Marcus Buckingham, in his book The One Thing You Need to Know, states that there are three types of people, The Leader, The Manager, and the Individual Performer (or as I like to call it, the Button Pusher).

The Leader

We all have read books and been to conferences or seminars and have been challenged to be leaders. We’ve seen the lists of what qualities a leader should have, like: good work ethic, motivated, flexible, decisive, experienced, strive for excellence, punctual, and even humble to name a few. These are all great qualities, but I expect these things out of my staff, my volunteers and even my kids. Having these qualities doesn’t automatically make you a leader. I have a ton of guys and gals on my team that exude all of these qualities, but I would never make them leaders. So what makes someone a leader? Well first the obvious, a leader needs to have followers, otherwise they aren’t leading. But what makes a great leader? I believe that great leaders know where they are going (vision/mission) and clearly paint that picture for their followers. It’s the clarity and the confidence of their vision that will inspire others to tag along for the long haul. Your people need to see that there is a future out there of something bigger and better than where they are currently at. That is the only reason for people to move. They are unsatisfied with where they are at and someone comes along and shows them something better and they follow. There is a certain confidence that leaders must have. This next point is where Marcus and I disagree. He would say that confidence/ego comes from within and I would say that the confidence a leader who is a follower of Christ must come from above. The leader knows that they have been given by God the ability, understanding, and the drive to overcome any challenge or obstacle in their way to achieve their vision through the power of the Holy Spirit. But of course, the leader must be in tuned with the Holy Spirit’s leading for this to work. Where are you at with your personal walk? Is your leadership Christ centered? Do you know where you are going?

The Manager

You always hear it said that “Our greatest asset is our people.” Then why do we spend so much of our time with our gear? Because it’s easier! Our gear doesn’t talk back, have emotional needs that need to be met, or need to be taught how to do its job. And yes, part of our job is to manage our technical systems so that things keep working and things don’t get lost. I get it, but the true manager sees past that and focuses on the people. You can have the nicest gear in the world and if you have no one to run it, it is worthless. The goal of the manager is to “discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it.” I know this may seem callus and cold, but if the motivation is right then it’s the exact opposite. It’s not about using people. It’s truly caring enough about them that you want them to succeed and be fulfilled by using their strengths, gifts and talents. In return they will perform better and you will have better results. The only way you can do this is to get to know your people. Find out what makes them tick. Figure out how they feel loved and encouraged. Pray for them. Visit them in the hospital. Ask how they are doing. Buy them a Starbucks on their birthday. Be their Pastor. Most of all truly care for them. You will be found out real quickly if you try to manipulate people into performing so that you look good or that your church gets what it needs. Don’t just fill positions, invest in your people.

The Individual Performer (The Button Pusher)

This is pretty self-explanatory. These are the doers, the engineers, the operators, and the experts. These are the jobs that originally got us excited about doing tech, right? But at some point, someone asked you or you felt the need to become a tech director. What were you thinking?! Maybe it was the opportunity to move up in the ranks, get more money (or at least steady money), get out of the rat race of production life, or whatever. Even as you are reading this, you might be wishing you were back to just being the sound guy or the cameraman or the electronics technician. That’s OK. But if that is the case, maybe you shouldn’t be the guy in charge.

So who are you?

Start by asking those around you, your pastors, your volunteers, your spouse, your friends. Take some kind of strengths assessment from a book like Standout by Marcus Buckingham or StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. I challenge you to do it. It may surprise you.

Can you be all three?

Well your pastors or elders think you can. That’s why they hired you. I think Tech Directors are the only people in the world that are expected to be an upfront leader of staff and volunteers, a manager of schedules, people and equipment, and an expert in every aspect of Audio, Video, and Lighting. Some people have said that you just need to wear different hats at different times. The problem with that type of thinking is that those people assume that you have all the hats to begin with. The reality is that you cannot be good at everything. You can certainly try to do it all yourself, but you will fail and at the end of the day you will be depleted of all your strength and burned out. “Well maybe I can just get better at what I am bad at?” You are right; you may go from being horrible at something to being really bad at it. But you will never be great at it. And the time and energy it took would be exhausting. Wouldn’t it be better to find something that you already have some natural ability and pour into that same amount of time and energy? Does that mean you can ignore the things you are bad at? No. But manage around them, and focus on your strengths.

Here is the key for the Leader, Manager, and Individual Performer:

First, identify which one you are the most and focus on that. It’s important to know that not one of these is more important than the other. Just different. We need all of these types of people to be a successful Production Team.

