Church On the Move recently hosted a one-day event called Seeds U, a spinoff from our annual Seeds creative and leadership conference. One cool part about this event is that it's pretty much geared to my peer group - audio and lighting technicians along with musicians and singers. The day is spent sharing and demonstrating our thoughts on how we do church.
Throughout the day we discussed quite a few topics but one in particular stood out. Sometimes it's easy for production personnel to stay in the back and remain completely disengaged from the spiritual side of an event. Perhaps some can relate to what I'm talking about: black shirt donned, arms crossed, hands firmly in pockets—the universal body language for someone who isn't sold out to an event. Knowing myself pretty well, I've become a firm believer that I will almost always do a better job when I actually participate in the spiritual side of a service. But even so, it's still SO easy to simply work an event and ignore what God may be trying to say to me. To clarify, I'm not suggesting someone sing at the top of their lungs while on headset or worship in the dance while stage managing but I'm sure all of us can find a way to stay aware, committed, and open to what God is doing while still remembering the task you've been assigned.
I’ve become a firm believer that I will almost always do a better job when I actually participate in the spiritual side of a service.
Since joining the world of church professionals, I've received an incredible amount of life-changing truths by staying engaged in the event and process, even when hearing the same songs and sermons multiple times in the same weekend. Sometimes I wonder if I'm on staff solely for the spiritual betterment of my wife and I, rather than what benefit I am to this church! God has a crazy sense of humor and I could totally see Him orchestrating this just to watch me get nailed by the truth over and over again. It's easy to ignore the truth once or twice but when stuck at the mix position getting pummeled with it over and over again, it's hard to ignore.
Here's the deal: Every technical artist has a certain responsibility to the message they're a part of—no matter if it's a big rock show or a worship service. Can this be accomplished by standing at our post spectating without actually buying in to what's coming from the stage? I don't believe so. Consider this: in 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT) it says, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” The talent we each possess is something we are instructed to use, but being a part of this is more than just showing up and letting the guys down on stage bear the burden. If we truly believe in the message we're sending, to the same degree as the ministers and musicians, then we can be just as effective at spreading this same gospel through the technical arts as they are via music and spoken word.
God doesn’t have a place for my spectatorship, but he does have a place for my involvement.
In verse 11, Peter continues, “Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies…”. There you have it—instructions like these completely apply to our field. We are supposed to use our skills to serve others. It's completely within the realm of possibility for us to combine the technical and creative elements of an event and transform them into something cohesive that serves and ministers to others.
Every part matters when we are working to advance the cause of Christ. God doesn't have a place for my spectatorship, but he does have a place for my involvement. Who knows, your specific skill may be exactly what's needed to achieve something bigger and greater than any of us could ever imagine.
