As many of you know, our church is currently going through the danielFAST for 21 days. This is a limited diet of fruit, vegetables and no meat, bread, caffeine, or a lot of the normal stuff your body craves. So you may ask yourself, or even ask one of us, “Doesn’t that make you hungry?” The answer is yes, and no. Rest assured limiting your normal intake does make you quit hungry, but relying on God and reflecting on His scripture gives food for the soul that cannot be replaced and brings great satisfaction and strength to continue.
So what does this have to do with technology and worship? It is quite simple actually. The Technical Ministries Team in any church plays a huge role that most don’t even realize. We sit in back and push buttons and almost do it methodically. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what would happen if you missed turning on a mic on time? Or, missing lyrics for the music? Ok, so you did not have to ask yourself, I am sure you have experienced it on several occasions.
But once again, what does this have to do with being hungry?
Ok, the answer - - When a person steps in to church for the first time, it is not because he/she has a wonderful life and they are totally satisfied, it is because they are usually at the end of their rope, recovering from a serious loss, or on the verge of ending it all. So you can say that they are hungry. They are hungry for meaning, purpose, and looking for something to satisfy this burning need they have deep inside. As a Technical Ministry Team member, you are part of the main course. If Jesus said, take this bread, it is my body, and take this cup and drink, it is my blood shed for you, then shouldn’t we as Technical People act as though we were the waiters of a 5star restaurant, and serve the message with the utmost perfection that we can deliver?
Now, I, nor you are perfect, but there are steps we can do ahead of time to accomplish this task. A waiter in a 5 star restaurant does not just pick up a plate or wine glass and hap heartedly stick it on the table, no he/she will inspect it for cleanliness and deliver it with a sort of reverence.
Handing a mic to a guest speaker that is not VERIFIED turned on, reviewing the song lyrics while the band is warming up, using light patterns and colors just because they are cool, crazy camera transitions just because you can, and not praying and immersing yourself in the message, is just as good as a dirty plate with a lobster on it. The food may be excellent, but if the dish is dirty and not well kept, then it becomes a distraction and the meal goes to waste.
Just this week we had an incident where a mic for the guest talent was not on, so we are not perfect either, but I am challenging all members of the GP Production Staff and all other Technical Ministers out there, to serve a dish worthy of 5 extra minutes, an extra battery, a spell check, your focus and devotion, and the thought that the food you are helping to serve, could feed a starving person and save their life!
- pj
