As the overseer of the musical and technical staff of a couple of churches in my day, I've both spoken those words and heard them from my staff teammates and volunteer leaders.
We've all run up against them—unreasonable timelines, unrealistic expectations, etc…. It seems like sometimes we go above and beyond, just to hear that it wasn't good enough or, worse, that we missed the whole idea—perhaps an idea that wasn't expressed very clearly (or at all) in the first place. “It's like they expect us to read their minds…. ”
I wonder though, how many times do we expect that very sort of mind-reading ability from our own volunteer teams? We're insiders, we full-time and part-time staff techies. Even those of us that are volunteers are usually the point people for our areas, and are at least somewhat in the know. We sit in the creative team meetings, we hear the plans, we set the timetables—we decide what needs doing and how, when and why to do it.
In moments I'm not proud of, I sometimes find myself getting irritated with volunteers who aren't well-trained, who don't meet expectations, and who don't have a sense of the big picture. And then I realize that perhaps it's us (the tech area leaders) who didn't train them well, didn't set and communicate clear expectations, and maybe never bothered to explain the big picture.
The thing I need to remember? Do unto others—in a good way. The volunteers who serve alongside us are almost always there because they want to help make a positive difference for God's church. Train them. Set realistic goals and expectations, and let everyone know what those expectations are.
Then, together, maybe you can do the impossible.
