Another Rip off-Tech Stuff
Ok, it’s that time again….time for a blog….but, because I’m not all that original, I am again going to rip something off from a book that I wrote a while back….Send your complaints to 888-465-9177….
It is important to realize that you must have a set philosophy in your technical ministry. Just as your church has an overall mission statement and philosophy, I believe each ministry area should also have individual goals set in order to accomplish the overall goal. This is just as true for the technical ministry as it is for Sunday School. Having a philosophy and a set of values that covers what you want to accomplish will help give your volunteers something to work towards every week. Otherwise, they are just stuck in the monotony of doing the same thing over and over, with no clear vision…and they feel that they are merely “Button Pushers”. Even technical crews that aren’t in the church arena have a mission and philosophy about what they do. I had the pleasure of taking a backstage private tour of the Coliseum at Caesar’s Palace where Celene Dion performs in Vegas. That is the largest grossing and most popular show on the strip right now. And as you can imagine, they aren’t singing any hymns. But after talking with their technical guys and the producers, I realized that they too have a very strict philosophy about what they do. They demand excellent quality gear, and excellent quality people to run it. The show has to be flawless, and the audience can never think about any of the technical aspects of the show. Now granted, when you see a flying dancer zipping across the stage, your wheels will start turning, but the grassroots level of technology is never an issue. They want to make sure you get the message seamlessly every time.
Now while we aren’t putting on a show, and we aren’t charging admission, we are conveying a much more important message than Celene Dion ever does any night of the week: The message of Salvation. And for that reason, if nothing else, we should have as strict philosophy about what we expect from ourselves. In almost all venues, whether it is churches or not, the Technical Director for that particular venue will tell you that the philosophy of the technical department is to provide seamless and transparent technology. Transparent is not a word that is used a lot in the world of technology, but I think it is one that should sum up the entire existence of technology within the church. If you go to a rock concert, they want you to see the huge stacks of speakers, and the cables running everywhere. They want you to see the lights moving in patterns, and the pyrotechnics. But when people come to church, they want to hear God speak through message and song. Our job in the church sound booth is to bring that experience to them as efficiently and clearly as we can- maybe even using the same stuff they use in the rock show, but with more tact and grace, so that we don’t hinder or cover up what God is doing.
There is a church that I worked with doing some audio stuff a few years ago, and I call one of the congregation members every once in a while to see how things are going. Since I was there, some teams have rotated out, so it’s almost a completely new team from what started when I was there. I asked how the technical things are going there. I always get one of the following two responses: “It wasn’t as bad as it normally is” or, “It was even worse than usual”. While on of these statements sounds better than the other- the fact is that the church is only varying from one degree of insufficiency to another. It’s not that any of their technicians are idiots (I don’t think); it’s that they have nothing to strive for there. They don’t realize the negative impact on a first time visitor when the singer walks up and their microphone doesn’t come on until about 45 seconds into their song. When this happens, everyone in the room has turned their thoughts from enjoying the song, to “what is wrong with them!?” In an instant, the transparency is shattered and the mood that was set is long gone. Having a philosophy of Transparent Technology, and giving forth the due diligence could have saved that moment.
I’m sure by now you can see how Due Diligence and Excellence are both key players (right up there with the organist) in the church. You may ask why they are so important. I have had many people tell me that having such high standards gives the appearance of being too rehearsed and showy; or even too fake. To that I say this: There are many people out there in the world who don’t care about church, or don’t take it seriously because they expect second-rate ‘performance’. Churches for decades have been given that bad rap (worse than vanilla ice), with the accusations covering everything in the church from second-rate music, to poorly executed dramas. In order to get people out of that mindset, you actually have to do something that will question their stance. You will never see a box office smash filmed with a Radio Shack camera, and costumes made out of bed sheets. So why should you expect to see that at a church? You never go to a concert to hear a poorly assembled band. So why is that many times the case in church? Are we not conveying a much more important message? Are we not trying to somehow convey the excellence and perfection of God through what we do? Of course we are! And YES, that might mean you have to fork out a little more money to buy nicer stuff, or put more time into an event to ensure its success, but you will never find a lost soul walk into the church with a price tag around their neck (Minnie Pearl is long gone)…and I don’t think it’s our job to put one there. The days of the church producing second-rate material are fast fading. I pray that we never let ourselves get in the way of what God is doing. He has always provided, through the rough times and the good. He’s not about the stop now……
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