Second, surround yourself with others that are different than you. Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, describes this process as getting the right people on the bus. Whether it’s recruiting some key volunteers or being fortunate to hire people, you must choose wisely. And when you choose poorly, (it will happen) fix the problem. Make the tough decisions.

Third, don’t be intimidated by the fact that your people might be better at some things than you. Get over yourself. You will be amazed by how many compliments you get because of what your team accomplishes when you have all the right people in the right places.

Do you have all of these on your team or are you trying to do all three?

If you are a true leader, but things just don’t seem to get done. You see a clear future that is bright, but just can’t seem to make it happen, inspire people around you to step up and join your cause. Partner with someone who is about getting things done and can come up with systems to help your team.

If you are the manager and you just naturally are good at putting people and systems in the right place, but your team just seems to be in a rut. Find someone who can inspire and bring clarity to your team. Maybe that can be your worship leader or a pastor. Or maybe even once a quarter bring in some outside help like a consultant. Or find a mentor, a fellow tech director that seems to have it together.

If you are a button pusher, maybe it’s time to step down. Maybe it’s time to let someone else lead and manage and you do what you do best. You are banging your head up against the wall every day and you are tired. You cannot do this on your own.

To Finish

So what now? Should I even be here? If yes, then keep going. Find other Tech Directors who might be struggling. Share the wealth. But if the answer is no, then where are you at in the process. What questions are you wrestling with? Maybe all of them? Well, pick one and tackle it head on. By the way, this is an extremely slow process. You will not find the right people, discover you strengths, learn how to use them, and change your view of your job overnight. You will go into work tomorrow and still have the same boss, the same responsibilities, the same pile of work, and the same to do list, but don’t give up. Don’t get discouraged. Take the next step. Start today!

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By now, you are either excited about the place you are at or maybe just confused by it all or maybe you are completely defeated. For those of you who are discouraged and are saying to yourself, “What do I do now?” Don’t give up! For those who just know that they have been called by God and excited for what your church is about, you may be still asking, “So why am I still so burned out?” For both groups I want to encourage you with a few lessons that I have learned from asking all these questions of myself and seeking those answers out not only from wise people in my life, but also from my favorite author. Marcus Buckingham is one of the leading experts in the area of personal strengths and how to identify your strengths and use them in the work place. He has written a number of books on the subject. (Now, Discover Your Strengths, Go, Put Your Strengths to Work, and Standout) I’m not going to try to explain it as well as he can. Go out and read the books for yourself or YouTube Trombone Player Wanted (a short video series on strengths.) But here are a few highlights that have helped me.

Strengths

A study was done on American workers and was found out that only 2 out of every 10 people said that they have a job that plays to their strengths every day. Two out of Ten! What that tells me is that 80% of people said that they go to work every day and are exhausted, unfulfilled, and depleted by their job. Now tell me, is that how you feel after you get home from your church? Exhausted, unfulfilled, and depleted! Now I get there may be moments of pure exhaustion, where you leave nothing behind. You’ve given it your all, and you are tired. I’ve been there. Coming off of a Christmas week where we had 14 services over 3 campuses in 4 days. Over 12,000 people heard about Jesus. Did I mention, I was tired? But in those moments I’m pumped, I’m excited and I come home ready to do it again. I can’t even fall asleep at night, because at the end of the day, I know that I had a hand in what God just did, and I was able to use my God-given strengths, gifts, and talents to further His kingdom. “We get to do this!”

So, what is a ‘strength’? Is it simply something you are good at? Maybe, but there is more to it. Marcus would say “it is something that makes you feel strong.” You may be great at something, but at the end of the day it makes you feel weak and depleted. Your strengths are something that you are naturally good at AND when you are done you are invigorated, strong, and excited. That AND is very important because you need both sides of that statement to be true. We all have things that we love to do and get excited about but we aren’t very good at them. What do we call those things? Yep, hobbies. I love playing golf, but I suck. No one will ever pay me to play golf. In fact, they may pay me to just stop and get off their course. Strengths require ability plus excitement. In these areas of strength, you become more productive, you seem to be more focused, you’re in the zone, and time seems to just pass you by. Can you think back a week or so and pick out these moments? Try it! Maybe these things are your strengths.

