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It can actually be pretty easy to be selfish in tech ministry.
I want things done my way. I want people to listen to the suggestions I make about purchases. I want others to understand my struggles when they implement outrageous vision. Me, me, me.
Unfortunately, many of us can be selfish, many times unintentionally, even when it comes to our volunteers.
As the leader of the production team, I have a need. That need is a task that has to be done or a role that must be filled. You, as a volunteer, are simply a cog in the wheel of my larger machine, and I need you to sit there and do what I tell you, how I tell you to do it, until I tell you that the task is done at my approved level of quality.
Granted, that's probably not how we say it. But that can become the essence of the tech team's volunteer ministry at many churches. We plug people into roles based on which ones we are most desperate to fill, and, because our standards are usually so high, we offer very thorough pictures of exactly how to do a particular job.
All of the focus becomes on me—my needs, my desires, my (gulp) fear of failure.
Stop and think
But what about the volunteers themselves? What about their needs, desires, and dreams? And what if those are contrary to the role I've placed them in?
Many of us are familiar with Philippians 2:4 (GNT): “Look out for one another's interests, not just your own.”
But how often do we actually apply that to our approach with our volunteers?
We can get so focused on what we want or need that we forget about the fact that every person has a unique calling on their life, and that calling probably isn't to just do what I tell them to do and go where I tell them to go.
Burnout comes not from working a lot of hours, but from working a lot of hours on something you aren’t passionate about or invested in.
I think there are three main ways we can focus on applying this concept to local church tech ministry:
1. Focus on passion, not need.
All of us have team needs, so when a potential new volunteer walks through the door, my first inclination is typically to steer that person towards my greatest area of need. And for most volunteers themselves, they've probably been trained to respond to that type of direction, since most churches for years have painted “volunteerism” as a way to beg or guilt people into filling gaping holes in church ministries.
When people are passionate about something, there's a deeper emotional connection and sense of fulfillment.
For me personally, I would rather have a dozen too many lyrics people who are passionate about what they do, than to send some of them to beef up my lighting team, knowing that they're only doing it to do me a favor and fill a gap.
When people are passionate about something, there's a deeper emotional connection and sense of fulfillment. Those people are the ones who hunger to learn more and get better, and they're genuinely excited to serve every time they get the request.
On the flip side, people who are only filling a need are more likely to only stay in that spot until they feel like they have a way out. I once was told that burnout comes not from working a lot of hours, but from working a lot of hours on something you aren't passionate about or invested in. People who are just filling a slot in the rotation are more likely to fizzle out quicker than the ones who had the chance to follow their passions into a specific role they desired.
2. Ask, is my presence overshadowing someone's contributions?
When I'm always around, or when I'm the one doing everything, I keep other people from having the opportunity to try something new and experience their own success.
For many of us tech leaders, the idea of delegating can be a scary one. We are often our own worst critics and carry a tremendously high standard of quality. Allowing someone else to try something (and inevitably screw it up) seems counter-intuitive. Not only does the task not get done right the first time, but now I have to spend the time myself to go behind them to fix everything and do it “right.” So, I would have been better off just doing it myself the first time, right?
Wrong!
My job as a leader is not only to focus on what I need, but to help find and cultivate the greater sense of purpose in my team.
Somewhere along the way, I once didn't know anything either, until I was able to get my hands dirty and learn. The best learning lessons in life come out of failures, so it's necessary that people be afforded the chance to try something new, fall down, and teach themselves how to get back up.
Developing and honing skill in other people is an arduous process. But the reward is that I'm able to help people grow in their ability and confidence. And the thing that I hated doing but only did it because it was part of the job? Who knows? Maybe there's someone else on the team who would love to do it, but just needs the chance to try it out first in order to fall in love with it.
I have to be willing to let go and give others a chance.
3. Help people take their next steps.
On the spiritual journey of life, everyone has a “next step” to take. We are all in a constant process of learning, growing, and developing ourselves to be more like Christ.
The same should hold true for how I see my team.
Someone shouldn't just be a camera operator for a decade. At some point, there's another step that he can take. For someone who has been serving for a long time, maybe they need to learn a new position or explore serving at a new service time. Maybe they need to take their experience and knowledge and be part of the training team that develops and instructs new team members.
Maybe they need to give up their seat in the service rotation and serve in a behind-the-scenes role like scheduling, praying for the team, or organizing team hang-outs. Maybe they need to step off the team altogether and invest more time into leading small groups or outreach projects.
Whatever the case may be, none of us should ever stagnate in our roles. There's a Biblical expectation that everyone should focus on investing in and empowering the next generation. After all, someday I will be gone, and it will have been up to me to train new people how to take my place so my knowledge and experience doesn't go with me. That transition can never happen if I allow myself or my team to get comfortable with our roles and be unwilling to step back.
I believe that we have all been blessed by God with a unique purpose and calling that He wants (and needs) us to use in service through our local churches. My job as a leader is not only to focus on what I need, but to help find and cultivate that greater sense of purpose in my team, helping them become all that God called them to be.
