There are plenty of articles and blogs that talk specifically about bridging the gap between the tech booth and the stage, or how to nurture the relationships between the worship leaders and the senior pastor. Drawing from my previous 14 years of experience being a worship pastor, I am convinced that one of the most important relational dynamics must include the one between the tech director and myself.
The best worship environments happen when worship leaders and tech directors understand each other’s mindset.
As a professor of worship and music technology at a Bible college, one of my focuses is helping soon-to-be full-time worship leaders understand just how essential it is—not only to be technologically literate, but also to speak the tech language and think like a tech director.They must engage this mindset in many areas of their workflow, from making set lists to leading rehearsals on stage.
As they perform at Moody Bible Institute, these students are getting ready to step into their roles as worship leaders in churches worldwide. Photo courtesy of Ethan Luzuriaga.
However, most of my music students spend an enormous amount of time improving their vocal and instrumental performance skills. With that kind of a laser focus, it is difficult for them to also keep up with the latest line array models or the new plug-ins available on a mixing console. That simply isn’t their craft.
Having said that, what if your church hired a fresh-out-of-college worship leader? How much should or shouldn’t you expect him/her to know the things that you know? How do you navigate this very vital relationship between the two of you? Here are three important aspects that you should consider:
1. Get to know your new worship leader as a person.
You have heard it said many times: relationship is the key. This is no exception. Get to know your new worship leader as a person. Find out what he/she likes to eat, favorite TV shows, sports teams, etc. Find common ground to establish a friendship. When you do that, remember to also show that you are an ally. You are there to help and make things happen. The reality is that your worship leader or pastor is often your biggest advocate to the senior church leadership, and you are his/her most crucial person bringing the sound from the stage to the congregation.
Great things happen when tech directors and worship leaders build real friendships and have each other’s backs.
2. Give him/her a picture of what your preparation looks like each week.
Do not assume that your new worship leader knows what you do. Describe to him/her your weekly workflow. When do you need the set list by? When are the lyrics slides being proofread? Who is responsible for that? When do you set up the stage? When do you do line check? If he/she wants to speak during a turnaround or an instrumental of a song, when does that decision needs to be communicated with you? (I guarantee you most new worship leaders don’t think about needing to talk to you ahead of time so that you can ride the vocal fader appropriately). By giving him/her a picture of what you do, you are communicating expectations as well as teaching him/her why you do things the way you do. In fact, I think you should have a similar conversation with your lead pastor, but that’s for another article.
3. Mentor your worship leader by learning their mix preferences and tech knowledge.
What does he/she prefer in a monitor mix? A good way to find out is to set up a virtual sound check and have him/her ride the faders next to you and make a mix of what he/she likes. Save the mix and re-visit that again later. Even if he/she can adjust his/her own mix using a phone on stage, this exercise still gives you an opportunity to learn his/her mixing preference. Also, casually ask questions to find out how much he/she knows about AV tech in a way that is not threatening or sounding like you are giving a quiz. Is he/she familiar with gain structure? Does he/she understand the differences between 16:9 and 4:3, SM58 and AKG 414, LED and conventional lighting fixtures? The goal is to understand who you are working with, which will hugely impact the level of both proficiency and efficiency of your work. For example, if you find out that your worship leader understands EQ, that allows you to work with him/her differently than someone who doesn’t. You might actually want to record his/her guitar and have him/her come to FOH and EQ it, so that you know the kind of the tone he/she is aiming for much faster and much more accurately.
Don’t assume your worship leader knows your workflow—talk through the details early so you’re set up to win together.
Fresh-out-of-college worship leaders are often full of optimism, which makes them a joy to work with. He/she might not know a lot about comb filtering or the need to have a line check and gain check before rehearsals, but maybe this is precisely why God has you where you are: to be an invaluable asset for the new worship leader and the worship ministry at your church.