And right now comes the question, “Are you telling me that every part of your job is filled with strengths? Aren’t there parts of your job that just drain you?” In a word, yes. “There’s a reason they call it work.” But what I’ve tried to do over the years is to replace the parts of my job that I am weak with the parts that I am strong. For example, I stopped training new volunteers. In fact, I rarely even interface with them at all. I have found that I am no good at taking someone who knows nothing and teaching them. What I am good at is once they have learned the basics and are showing some potential I am great at taking them to the next level. So a few years ago I started hiring some of my highest potential young volunteers and have poured huge amounts of time into them. Most of them now know way more than I do. Some have moved on to bigger and better things and others I have promoted to be some of my key staff members. One of the other things I am weak at is scheduling volunteers. That drains me more than most things, so I found a few people who love doing that. They love, not only scheduling people, but tracking their days to make sure they are not working too much. I also do not have a huge nurturing or mercy gift. I do these things when I have to, but once again, it depletes and exhausts me. So I have found people that just want to love on others and I have put them in charge of volunteer appreciation. On weekends, I don’t operate one piece of gear, unless 2 or 3 people don’t show up. I love it!

So what do I do all day? I am a Connector/Pioneer (results from The Standout). I love putting the right pieces together without looking at the instructions. Whether it’s putting the right people in the right places or figuring out how to solve a problem, that’s where I’m at my best, and that is when I feel strong. I love empowering people to take their ideas and run with them without knowing the outcome. “Let’s try it, and see if it works” is my motto.

Start doing more of what you are strong at and less of what you are weak at. “Yeah right”, you say. “I can’t just stop doing things that my church needs from me.” I need to take one for the team and do my job. That is what my church needs from me.” What if I told you, that is the last thing your church needs from you. What your church needs from you is to use your gifts, strengths, and talents and for someone else to step up and use theirs where you are lacking. You see, if everyone in your church (staff and volunteers) would start thinking this way, you will finally be acting as one body. Stop trying to be a hand, when God designed you to be a foot. Sound familiar? (1 Corinthians 12)

The post Should I even be here? Part 2 of three parts appeared first on Church Technical Leaders.

The Back Story – You see, when I was first asked to do an article, I was told to write about something I was passionate about, something that would be helpful, and something that was hopefully unique. Oh yeah, and make it 500-700 words (Oops!). So I started typing. Little did I know… God was going to rattle my cage and challenge me to really ask these questions of myself and to ultimately lean on Him and trust Him to do whatever He wants with my life. I’ve been the Technical Director at High Desert Church in Victorville, CA since February of 2002. My official title is now Production Manager, but you can still find me on Twitter as @hdctechdirect . I grew up at this church. My dad was a pastor here for 18 years until he passed away suddenly in the balcony of the auditorium on his way to morning prayer in May of 2005. My brother and mother also now work here. I met my wife here, I was married here, and I had a job as a custodian here while I was in high school. You could say my family and I have given our lives to this church and its ministry. I truly love working here and would love to retire here.

So what’s the problem? Well, one of my best friends, who happens to be the worship pastor here at HDC, told me right before I was going to post this article that he was taking a position at another church in Pennsylvania. He was going to pack up his family and move 2540 miles away right after Christmas. Now this was not just another guy you go to lunch with at work. We worked many long hours together, our families did life together, we were in a small group together, our kids did birthday parties together, and we even lived on the same block. My 4 year old daughter knew that someday she would marry one of their boys. That is the type of friend I’m talking about. From the day he first came to HDC, we clicked. Professionally, we made each other better and we accomplished some pretty cool stuff. And now I’m left with not only a hole in my family’s heart, but a big hole in our church that needs to get filled.

So now it begins the long process of finding a new worship leader. I’ve been through it before and I’m asking God to make it as quick and painless as possible. I am nervous about the future. I know God knows what is best for our church and for me, but I also recognize that the worship leader God brings in may have different ideals than I do. He may want to change everything we do, and my role, I believe, is to either change or get out of the way. And so, I am in the same boat as many of you. I have to seriously ask myself, “Do you believe what you are preaching?” “Should you even be here?”

Should I be in full time ministry?

God has called and ordained few to this position. If you got into this gig because you felt roped into it by your pastor or you felt that “well if I don’t do it, who will?” then you probably are feeling greatly burdened by this question. You see, being in full-time ministry is a calling that God has given to some (not most) and you will only be frustrated, burned, and jaded if you are trying to fulfill a calling that you were never meant for. This has increased more and more over the last ten years with what I call the professionalization of the church. The fact that you can go to college and major in not only Theology to become a pastor, but in church music, church organization, church leadership, and even church production helps substantiate my theory. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not! It’s about time our people running our churches are trained. But what it does create is the naive individual that sees the church as a glamorous world that “You can get paid to be a professional church goer.” I’ve talked to many people over my lifetime and I’ve heard people say: “Well what do you do the other six days a week? You get paid that much for working on only Sundays? Man, I wish I could work at a church where everybody is always nice and there is no politics. I would love to work here, because it seems so much less stress than my secular job.” Let me tell you a little secret that is obvious to most of you reading this. Working at a church will never make you rich and it will never make you famous, and there are just as many imperfect people at churches than there are at any other job! The ratio is 1:1. Church production is not glamorous. It is a thankless job that requires long hours and hard work! And oh yeah, it’s stressful too!

