Rebuilding 04: Church Tech Ministry [Devotional]

If you would like to purchase the full devotional for yourself or your church, you can purchase Rebuilding: A 19-Week Devotional For Those Serving In Church Technology now at ChurchMagPress in print-ready format.

“Serve God by doing common actions in a heavenly spirit, and then, if your daily calling only leaves you cracks and crevices of time, fill them up with holy service.”
Charles H. Spurgeon

We will be reading through Nehemiah 2:7-20

Nehemiah was on his way to fulfill the mission God had laid out before him. Nehemiah knew that the motivation was due to God’s calling. Furthermore, the mission was underway because of God’s provision, and the mission would be complete due to God’s providence. Reading the first three sentences of this section, it would seem all too easy to ask “Why not trust in God?” Everything is going to go your way.

Then evil happened and barriers presented themselves.

“When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.”
Nehemiah 2:10

Nehemiah knew of both the struggles that were coming his way as well as of the destruction that had occurred previously when the Israelites were persecuted. So he was wise, prepared, and faithful in moving forward with the restoration of the walls. His trust in God would not be misplaced, but it would not be a walk in the park either. Because of all of the development of this project with the king, Nehemiah had the authority to work here, but others do not always recognize even the most legitimate authority.

In the church technology ministry, we are servants at our core. But this does not mean that we escape the judgment of others, the accusations of a few, or the harsh words that will come. A microphone goes dead and the pastor calls you out on stage. A slide transitions half a second too late and everyone is looking back at you with glares. A piano is not loud enough for the half-deaf grandma who tries to instruct you how to run the soundboard she is has never used in her life.

Success does not just happen. We have to earn this authority within the church. It means having discussions beforehand and making preparations with the preaching pastor for a “worst case scenario,” such as dead microphone batteries. It means working with the deacons and elders to cast vision months before asking to improve the equipment so that they have bought into it before you even bring up costs. And it means serving with humility when congregation members are not living with a Christ-like attitude.

It would be nice to sit in front of the computer posting social media posts or running the presentation software from the back of the room without any conflict and just be comfortable, but this simply is not the case in many of our experiences. We can serve in compassion, educating when appropriate, and continuing to rely on the authority from God as well as from the leadership of the church.

Use these reflection questions for the comments section.

1. Where does your church technology ministry stand with regards to authority with the church leadership?
2. What more can be done to not only develop trust and authority but also relay that to the congregation?
3. How can church technology expand its authority beyond what is already being exercised at your church to include new areas of ministry (i.e. on pornography, e-giving, etc.)?

Jeremy Smith

Jeremy is owner of ChurchAndMentalHealth.com and the Co-Occurring Program Coordinator and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor at a community mental health center. Jeremy has a history of working as a ministry director for Youth for Christ for 8 years and then working as a mental health and substance use adult counselor in Colorado and Ohio, specifically running an Opioid Residential Treatment Center.