As a church tech, I know you, in part. Here is what I know about you: you have goals and you have an enemy. And unless you have a united front against that enemy to tie him down, you will not get your goal. Well, you are not alone.
Jesus received a lot of opposition, but he never responded so sternly in response to an accusation as he did in Matthew 12.
Jesus received a lot of opposition, but he never responded so sternly in response to an accusation as he did in Matthew 12. A demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus and he healed him. This never-before-seen act made everyone who saw it amazed! But the Pharisees simply said that he was casting out demons by the prince of demons, Satan.
As you can imagine, this really got Jesus going. He begins his reply by saying, “No city or house divided against itself will stand.” By the end of his angered response he was saying things like, “You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil?” And in between this progression, Jesus interjects a seemingly random analogy to prove the foolishness of the Pharisees. He says in Matthew 12:29-30 - “how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
Of all the analogies that could have been used, Jesus in his infinite wisdom used an example of robbing someone’s house and stealing his goods. His choice does make a strong case for what he’s trying to say. In this instance, the demon possessed man is the “goods” that are being plundered by Jesus, and Satan is the strong man that must be tied down. Jesus is saying, in essence, "If I just plundered the goods and took something from Satan by freeing this man of a demon, but I did it with the power of Satan, I would have been tying myself down." He’s pointing to the ridiculousness of the accusation. In doing so, he makes known to us something that as leaders and tech directors we must be made aware of. That is, no matter what we want we will always have an enemy against us that must be tied down first.
Preparation with a clear head--and heart
As a tech director or member of a tech team, the enemy is an important factor that must be targeted. We like to address our goals in detailed forms. Goals need to be S.M.A.R.T. right? Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. We make goals for the Sunday service order and for the holiday production. Why don’t we spend just as much time defining the enemy of our goals, like Jesus did? He even went so far as to say, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
The fact is, if your tech team isn’t working together towards tying down the (supposed) strong man first, you will never get what you’re after. And if your team doesn’t know what the opposition is, they won’t know what needs to be tied down. Imagine what would happen if you got a team together to rob a house and you didn’t tell them that someone was in the house ready to defend it.
If the goal is flawless transitions, then the strong man to tie down may be a lack of communication. If the goal is cohesiveness within the team, the strong man to tie down may be gossip.
As a church tech, it’s important to establish what the resistance may be for every goal. It’s helpful to call out what the strong man is because it provides a clear-cut path on how to increase unity, and how to separate those who scatter from those who are trying to gather. If the goal is flawless transitions, then the strong man to tie down may be a lack of communication. If the goal is cohesiveness within the team, the strong man to tie down may be gossip. If the goal is a production with zero errors, the strong man to tie down may be pride so you can accept help from others. And if the goal is to be a Christ-like example to whoever may or may not ever see you on a given Sunday, the strong man to tie down may be frustration.
Whenever a goal is present, there will be an enemy that must be tied down. As church techs, we have a lot on our plate at once, and it can be easy to get caught up in everything that has to get done. Before establishing your goals each week, make sure you have identified your enemy, as well. Then you can successfully go after the goods.