Here’s the flip-side. When you are fulfilling the call God has placed on your life, it is the most rewarding place you will ever be, and not always on this side of heaven. I remember being called to full-time ministry. As a senior in high school, shortly after giving my life to Jesus, waking up in the middle of the night and having God speak to me, not in an audible voice, but it was clear to me that I was meant for something. I didn’t know what that meant at first and it took a lot of trial and error to figure it out. (I thought I should be a youth pastor at first. What an epic fail that was.) At times I didn’t even want it, but I knew without a doubt that I was called. You might be saying, “Um, I’ve never had that experience before.” That’s Ok. Not everyone is called that way. Maybe God spoke to you through a pastor or a Godly friend. I know that God speaks to me through my wife and kids all the time. Usually, He is telling me what a selfish moron I am. Others are just left to ask themselves, “Would I be happy and content doing anything else?” If the answer is yes, then you may not be called to full-time ministry. Well, have you made it through the first question? Yes? Well then let’s move on.

Should I be at this church?

I believe, without any hesitation, that you need to have the same fundamental theology, mission, and goals of your church. Otherwise, it’s just a job for you and you are not fulfilling that call God has placed on your life. As production staff, you are not only to be servants among the servants of God, but also partners with them. Now does this mean, you need to agree with every decision, statement, and doctrine that your leaders make or have? Of course not! No one agrees with everything. But in the words of my pastor, Tom Mercer, “The main thing in life is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Read that again. “The main thing in life is to keep the main thing the main thing.” There are only a few things in life that are worth standing your ground over. Make sure they are about the main thing. And make sure your main thing aligns with the main thing of your church. Do not hinder what God wants for your local church. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” – Romans 12:18 If you can’t handle that then move on.

The post Should I even be here? (Part 1 of 3) appeared first on Church Technical Leaders.

The Production/Tech Director role is unique. Like me, you probably started as the “sound guy” and worked your way up to your position now. The role changes from being behind the console to directing the crew behind the console, and for many of us, this is a difficult transition because it is hard to let go. It is a challenge to make the shift from being on the ground running, involved in everything, to operating at 30,000 feet.

Two years ago, I did not want the role I am in now. I was all about the gear. I wasn’t looking at the big picture or fulfilling the call to move into the position of director. My desire to be involved and lack of vision hindered the team rather than helped it. We were not keeping pace with the needs of our church and unable to serve all the needs of our body. The team didn’t excel because I wasn’t letting them move up and grow – and even fail.

Without a leader, vision is impaired, and without vision, resources tend to be scattered. Some projects that aren’t critical and perhaps don’t even line up with the church’s vision garner too much attention. Other projects and tasks don’t get the thoroughness they need and wind up poorly done.

The leader has to cast vision for the team, not telling the sound engineer what compression ratio to use on the BGV. During seasons when the crew is exhausted, the leader should see the light at the end of that tunnel and encourage his crew and enable them to get there – not sit in trenches to complain about how things could have been different. Come along side your crew; serve them well in times of struggle (some of which may have been their own doing).

A leader must also never get so caught up in the busyness of the job that they forget the church. One of the goals for my team is to work themselves out of a job. It sounds crazy, but we should be equipping others (volunteers, church members, etc.) to lead and serve the church.

“Lead your crew” is something said with little effort and yet hard to fully grasp. There are not enough 10 step plans, books or conferences that can make a great leader. A great leader is able to set aside their pride and understand that they must constantly learn new things, try different techniques and even make mistakes. I know that I certainly have a lot of room to grow and I make mistakes all the time. Through the grace of God we keep moving.

The Lord calls us to our roles (Acts 17:26). In doing so He equips and enables us for where we are placed. In times of doubt or frustration we must learn to press in. Ultimately, He will sustain you and your crew.

