If you are an experienced supervisor in technical ministries, you've probably confronted this dilemma numerous times. If you're new to such a role, you soon will.
Nearly all churches, regardless of size, depend on volunteers to run their technical ministries. In larger churches, volunteers may fill only secondary roles, with paid staff in key positons like FOH audio mixer and video director. In small- to mid-size churches, however, these key posts often have to be filled with volunteers, if not every week at least as part of a regular rotation.
If you're in a technical leadership position, you will likely find yourself dealing with tense, awkward moments when a “newbie” volunteer in a key role is struggling. Something has gone wrong. You know what the problem is, and you know what needs to be done to fix it. The volunteer, however, appears to be either unaware of the problem – yet – or can't figure out how to fix it.
In audio world, it can be any number of things ranging from howls of feedback to dead microphones, from a severely distorted vocal to annoying extraneous noises. Any of these operator errors could sabotage the worship experience.
Granted, similar problems can develop in video and lighting as well. But absent catastrophic failures – a totally dark stage or all blank screens – they tend to be less disruptive than audio woes. But, the following advice still applies.
What do you do about it? Immediately leap into the breach and set it straight yourself? Grit your teeth and try to wait it out? Something in between? Here are a few tips to help guide you through those stressful situations.
First, pray
My first response is a brief, silent prayer. More often than not, the problem is quickly resolved by the volunteer. True, it would be sinful pride to think God intervened just to make my life easier. But at least prayer gets me calm and centered in case the problem continues and I have to go to the next step.
Be patient for a moment (or two)
Take a deep breath and review the situation. First, determine whether the problem is significantly annoying or disruptive. Remember, if you are an audio professional, you are likely attuned to sound on a more perceptive level than the average congregant. You will hear things others don't notice, particularly things like subtle distortion, unnatural equalization or an unbalanced music mix. On several occasions I've apologized to a pastor, worship leader or friend in the congregation regarding a problem and heard them respond, “Really? I didn't notice it.”
When to step in (or not)
Begin with problem triage. First-level problems require timely intervention. Obviously, persistent feedback or a dead mic on the worship leader has to be remedied quickly. Give the volunteer a brief interval to resolve the issue, then step in gently. We'll discuss how to do that in a moment.
Second-level problems are those that could be disruptive to worship if allowed to continue for more than a minute or two. You can let these ride for a bit and give the volunteer a chance for a “learning moment.” For example, a few months ago the children's minister gave a presentation at the beginning of worship and then went backstage. The volunteer sound mixer forgot to mute her earset mic, and was temporarily confused by whispered sounds leaking into the following song. I recognized the minister's muffled voice immediately (okay, I'm married to her), but it took the volunteer well into the first chorus to finally hit the mute button. No big deal. Just a quick reminder to him afterwards that our pastors' beltpacks have the mute switches taped over and muting/unmuting is always our responsibility.
Third-level problems can be deferred for a longer period, perhaps until the end of the service. In audio world, these can include unbalanced mixes (particularly missing secondary voice or instruments), spoken word levels that are too persistently too high or too low but still tolerable, or mild distortion. In some churches this could also include poor application of EQ, compression or effects, though in our church (as in many others) these are pre-set by me and mostly off limits to volunteers.
How to step in
If you have to intervene, do it gently and with a servant's heart. Always start by asking permission. “Would you like me to see if I can help fix this?” Usually you'll hear a relieved, “Yes, please do!”
Do what needs to be done in the moment, and then step back out of the way. Unless the volunteer appears to be falling apart emotionally and not in control of the situation, go back to where you were before. Don't go back to discuss until well after the service is over.
A talk after worship
When worship is over and most of the congregation has cleared away, approach the volunteer with a calm and accepting demeanor -- regardless of how serious the problems in the previous hour. Steer clear of harsh criticism. Take whatever time you need to walk through all the details on how the problem developed, what to look and listen for in the future, and the best way(s) to resolve the issue. It never hurts to relate a story about a similar situation you may have encountered in your earlier days of dealing with technology.
On the record?
If you record your services, and if the problem is something that would be clearly apparent on recording, ask the volunteer to listen and evaluate. I've found that the “up close” sound of a recording often reveals issues like level imbalances and distortions that can be harder to perceive from the PA system – particularly in churches like ours with relatively live acoustics.
Perhaps another calling?
Sometimes, despite repeated coaching, a volunteer will continue to struggle and make repeated mistakes. Usually that volunteer will be aware of that this particularly technical ministry is not his or her calling. We all have our God-given gifts and talents, but a particular ministry slot may be a mis-match. A few years back, when we had an opening on the audio team, an eager young woman signed on. After a few months, it was obvious she didn't have a good ear. When there was an opening on the video production team, I nudged her in that direction. It turns out she has a great sense of visual artistry, and our congregation's eyes have been blessed by her move. And our ears have been relieved.
