“Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous…” Deuteronomy 31:7
In the heat of moment, seconds can feel like hours. In this particular moment, my entire sound system had gone into a giant feedback loop. This was hardly a traditional feedback frequency. This one was completely new. We had just finished the first worship song in a four-song set. Everyone was staring at the sound booth, not paying attention to the worship leader's devotional thought. Hearts were pointed towards frustration, not Jesus. I ran up to the booth and quickly scanned the meters to see where the feedback was living. I couldn't see anything metering on any channel. “This can't be right”, I thought to myself. I grabbed the headphones and hastily jammed them on my head while I smashed PFL buttons frantically. “Where in the world is this coming from”, I kept thinking to myself? It'd been about 45 seconds now of nasty, loud, distracting feedback. It seemed like it'd been an hour. I took a deep breath and then muted the mains and the two live monitors on stage. Everything muted. It still didn't go away. “This is crazy, this can't even be possible”, I thought to myself. And now, in the heat of that moment, I had the tough decision. The worship leader was going to start the next song and 1,500 people were all looking at me (or so it felt). I swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and cycled down the entire sound system. It was going to be a full two minutes to cycle it down and cycle it back up. Ugh.
Afterwards, the senior leaders were thrilled with my decision. “Good work”, they said, “It was actually kind of nice to just hear people sing and do some a cappella stuff for a few moments.” A few moments? I'm pretty sure it felt like a few hours! Still, while I was nervous in the moment, I also knew I had made the right decision for our church. I knew if my boss was standing right there with me, that's what she would have wanted. That confidence and clarity is worth so much.
As technical leaders, we have so many moments where we need to make decisions. Sometimes they are budget-related. For example, should I fix a piece of gear or replace it. Sometimes they are people-related, such as keeping this person on our team or asking them to step away. Sometimes the challenges are event-related, like if we should support this small, Saturday morning, last minute event, or tell them, “No”. One of the most stressful things in the ministry of technical leaders is the struggle in these moments to make the right call. We can't bother senior leaders with every single decision, so what do we do? How do we know what decisions our leadership will support and encourage without their direct feedback? What can we do as technical artists to have clarity and confidence in our day-to-day work?
In Deuteronomy 31, we get a picture of how this might work. Moses is in the process of turning the leadership of a nation over to Joshua. First, it's important to understand the background of the relationship. Joshua apprenticed under Moses for years and years. They had a real relationship together. They left Egypt together in the Exodus, and Joshua quickly became a trusted apprentice under Moses. Joshua was chosen as one of the spies who went ahead of Israel to report on what was to come. Joshua was with Moses when he received the law from God. Joshua was with Moses when he tried cases. Joshua spent years and years just being with Moses.
This is important for us to understand. The first priority for us as we seek to gain confidence and clarity in our decision-making is to simply spend time with our leaders. Just be with them. Get to know them. Learn what's important to them. Get familiar with how they think and respond to situations. Ask to sit in on meetings they lead. Ask to accompany them on tasks. Your goal isn't to become just like them, but know them so well that you can make assumptions on how they would think, act, and feel.
Beyond this relationship, we find more specifics in Deuteronomy chapter 31. Moses does three critical things for Joshua: he outlines the challenge, he presents a plan, and he encourages. Technical leaders need these same three things.
In the chapter, Moses makes the challenge very clear: without leadership these people will turn from God. That is Joshua's challenge, and it's significant. Moses also makes the plan of action incredibly clear through the law. He talks about the law, he reads the law, he sings the law, and then he talks about it a little more. Moses is aways reviewing the plan and the process. Joshua would have known it very well. Finally, Moses encourages Joshua over and over again. “Be strong and courageous”. Simply put, Joshua receives the following: here is the challenge, here is the plan, I believe in you.
While it would be ideal for senior leaders to simply offer us this plan, vision, and encouragement, it doesn't always work that way. Technical artists should learn to ask for these things when they are lacking. We can't assume our leaders know what we need. When you're with your leader, ask them about the challenge ahead. What's the plan and mission to get through the challenge? And further, ask them for encouragement or empowerment when it's needed. Moses encouraged Joshua privately, but also took him in front of the entire nation for an endorsement. Sometimes our managers don't realize how powerful their endorsement and encouragement can be. If you're not getting these things from your leader, ask for them.
When everything was “falling apart” in the heat of that feedback moment, I had to make the call to cycle down the system in the middle of a worship set,. But I knew I was making a call my leader would support. I knew the challenge in front of us was to eliminate distractions from worship. I knew the plan was to always act swiftly and boldly. I had been encouraged and empowered in the past to do so. It was the right decision for us. That confidence and empowerment was critical.
How much time have you spent with your leader recently? Maybe you should ask one of the senior folks to meet you for lunch. Don't take an agenda, just get to know them. Ask them about what they're dealing with and how they are responding. Learn about their own values and decisions. Do you know what your leader views as the challenge and the plan? If you're not clear, make it your job to get clarity. Ask questions, talk about examples, and tell stories. You need these things to have confidence in your ministry efforts.