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• “This includes providing audio, video, visual media, and lighting for weekend services, meeting technical needs for Adult and Student ministries, and providing I.T., web, and telecommunications support. “
• Display proficiency in all worship technology; live audio engineering, IEM (in-ear-monitor systems), studio audio editing (DAW software), computer graphic manipulation (Adobe CS), video editing & production (Adobe Premiere), internet media usability (iTunes, Vimeo, YouTube), basic web design (Adobe Dreamweaver)… Experience in information technologies (computer troubleshooting, Apple/PC support, software update/management, website, email, backup/storage, printers/copiers, network/wifi, electronic security)
• “The Director of Technical Arts will directly oversee and provide all technical production support …, managing the planning and execution of all technical components of worship, including, but not limited to facilities, audio, lighting, graphics, video and staging… oversees teams of volunteers for technical production and security on Sundays… manage ongoing facilities matters ranging from routine upkeep, coordinating the relationship with the Facilities Liaison… for maintenance and repair, overseeing existing and ongoing contracts with regular contracted service providers, and overseeing volunteer/contract staff for external events including but not limited to weddings and funerals. Qualified candidates will have a minimum of 3 years experience mixing Front of House and working in the main areas of technical production (audio/lighting/video/staging) as well as an advanced working knowledge of digital audio consoles, IEMs and RF signal management.”

Does your job resemble one of these “superman” job descriptions? Are you required to oversee Audio, Video, Lighting, Stage design, IT, Web, Marketing/communication, Security, and the pastor’s home theater?

Personally, I’ve never met anyone capable of filling a superman position with excellence. Something will suffer because there aren’t enough hours in a day, weeks in a year, or years in a lifetime to become an expert at all of those disciplines. In fact, with the rate at which technology advances, staying proficient in any ONE of those disciplines is a challenge, especially if it involves IT or web development and application support.

So what do we do about it? Hang up our TD hats and go get a job in the corporate world? For some, that may be the right answer, but for most, the reason you are in this role is your deep love and commitment to serving God and the surrounding community. The first step in getting to a healthy place in a “superman” job is not only knowing but openly acknowledging your limits. If you don’t know what you’re personally capable of you’ll find yourself in a perpetual state of inadequacy, which is never a fulfilling place to be.

The second step is to “lead up” and start a conversation with those you work for. Be honest; gently explain that the current workload is overwhelming and that continuing down that road will lead to burnout, which isn’t healthy for you or the church. Ask for additional assistance, whether it be an additional full time hire, part time assistance, additional specialized training for you and your volunteer team, or even a reduction in the breadth of your responsibilities.

If you still find yourself feeling alone and overwhelmed, keep it simple. Don’t try to design/build elaborate stage sets every week; keep it to every six weeks or every quarter. Don’t engage in ambitious video shoots that require large amounts of editing and post production. Don’t try to do major AVL installs yourself. Basically, know when to say “I’m out of my league, we should hire a consultant”, “I currently don’t have time for that, will you help me prioritize the following things…”, “I don’t know the answer to that, but I’ll do some research”, or even a simple “no” when it comes to random people/ministries asking you for help.

Most importantly, remember these words: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9, NIV) When you’re at the end of your rope, God is whispering “You are weak. You are weary. It’s okay. I am enough.” Revel in your trusted local community or the community of Church Technical Leaders, a group of people who understand you and truly sympathize with you. The answer might be to put down the cape and walk away from trying to be superman to a place with realistic expectations, and that’s ok. Don’t let a job damage your relationship with God or kill your desire to serve and be a resource to the body of Christ. Take heart, trust in the Lord; you are loved and valued in the Kingdom of God. You’ll find your place, and when you do, those persistent feelings of inadequacy will transform into a sense of joy and fulfillment that only God can provide.

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I’m going to be very forthcoming, open and vulnerable in this article. In fact, some of this, I’ve taken from my journal so it may be a little raw. Quite honestly, I stink at managing relationships and situations where things get sticky. I think it’s something a lot of tech guys struggle with. But admitting is the first step to recover, right? So, I’m going to address some of my personal weaknesses and what I’m learning along the way as I work through these issues.

1. I’m so passionate about what I’m doing that I forget about who I’m doing it for

One of my friends named Rob called it “tunnel vision” which I think best describes it. I’m pretty sure we’ve all experienced it. We’re all passionate about what we do; that’s why we do it. Ministry lends itself to long hours, hard work and sometimes some serious pressure on top of everything else. Sometimes, the only thing that keeps us going is just how passionate we are about what we do. If you’re super driven by how passionate you are about tech, it’s easy to forget about the people we’re working with are way more important then the tech gear we are working with. We’re also all problem solvers…we conquer and destroy. That may be awesome when it’s a problem with a piece of gear or a lot of work that needs to be done for big event, but it’s probably not a good thing if it’s a person that you don’t see eye to eye with. I’m learning what it means to love others more by letting go of what I want to do and my control of what’s going on. That’s not to say you just release control of the event and let it all fall apart, but it does mean letting other people step into their element and using their talents and skills. True leadership learns how to support others and make them look good and let them get the credit rather then yourself. If I’m ultimately doing this for God and honoring and trusting others along the way, it should actually be viewed an act of worship as a leader.

