It was Saturday morning. I never loved working on Saturday mornings, but I knew it was part of the job. Most of my current frustration was coming from the fact that the tour bus for our guest artist that weekend was two hours late and the manager wasn't answering his phone. I had a whole team of volunteers standing with me who had also given up their Saturday morning to help with the load in. The donuts had long been eaten. The coffee was getting cold. I was losing them.
About the time I was ready to send everyone home; the tour bus came rolling in. Finally. The manager got off the bus and didn't apologize for being late, but at least we could get to work. We opened the truck and got to work. The band stayed on the bus to sleep while the rest of us worked to get everything set up and line checked. Upon completion, the musicians came in and proceeded to have everything moved, adjusted, and re-worked. We had to recruit extra help to lift a full grand piano up four feet onto a second tier of the stage. The manager took the liberty of adjusting our stage wash. They used the hazer they brought instead of our DF50's, which of course set of the fire alarms. To put it kindly, it was a struggle.
The human side of me wanted to either let him have it, or just walk out and tell them to "figure it out." But the Jesus in me wanted to be firm and honest, but patient, kind, and gentle.
That night, as I was leaving the building, the manager caught me and thanked me for being kind and considerate, even when I pushed back. He complimented our whole team on being patient. The human side of me wanted to either let him have it, or just walk out and tell them to "figure it out." But the Jesus in me wanted to be firm and honest, but patient, kind, and gentle.
I've heard a lot of things about the technical ministry over the years from "non-tech" folks. We've been called "lifesavers" a few times, though that's maybe a bit exaggerated. One time I was informed we had the best looking team in the church. I'd like to think that one is true. We've been called essential, smart, creative, and clutch. Once someone told me the tech team was, "critical to ministry success." That was nice to hear.
But, to be honest, those compliments aren't most of what I heard as a technical director. I also heard a lot of things like, "they're just difficult to work with," or sometimes, "they're not very nice." I've had musicians tell me they try to avoid asking for things from front-of-house because they always get a lecture. I've had pastors tell me they dread seeing the technical lead on Sunday because he's surely grumpy about something. To be honest, I don't hear a lot of people tell me the technical ministry is full of love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control. It's mostly the opposite.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
It's inspiring to imagine what a technical ministry could look like if the Holy Spirit permeated it. Can you imagine that for a moment? Picture a technical arts ministry consistently described as exceedingly patient. Envision a ministry recognized for always approaching conversations with gentleness. How about a ministry full of joy and love, or a ministry that promoted peace and unity. This is a picture of a ministry filled with the Spirit of God. So how do we, as technical artists, become known for these things?
Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that "the joy of the Lord is our strength." More Jesus, more joy, more strength to overcome our human nature.
In Ephesians chapter five, Paul gives us this word picture of what we might look like when we are filled with the Spirit. Verse 18 reads, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit." Drunkenness comes from too much alcohol. So much that it affects your decision-making and movements. In the same way, we need to get so much Jesus that it starts affecting our decision-making and movements. The context for this verse comes from a 21-verse set that calls us to be imitators of Christ (5:1-21). The more Jesus we take in through prayer, scripture, and community, the more tuned to Him we will become and the more Christ-like our actions will be. The more of the Holy Spirit we have, the more joy we have, and Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that "the joy of the Lord is our strength." Are you seeing a pattern here? More Jesus, more joy, more strength to overcome our human nature.
And so, for our technical teams, it is only by each member being baptized in the Holy Spirit daily, intentionally taking in more Jesus, that we can grow as a ministry. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12, "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit."
Each member should drink of one Spirit, becoming intoxicated with Jesus to the point that it influences our very decisions and movements. As each member of our team does this, our ministries will begin to reflect the fruit of the Holy Spirit. In this way, we can all serve with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and self-control.
As a technical leader or a member of the technical team, how are you encouraging others around you to be filled with the Spirit? Are you getting enough Jesus today?
