Last week, I had a great post just pop in my head. I quickly wrote it out and sent it off to a few friends who serve as my personal editorial board. They came back with some suggestions, but overall, the feedback was positive.
Then, I read the post myself.
I had accurately, concisely, and—if I may be so immodest— humorously described the Church’s problem with “quality control,” doing church with excellence. Yet, there was one serious problem:
I hadn’t actually offered a solution.
Quality Control
All I had done was complain, rather than try to offer any constructive/corrective advice. This set off some huge alarm bells in my soul. Suddenly, the problem of quality control lay with my attitude than with the Church.
If I’ve learned anything about being a “church techie,” it’s that the biggest tech-related problem in the Church just might be the tech guys’ attitudes. We see Church from behind the curtain, and sometimes that means that we look at our worship services, our graphics, our (insert your tech-related pet peeve here) with a bit of cynicism that the average congregant doesn’t have.
How many times do you end church by tallying up the mistakes?
Before you leave church each week, do you have to register your complaints with someone?
Your church may does have some quality control problems: every church does! The greater issue, however, is the quality control problem within your own heart.
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
— Luke 6:45
No one wants to be known as the guy with an abundance of cynicism and complaints. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t we become church techies to offer solutions, not continually harp on problems?
3 Steps to a Godly Church Tech Attitude
Here are are few things that help me correct my attitude when I drift toward being overly negative:
1. Take personal pride out of the equation
More than a few times, I’ve been more upset that my advice wasn’t taken concerning an issue than I was upset about the issue itself. When this happens, I have to go to God for some serious perspective. Make sure that what is bugging you is the actual issue and not your status as the “problem-solver.” Humbly is the only way to serve in the Church.
2. Remember that it’s not your problem
My local church doesn’t belong to me. Your church doesn’t belong to you. Neither of our names are on the front door. That means that, in the end, all of these problems/issues/complaints belong to God. He can take care of it. Besides, He’s not nearly as bothered about Sister Suzy’s off-pitch rendition of “El Shaddai” or the church secretary’s dark obsession with Comic Sans—if at all—as He is with our negative attitudes.
3. Church tech should be an act of worship
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got as I was being initiated into the field of church tech was this: It’s worship.
I was about thirteen years-old, and I was talking with an older church tech about how I wished I could sing louder while running the church’s sound booth. He said,
“What you’re doing is worship when you’re doing it for God. Just like the musicians and singers on stage, you’re helping others to worship God and to hear His Word and that’s worship.”
Our technical support should be rendered to our local churches as an extension of our worship of Jesus, but that’s not going to happen if we’re too buy bemoaning the fact that our video announcements are still filmed in—gasp—standard definition.
Do you have a quality control problem where your heart is concerned?
Is your tech support offered as worship?
[Image via J.B. Hill]
Raoul Snyman says
Thanks for the reminder Phil, as the person in charge of the audio visual ministry at church, I totally get where you’re coming from, and you’re so right. I too am guilty of looking at all the mistakes, and not remembering my purpose.
A great reminder at a time that is actually quite critical for me and my church.
Phil Schneider says
It’s a very delicate balance, isn’t it?: wanting everything to be perfect and yet forgetting that we’re not perfect ourselves. I’ve struggled with it all my life, and I’ll probably struggle with it till I die.
I’m glad that you found this post helpful. Thanks for the feedback!