2. I’m passionate about what I do but no one else can help

Unfortunately, sometimes we have to do it all. But it’s also important that we work just as hard to find someone to disciple and train up in the ministry we’re working in and replicate ourselves. There are a lot of facets to this. Sometimes, it’s hard to find someone to disciple because if you’re stuck doing everything, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for fellowship and recruitment. But, sometimes it’s a feeling of incompetence or that you have nothing to teach. Here’s the thing, it’s not your job to know everything; it’s simply your job to communicate and share what you do know and what God has blessed you with- even if it seems as small as a mustard seed. If you believe with faith that’s even that small, I believe that God will compensate for your weakness and still use you in a great and mighty way. He will give you the wisdom and strength to raise up another leader if you trust him!

3. I’m passionate about what I do and I want to do it all…all the time

There’s also another reason why we might want to do it all and that’s simply because we’re almost overly passionate to the point that what we want to do is humanly impossible to do by ourselves. My passion and the intense drive to do what I’m called to do can be blinding. It is very possible that I’ll quite literally run myself into the ground and in the end, that will do more harm then good. The consequences aren’t too great as long as these events are few and far between. Considering that I’m a single guy at this point in my life, it usually just means I’m exhausted at the end of the event and I go to bed, wake up 10-12 hours later, eat cold pizza and then take another nap. But, if I make this a habit (which it can easily become), and push myself that hard all the time, it’s destructive to me in ways that are more then just physical. My relationships and other aspects of life will begin to suffer because I simply have nothing left to give. I’ll start skipping out on other things that I probably should be doing and I’ll miss other parts of the journey that God has for me. The emotional toll of the pressure and stress will eventually get to me and I’ll break. Sometimes, we just brush it off as what we’re supposed to be doing. I think we make the excuse that we’re putting God first when we wear ourselves out in ministry but it’s not what God intended. It could be easy to idolize our role in ministry and not realize it because we think we’re doing the right thing for the Lord when in actuality, we’ve lost sight of what our goals really need to be. Maybe, some of you know what I’m talking about because you’ve been there, or you are going through this right now. I encourage you to take heart because you’re not alone. But, I also encourage you to let go and allow other people who are able, to help carry some of that load. As we train new people and trust others to support us and work along side us, we take the intense load off ourselves freeing ourselves up to not only worship while we work, but also allowing us to invest in other individuals, and sometimes just to simply watch someone else succeed.

Which one of these issues can you relate to? Which ones do you need to work on and which ones do you do well with? What changes do you need to make in your life? What do you need to embrace and what do you need to let go of?

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After almost a decade of ministry, several crucial principles have become mainstays with our team. Let me share them with you..

Daily team prayer

Nothing draws a team together like fervent prayer. We also have a Facebook page and email chain for prayer requests. It’s been a great way to share and pray for one another.

Listen to everyone

“Get” their ideas and hear what they are saying. Many great ideas were implemented because of listening.

Be there for your team

Be the kind of leader they can feel comfortable calling at 2:00am during a crisis. If a death happens attend the funerals and be there with them through their times of grief, times of crisis as well as the joyous seasons. I remember a recent account where my photography leader’s wife just went to be with Jesus at a young age. I called to offer food the day that the doctor told them she had days. He told me not to come (he’s a private guy) but the Lord told me to go anyhow. We went and brought food and prayed over her, with one of our Pastors. We winded up singing and it was a beautiful time. The family said they had no idea what they were going to do for dinner (they were not needing to be dealing with dinner at that time) but the Lord provided (by us listening to the spirit). The husband was deeply moved.

Don’t under estimate someone

…because of their, spiritual maturity, or years of experience. One of my employees has been serving with me since he was 15 and now at 22 he is on staff and is now our main director at our one of our locations. Believe in people and invest in them.

Be an effective spiritual leader for the crew

Demonstrate that your passion is for the Lord, not just the ministry. Share what God is doing in your life. Make yourself relatable to them.

Continually come up with new and fresh ways to encourage your team.

Remember their birthdays (even if it’s a team of 200 or more like ours). We also send cards to three different people a month thanking them for all they do, also with a free coffee voucher from our café. We have an incredible picnic in the spring with lots of fun activities and food is always a good…We are always meeting and planning new ways to keep it fresh.

