There you are, minding your own business, serving the Lord in silence and humility when it happens. You know the feeling. Someone comes up to you to “share something in love” and the next thing you know you're defending everything about your ministry.
When you do tech, you'll hear from these people on a regular basis. Either the sound is too loud or they can't hear. Either the lights are too distracting or they're not bright enough. Either live streaming is a waste of our money or we're not doing enough to reach out to those outside the church doors. Sometimes it just feels like you can't win.
When it comes to people who seem to be against “it”, no matter what it is, there are steps you can take, steps that may win some over, and may win respect from others. Remember criticisms are rarely about the tech itself. It's often more about the person talking than the problem they're talking about.
Identify the type of critic
Your church is doing a live stream and someone brings up “concerns” about this new ministry.
The first step is to find out what they're actually concerned about. Not everyone who raises a concern is a trouble maker. Some people actually care and want to make sure that potential problems are addressed. Others just want to get their way at all costs.
When it comes to criticism, think of critics in four categories.
If someone says something like, “I love what we're doing with live streaming, but I heard that churches aren't allowed to live stream anymore and I don't want us to get into trouble,” you're talking with someone who cares about the ministry, but doesn't really understand it — an ignorant fan.
If you hear something like, “Why are we doing this stupid streaming thing? This internet thing is just a fad anyway,” you're dealing with someone who doesn't understand what they're talking about and doesn't care about it as a ministry — the troll.
Should you get a comment card that says, “I hate that we're live streaming, but if we must, the speed we're getting from the ISP should be adequate if you were to just tweak the encoder settings,” that's someone who doesn't care about the ministry, but knows what they're talking about — the skeptical tech.
Finally, if you might get an email that says, “Love what we're doing with the live stream, but I think the sound could be better if we use a separate aux send,” you're dealing with someone who cares about the ministry and knows what they're talking about — the helpful tech.
This isn't to say that identification is always easy.
How to deal with each
If someone cares about the ministry, but is suggesting something that you know is incorrect, concentrate on their care. In the very best sense of the word, this type of critic is just ignorant of what's involved with the ministry on some level. If you can concentrate on your mutual care for the ministry, some education may bring them into your camp.
If you're talking to a skeptical technician, look at the solution they propose. It could be that they're making a valid point. The problem comes when that valid point comes at the expense of ministry goals or values. Look for commonalities with respect to the technology or expertise they offer, but don't fall victim to the temptation to sacrifice one for the other. See if you can find out why they understand the ministry, but don't like it. Whatever the reason, it could be that dealing with this problem will help them move solidly into support of the ministry.
Consider if the point they're talking about is one you've considered and ruled out or one that is something you hadn't considered.
Your goal is to make the first two types into the third: the helpful tech. This is the person you should do your best to listen to and engage with. Someone who cares for the ministry and understands it may just have a different perspective that may seem negative, but they may have experience that you should listen to. Consider this: Is the point they're making something you've considered and ruled out, or is it something you hadn't considered.
Trolls are different. When you encounter someone who is negative across the board, realize that there's something deeper at work here. It's probably going to be very difficult to reach any solution with someone who shares neither your care for the ministry nor knowledge of what it takes. This type of critic doesn't only come up to the sound board after the service to complain, but can also be found on message boards, in social media, and anywhere else that they can cause trouble. The internet saying is true, “Don't feed the trolls.”
What you can learn from each
Once you've identified the type of critic, always see if there's anything you can learn.
With the ignorant fan, you can often take their perspective as an “every man” perspective and use it to more clearly communicate with the others who may not understand what's going on.
Learn anything you can from the technical ability of the skeptical tech.
Take criticism from helpful tech as gold. They're not criticizing to make trouble but to make the ministry better.
With the troll, there's rarely anything to be learned.
Continue to improve and collect stories
No matter who is criticizing the ministry, do your best to improve it and eliminate areas that can be criticized. If the sound is bad, do what you can to make it better. If the cameras need to be moved, try and move them. Whatever it takes, do your best with what you have and try to upgrade as you can.
The most powerful thing you have is stories of life-change. Collect stories from the live stream. If someone decides not to commit suicide, doesn't divorce their spouse, or comes to know Jesus, it's hard to argue against changed lives. The more of these stories you collect, the more trouble critics will have in attacking.
A technically imperfect ministry that changes lives is better than a perfect one that affects no one. Concentrate on changed lives and watch criticism slide off of the ministry.
Remember that Jesus had critics too. If the Son of God was criticized, you will be, too. It's par for the course and should be something you expect, not something that causes you to feel insecure. Try your best to remember that and return to the stories you've collected, not as evidence for your church's leadership, but as a reminder of why you're live streaming — to change lives for the better.
