church. Without it, it is almost impossible to get services—in-person or online—to function at a high level.
However, in many churches, that level of investment has been neglected, which has helped create an unhealthy culture and team dynamic.
I believe there are a few key things that everyone in a position of senior leadership can be aware of as they work alongside and help pastor the tech teams and leaders at their churches.
1. Teamwork makes the dream work.
It’s a cliché, but it’s true. When teams aren’t working well together, and they aren’t communicating or investing in healthy relationships with each other, it’s almost impossible to achieve a greater goal.
Because of the high demands of the job, many church techs carry a false sense of “us vs. them” when dealing with other departments or areas of the church. Tension often exists between techs and the worship team, the IT department, or even other ministry areas.
Much of that centers around a disconnect between vision and perspective. It’s critical for any church leader to be able to underscore to their teams (especially those that help create the worship experience) how necessary they all are, and not treat teams differently because of the perceived importance that comes along with their level of skill or visibility (like worship).
Anyone serving in ministry should do so from a position of humility and unity.
Any team helping create a worship experience is a “worship” team, regardless of their specific role. And church leaders need to help develop a culture where those teams can be unified as one, not pushed into specific silos.
Do church techs also share some measure of responsibility in this? Absolutely. Anyone serving in ministry should do so from a position of humility and unity.
But when these same ideas are espoused and encouraged top-down from senior leadership, there tends to be an even greater sense of buy-in across the board by all teams.
2. Count the cost of your decisions.
There is a cost to every decision that is made in life. Effort, energy, time, money, and resources are all diverted in one direction or another, always coming at the expense of another (sometimes equally worthy) direction.
Since many ministries are extremely dependent upon volunteers to execute their vision, every decision by the church staff will have a broad ripple effect on all of the teams required to pull it off. And for people serving as volunteers out of their own free will, sometimes there are limits to the level of cost those people are willing and able to pay.
Can decisions be made last-minute to change a worship set or a sermon outline? Absolutely. Should the tech teams always be willing to serve the change in vision and be flexible accordingly? Absolutely.
But there’s always a price to pay.
It’s our job to carry that weight and the pressure so that our leaders don’t have to. It’s our job to serve, and we love doing it.
Last-minute decisions restrict the ability to test and practice things, and that limited time frame has the potential to possibly create distraction—and increase the risk that things go wrong during a service. The possibility of a less-than-excellent experience must be a cost that’s willingly paid in those moments.
Grandiose vision may be impressive once implemented, but did it come at the expense of burning out teams who spent long hours to make it happen? Is the impact on staff and volunteers worth the outcome?
For those in any position of high-level leadership, just because you have the authority to make every decision doesn’t always mean you should.
I once had a mentor share some words of wisdom with me as I was beginning my leadership journey in ministry: For those in any position of high-level leadership, just because you have the authority to make every decision doesn’t always mean you should.
Part of leading a team well involves creating an environment where people feel empowered to give feedback—in a safe place and where it will be heard. Sometimes, the best thing I can do is to allow others around me to share their concerns about a decision. Perhaps, in those moments, I realize that their feedback is valid and the price isn’t worth paying for the limited potential return.
On the other hand, if we still decide to go ahead with the decision, I need to embrace my leadership role in those moments.
People can only give what they already have. It’s up to me to provide constant support, encouragement, appreciation, and even resources to my team, so that when there’s a difficult decision or a challenging problem to overcome, they’ve been invested in it to the level where they are able to give back without being drained.
Then, after that moment has passed, it’s my job to again refill their tanks so they have something to give the next time an obstacle arises.
Whether I’m leading my tech team, or if it’s my pastors leading me, we all bear a responsibility to invest in those who are responsible for executing the duties involved with supporting vision.
People can only pay the price if they have money in their bank.
3. Tech people are people too.
This may sound unbelievable, but tech people are actually real people with real personalities and emotions. It becomes easy to throw around stereotypes about who we are and how we act, and many of them may actually be true.
In any other area of the church, this probably wouldn’t be a problem. But since most pastors and senior leaders have vastly different personalities from their tech leaders and teams, those differences often become a chasm that is difficult to cross.
Because a pastor may not understand tech, or because he or she doesn’t necessarily understand why the introverted tech guy doesn’t want to come hang out at a group social event with the rest of the church leaders, it can become easy to marginalize the need for investing relationally in the TD.
Just because the role or personality is different doesn’t minimize the fact that techs still need to be mentored, pastored, encouraged, and challenged, just like anyone else on the ministry team.
Personally, I don’t understand how my pancreas works, but just because I don’t understand it doesn’t mean I don’t need it or it’s not worth keeping healthy. All parts of the body have value and are necessary for the body to fully function at its highest level.
At its most basic level, a tech team is still a team full of people who have the same needs as any other team would. And those needs carry value to be explored and met.
Working with different personalities can often be a challenge, and when the stakes and pressure are high, like on a Sunday, the added strain can make things even more challenging.
The challenge should never overshadow the reward. There are few people on a church team more hard-working, loyal, passionate, and driven than the techs.
It’s our job to carry that weight and the pressure so that our leaders don’t have to. It’s our job to serve, and we love doing it.
And when we and our teams are properly motivated, encouraged, and appreciated, there’s no end to the depths we will go to serve our leaders and our ministry.