Be quick to encourage prayer if a technical problem arises

Have the people in the room stop talking and pray. Most times things start working without any explanation- those are God moments!

Always pray for your leadership

…and be thankful you have them even if you disagree from time to time. God placed them over us and we are here to support them the best we can.

Keep the main thing the main thing

The most important thing for me is to make sure that our team members attend at least one service a week. Serving God should not interfere with attending the teachings. This will require more volunteers and training but will help to ensure that your team is spiritually healthy.

Become a teacher

Teach them how to be the best at whatever they are doing. Be there best cheerleader.

Remain teachable and humble

If you model these qualities, your team will most likely follow. Don’t take the credit. Give your team and God the credit. If someone says great job or whose great idea was that, I always say we have a great team or Praise God!

Let go of any pride

Learn how and when to delegate. Realize that you cannot do everything effectively by yourself. Realize that there are others with greater gifts than you. Realize that delegation leads to the growth of your team. Realize that you don’t have to do it all- the ministry will go on without you.

These principles may seem basic and obvious to many. It would be hard pressed for anyone to argue against them. The danger, however, is that we sometimes feel as though agreeing with something is the same as implementing it. Let me implore you to examine these principles to see if they are truly part of your ministry. Some of these principles took me years to learn through experience. I am not perfect and am still learning each and every day. Pray fervently that the Holy Spirit would lead your ministry. Make sure that He gets all the Glory.

The post How does God use your ministry? appeared first on Church Technical Leaders.

At a recent visit to the Smithsonian’s American History Museum, I squinted through a historic 3D stereoscope at a picture from the Civil War. Getting the picture to look three dimensional required sliding the picture forward and back and refocusing my eyes several times. Until everything worked together, the image was just a blur.

Similarly, the effect of a church’s production or technical ministry can be distorted when the goals don’t fully align with the broader mission of the church.

The pastors at Covenant Life Church have recently proposed a new mission statement for our church: “Making disciples of Jesus Christ built on the Word, empowered by the Spirit and going with the gospel.”

As I’ve thought about what’s coming for the next couple years for our technical team, I’ve realized that this new mission statement should influence, and possibly reshape, the way we do production at Covenant Life. I need to synchronize our small part of the church’s mission with the overall vision.

What might that look like?

Making Disciples – As the leader of an executional team, I need regular reminders that the people I work with don’t just make church happen. They themselves are the church. Even as they serve, they should be growing and learning. How can I make space for that growth to happen?

Of Jesus Christ – Who Jesus is and what he did for us should be deeply embedded in the culture of our team. If I expect a certain level of sacrifice, hard work, attention to detail, or responsiveness to direction, I need to justify my expectations by the character and work of Jesus, not just some world-defined standard of excellence. When I push people to be better, I should be pushing them to be more like Jesus, not just to create better art.

Built on the Word – Production is a word ministry. We do what we do to see the words of songs and sermons reach as many people as physics and technology will allow. But how much does God’s Word inform our conversations, decision-making, and communication?

Empowered by the Spirit – When we jump immediately to the task list, depending on our own gifting, experience, or planning, we shortchange the people we am serving, and – more significantly – we make the statement that we don’t need God. How much joy and peace we could experience if we prayed more often, depending on the Spirit and not on our own wisdom!

Going with the Gospel – What are we evangelical about? What does our team excitedly talk about in unscripted downtime? The greatest new gear? The latest iPhone? That digital-snaked, multi-screen, cloud-based, fantastic-fandangled thingamabob? If God isn’t the dominant topic in our conversations with believers, will we really speak of him with non-believers?

Now, reality check: a new mission statement won’t change most of our weekly processes and won’t require any equipment upgrades. In fact, none of the ideas I’ve outlined above are radically new to me or my team members.

However, reflecting on how our team fits within the greater mission of the church re-motivates me to put people before production, and personal growth before executional perfection. I want to improve how we work together, communicate with each other, and spend our time.

Aligning our team with the church is bringing focus to what is most important.

How could you sync up with your church’s greater mission?

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Tim recently left for vacation. He was gone for over a week which put this frequently three-man-job, that two-men-do, squarely on my shoulders. This was a daunting task to be sure, but the good news is, I didn’t feel unprepared. In fact, I knew, in the middle of Tim’s absence, that I was well cared for, and he prepared a way before me. Thanks to his leadership, he anticipated problems that I might come against and took care of them. For the issues that couldn’t be tackled before he left, he briefed me before leaving. He left me a manageable list of tasks to take care of in his absence, and he gave me a communications route to use in case I needed one.

