For my first few years as a church TD, I fell into the trap that so many of us commonly do. I believed the lie that I had to be the expert at everything, do everything, and know everything, and anything less than that would be an admission of failure or weakness.
What I didn’t learn until much later, though, is that because of the limitations of my own gifts and abilities, my insistence on handling everything myself was actually crippling my team and its growth.
If I was the person doing everything, then my own talent and gift mix would always be the lid for what the team could accomplish.
If I was the person doing everything, then my own talent and gift mix would always be the lid for what the team could accomplish. And without even realizing it, I was squeezing the life out of my team because people never had a chance to grow and develop in the gifts God had blessed them with.
I was squeezing the life out of my team because people never had a chance to grow and develop in the gifts God had blessed them with.
Several places in the New Testament (most notably Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12) reinforce the idea that all of us are blessed with unique individual giftings, and we all have a specific role in the larger Body of Christ to use those gifts and make a difference.
But as a leader, am I creating opportunities for those on my team to operate in those gifts?
Believe it or not, serving in production isn’t an actual spiritual gift. Nobody has a gift of song lyrics or lighting programming or stage managing. Those may all be things we have a natural aptitude and affinity for, or they may be hobbies that we really enjoy being around, but none of them are actual spiritual gifts.
Hobbies change and morph as we go through seasons of life. My hobbies in college (when I was young and single) were much different than the hobbies I have now as a father of two. So, seasons of life can influence where we enjoy spending our time and energy.
However, Romans 11:29 (NIV) tells us that God’s gifts and call are “irrevocable.” They never change. I was wired with a certain predisposition even before I was formed in the womb; God made me with a specific personality and gift mix to do a certain thing, then he formed my body around that gift and determined the exact time and place for me to live so I could make a difference doing what I was made to do.
So what does that have to do with church tech?
If I insist on doing everything myself, or I don’t allow others to explore their own gift development, I’m spiritually strangling my team members.
First, as a leader, I must understand that I have a limited gift mix. My team (just like an actual body) requires contributions from multiple facets to thrive and be successful. If I insist on doing everything myself, or I don’t allow others to explore their own gift development, I’m spiritually strangling my team members. I’m keeping them from doing the thing they were created to do, and I’m carrying an unnatural load that God never designed me to do effectively.
Secondly, part of my job as a leader is to steward the people that God has blessed me with. Thus, it’s my responsibility to not just run an effective service, but to make sure that my team is growing and developing in the spiritual gifts God gave them. After all, we are the only part of God’s creation that carries His image and has been referred to as his “masterpiece” (Eph. 2:10 NIV). So taking care of people is critical.
Third, I can never understand people’s individual gift mix if I don’t take the time to get to know them personally. Having a Sunday-only, boss/employee relationship will never allow me the closeness with someone necessary to really understand the passions and gifts that are in their heart. You can’t hear someone’s heartbeat from across the room. Closeness is a requirement.
I can never understand people’s individual gift mix if I don’t take the time to get to know them personally.
Lastly, and most critically, I need to understand the world of spiritual gifts and how those can intersect with my team. If “tech” isn’t an actual spiritual gift (unless it’s mentioned somewhere in The Message that I haven’t found) and is more of a hobby that could ebb and flow with the seasons of life, how do I find a way to tap into that natural wiring of my team and create a connection so strong that it outweighs someone’s life transitions?
In order for a tech team to be successful, there are several different aspects that need to be developed and implemented effectively. But again, many of us as leaders carry so many of these roles ourselves, because we don’t naturally consider them as roles for our team members to fill. We may just think of our team as a group of people who runs a service and completely neglect to develop the other facets of what it takes to be a healthy team.
We may just think of our team as a group of people who runs a service and completely neglect to develop the other facets of what it takes to be a healthy team.
What do I mean by all of that? Here are a few ways that unique spiritual gifts could bring a much-needed dynamic to helping you build your healthy tech team:
1-Teaching
Those with teaching gifts are naturals to ultimately slide out of an active technical role on the team. Why? You need their natural affinity for teaching, coaching, and developing others. So as you’re training new recruits and developing potential new team members, the best person to pair them with isn’t necessarily the grizzled veteran who has been running cameras for 40 years and is the best on the team. Sometimes people with natural aptitude aren’t good at training others, simply because things come so naturally to them that they don’t know how to package it for others, and they may lack the patience to work with folks who need to progress more slowly than they would themselves.
However, those with a gift of teaching thrive in that role. They may not be the highest-skilled person on your team, or even the most experienced or longest-serving. But they typically have a hunger to learn, and they love being in a position to coach and develop other people. Their patience and people-first approach will do your team more of a benefit than you trying to throw together a training during rehearsal while you’re also running around putting out fires and trying to prep for the weekend. Find those who love to teach and entrust them with owning your team development process.
2-Exhortation
Honestly, this is one I struggle with the most: the gift of encouragement. As a task-first person, I’m naturally more focused on productivity and getting things done. However, if all my team ever hears is about equipment protocols and service flow details, the booth will become too business-y and won’t be very fun. And it’s hard to recruit people to come and join a boring team.
No team can thrive without feeling affirmed and encouraged. And if I’m not the one who can provide that, I need someone with a gift of high-5s and “atta-boys.” Maybe they can hand-write Thank You notes, or post shout-outs on our team’s social media accounts. Perhaps they can send weekly words of encouragement in a team email or make it a point to honor certain team members during pre-service meetings.
No team can thrive without feeling affirmed and encouraged. And if I’m not the one who can provide that, I need someone with a gift of high-5s and “atta-boys.”
But regardless of the specifics, my team desperately needs to know how much they’re loved, appreciated, and valued. If I’m not naturally the best person to provide that level of affirmation, it’s crucial that I find someone who is, or else the tech team will quickly become an un-fun “job” that few people will get excited about.
3-Hospitality
This one ties in closely with exhortation, because “the team that plays together, stays together.” When we only focus on running services, or we only see each other on Sundays, it can quickly turn the dynamic into more of a workplace than a fun, family-first community.
Those gifted in hospitality love to plan and host events. So why not ask that person to plan a regular team gathering? Whether it’s just a group meal at a restaurant, a potluck at someone’s house, or a laser-tag outing, our team needs to have regular opportunities to socialize outside of a Sunday. Those of us who are tech-minded are usually AWFUL at planning and organizing these things, so why not find someone who loves them?
4-Administration
Emails need to get sent, information needs to get disseminated, Planning Center needs to get updated, team roster information needs to get sorted, and paperwork needs to get tracked. All are crucial to supporting a team behind the scenes, and these are often things that easily fall through the cracks during seasons of busyness.
However, there’s a chance that someone on your team has the interest (and margin) to take on some of these roles to support the team, even by possibly coming into the office during the week and volunteering a couple of hours of their time.
All of these roles are important, but it’s less important that all of them are filled by a person with technical aptitude. Someone doesn’t necessarily have to understand lighting in order to pat a lighting person on the back and tell them how much the team enjoys having them serve.
So, if there aren’t currently people on your tech team who may be able to step into some of these support roles, go fishing on other teams. Perhaps there’s a volunteer serving in another area who may have an interest in spending an hour or two each week helping address one of these roles on your team; they don’t have to necessarily do it all on a Sunday.
Surrounding yourself with people of varying gift mixes will dramatically increase the health and growth potential of your team. It will free you up as the leader to focus on areas more closely aligned with your natural strengths, and it will afford others a greater sense of purpose and fulfillment when they’re able to exercise their strengths.
