Just a couple weeks ago we had a guest speaker and a band come and visit our church. Our production team had a great time helping them get everything set up. The sound check went pretty well but there were a few issues that they were having with their digital snake. Before we knew it the people started filing in.
A few minutes after the hour (because no self-respecting band should ever start on time) the evening began. And then promptly ended.
Apparently there was some miscommunication between their sound engineer and our team about unplugging something, and before any of us knew what happened one of my guys had unplugged their sound console.
Silence. What a horrible sound.
Since we were only a few moments into the beginning of their first set we decided to bring everything back online and try again. After about five minutes of awkward silence the band came up and started to play again. After playing for about a minute their digital snake decided to rear its ugly venomous head and start snapping at us cutting the music in and out in its wrath.
The leader of the band unplugged his guitar and began to lead the worship acoustically. As you can imagine the production team was going crazy! This is the kind of thing that wakes a sound guy up in the middle of the night with cold sweats!
While the music was being played acoustically we began to scramble on the stage to wire as much as possible into the house system so we could have at least a little sound. Since the show was already under way we also were trying to communicate with the speaker and the band about what we were doing.
In the end, the slick and polished show did not happen...but God did show up. There was no video, no words to sing along with, no background tracks, and a bunch of other things that were missing. But God was not missing.
Although I don't always like to admit it, I have to realize that God always has the executive authority to pull the plug on my plans and do whatever He would like. There is a tough balance that production members have to walk between striving for excellence and just relaxing and trusting God.
The verse that came to my mind in this situation was Philippians 4:6-7.
[6] “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” [7] Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Don't worry about anything? Worry is my middle name! And that fateful night a few weeks back my greatest fears came to life! Yet God was in control. I must admit that when everything started to go wrong I started to worry, but somehow I was able to pray and ask God for help and I believe that He gave it to us.
God had a plan that superseded ours! In fact after it was over, the band and speaker said that it was one of the best events (and most memorable) that they had. Most importantly I heard many people in the audience talking about how intimate the setting was and how much they enjoyed it and how inspired they felt.
Often times I find myself feeling stress and worry when “service time” comes around. Will the mics work? Will everyone remember their cues? Will my hair look amazing? Will the projected lyrics line up to what is being sung?
Perhaps God doesn't want me to be so worried about all of that. Sure He wants us to put our heart in what we do and strive for excellence, but maybe He also wants us to relax and just enjoy serving Him? Maybe He wants us to pray about things instead of getting wound so tightly about things. After all, it is all for Him isn't it?
So the next time the video gets hung up, feedback squeals through your system, or the pastor forgets to turn on his mic, just take a moment and pray. Thank God for what He has done and for what He is doing through you. Then let God's peace flow though you. Oh yeah...and fix that problem too!
Judah Thomas is the Worship Director at Faith Living Church in Plantsville, CT where he leads teams of volunteers in technical and creative arts. He has been in ministry for over 15 years and enjoys making music and being in the outdoors. He lives with his wife Carey and three wildly creative children. You can connect with him on his blog www.judaht.com or follow on Twitter @judahrthomas.