As I began working through my week, I began to see the evidences of how he had prepared me for his absence. I felt really well cared for, and it gave me confidence that this wasn’t going to be an impossibly difficult week — a week I could get through because of the work he had done ahead of time.

The same is true of Christ. He drank to the dregs the cup of wrath that was reserved for us when we were lost in our sin. He knocked down the roadblocks of guilt and condemnation and made a way for us to know forgiveness and grace. God’s direction for us is laid out in his authoritative word, the Bible. Jesus’ last words on Earth were our marching orders for life, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV). His communication has been crystal clear in his word, and not only that but he left us a helper in the Holy Spirit. He’s given us prayer to call on his name, and he helps us faithfully.

Remove the roadblocks. We need to take that same attitude of care and concern for our volunteers that serve in our services. When we know about roadblocks that could make things difficult for them, we need to do what we can ahead of time to make their way easier. We need to take their weaknesses into consideration. Where a service is concerned, maybe you need to bring others into the conversation to help think of ways of accomplishing their goals. Let’s make serving a pleasure for our tirelessly serving volunteers, not something that drains them due to too many complications.

Give the right tasks to the right people. Don’t overburden them with tasks or responsibilities. If it’s more than you would want to do on a given day or event, then don’t hypocritically require it of them. When you do, you’re telling them that your free time is more important than theirs. Take Christ’s example and be the sacrifice for them. Do the hard thing so they don’t have to. After all, if they fail, it’s you who will be held accountable anyway.

Leave them clear communications. Don’t even let them have a chance to be stressed out because you didn’t let them know about an element or a change that is going on. Even informing them that you expect everything to run normally will bless them to know you’re thinking about them and that their ministry matters to you as their leader. Give them an avenue of contact for you, even if you aren’t there, so if there is confusion you can talk them through it or get on site to help out. They won’t always need it but they have confidence knowing there’s a backup plan.

These things are simple and are all part of God’s call on our life to give sacrificially of ourselves (Rom 12:1) and to take the reality that our bodies have good and varied gifts that we should use for the benefit of Christ (1Peter 4:10).

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The reason I don’t pursue excellence as hard as I once did is because it’s such a moving target. To pursue excellence often means we have to keep upgrading our equipment, our techniques, our people. There’s nothing wrong with that; I think we should be in the process of steady improvement. But when that constant pull of trying to improve overshadows the message we’re trying to communicate, we go off track.

My boss and I were talking about this some months ago and he summed it up very well, “We’re not trying to create a perfect service; we want to create a powerful service.” That is a subtle distinction but it’s an attitude shift that has far-reaching consequences.

For example, if my goal is a perfect service, every aspect of production has to be spot on. Every camera shot, every ProPresenter cue, every light move and every EQ of every channel. By necessity that means highly trained (and probably paid) operators at every station. The pressure to perform is high for every technician. If just one thing goes wrong, the goal is missed and everyone is disappointed.

On the other hand, if we’re shooting for powerful, a lot more effort is directed toward planning the service so that the message of the Gospel is clearly communicated. Each element is carefully thought through so it will bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. When it comes to execution, people are very willing to forgive minor technical errors as long as the overall service is engaging and, shall I say, powerful.

Now, you might be tempted to think that I am lowering the standard and that will lead to people leaving the church in search of a “better” experience. However, I would argue the opposite is true. I believe we are entering a new era in the Church, one in which people are seeking authentic experiences, experiences that will create a difference in their lives.

I’ve been in many church services that were “excellent” at least from a technical standpoint, however I don’t remember many of them. What I remember are the ones that were powerful. I think back to my experience mixing for our Sr. High winter retreat some years ago. The PA was rather cruddy, the room was small, projection wasn’t that great, and the services had multiple technical glitches. They were also some of the most amazing, powerful services I’ve ever been a part of. I remember one in particular where God moved in such a tangible way that even after the service “ended” students stayed in the room; some were praying, others were thinking, some were weeping. The presence of God was so powerful, none of us wanted to leave that place. Now, years later, I can still feel the emotions of that moment. That was a powerful service. Students were changed, broken lives were made whole. Those are the kind of services I want to be a part of.

And that’s why I’ve backed off on the whole “excellence” thing. I’m not going to be distracting on purpose, but I’m not going to lose sleep over a missed cue. We need to focus on engaging the hearts of the people in the pews, and hold off on perfection—at least on this side of heaven.

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