I'm here at NAB 2010 looking at the vast amount of new equipment that is here. Like a kid in a candy store, I'm looking at all the cool new toys (3D projection/TV's, new soundboards, etc...), trying to come up with ways to use the function of that equipment. Looking for ways to justify purchasing the newest equipment. With all the new equipment here on the show floor, I have to ask myself "Do we really need that cool new switcher?"
New equipment can add up in cost pretty quickly, but is that the best use of the money that God has given us to steward? Working for a large church, it is easy to spend a large sum of money on a new system design/install, and easy to justify it. God has given our church, and any other church, a certain amount of money to use to do the ministry that He has called us to do. So, everything needs to be included in a balanced budget - technology, children's ministry, upkeep of buildings, funds to help people in financial need, etc... All of this is a part of the mission and ministry that God has called us to. Which forces us to look at the $168,000 switcher and ask the question do we really need that particular one? Or is there another one that will do the same/comparable job for less? This is one of the many things we are here to look at.
It is easy to be swayed to buy a new big dollar purchase. But, in the position we (Church Technical people) are in, we need to work to make sure that the message of the gospel is what is heard and that we do not get in the way of lives being changed. (I am not saying God can, or can not work, based on I do). Does that always mean having the pair of Midas XL8's Digital Sound boards? While they may be really good sound boards, the answer is most likely no. Looking through the equipment here at NAB, it is easy to get overwhelmed with the newest, latest and greatest. Just remember, we all need to keep ourselves firmly planted in Scripture and realize the actual budgets we have to work with and the mission our church has. Building systems for less money is always a big challenge, and requires a lot of reworking of the design. But for every dollar that we can save on a system design, the more money that is available for use in other parts of our ministry of connecting with people and seeing lives transformed.
