In this world we live in people have mastered the art of “passing the buck.” It is the ability to avoid any negative responsibility. Politicians are masters of this. It seems like no one wants to own up to anything. For decades therapists have placed all kinds of blame on their clients parents essentially saying, “It's OK you're so messed up, it's not your fault. It's your parent's fault!”
The late President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that read “The Buck Stops Here,” demonstrating that he recognized that he had to make the final decision and that the success or failure of that decision rested upon him.
Fortunately as a technical director, the decisions you make and your actions do not affect the fate of nations, but they do still have a great impact in your church. We all make mistakes and for some reason the tendency that we all have is to make excuses and pass the blame onto something or someone else.
In Scripture, Jesus challenges us to take ownership for our mistakes:
"So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift." - Matthew 5:23-24
In other words, if you have offended someone, wronged someone or made a mistake you need to go and own up to it and ask for forgiveness. And this verse implies a certain urgency, doesn't it? He isn't saying do it later on once you feel like it, or when it is convenient. He is saying, drop everyone and go and make this situation right!
For some reason, a place that this tends to rear its head is in the relationship between the worship leader and sound tech. Maybe it's something different in your case, but I have seen band members and sound techs just go at it blaming each other for things that they should really just take responsibility for. In the end, nothing gets resolved and the church suffers as a result.
I guess one of the big reasons that we avoid taking responsibility for our mistakes is because we don't want to look foolish or inadequate. To put it bluntly, it is a pride issue. We are too proud to admit that we made a mistake. However, James 4:6 reminds us that God “resists” the proud.
The reality is that when we take ownership of problems and mistakes it actually causes people to trust us more. They realize that only an honest person would own up to a problem and then work to fix it. Sure, there may still be consequences for the mistake but the people involved will realize that you are a person of integrity that can be relied upon.
The thing to realize is that many mistakes are not black and white. For example if your pastor emails you a video ten minutes before the service that he wants to use during his sermon. Since you are already busy doing last-minute preparations you don't see the email, or worse yet, you see it and ignore it. Then during the sermon the pastor cues up the video, but since you haven't prepared it there is nothing to be shown.
This is obviously an awkward situation for everyone. After the service you and the pastor could have the opportunity to enter into the “blame game,” and you would both have very valid points. However, instead of blaming the pastor for failing to get the video to you on time or whatever, you should take ownership for the part that you played in the mistake.
You can own up to not checking your email before service, or even simply own up for not touching base with the minister to let them know that you were unable to get it.
When you take ownership for a mistake, or at least your contribution to the mistake, you are helping to build relationships and ultimately keep peace in the church.
Do not let pride stand in the way of doing what God's Word has instructed us to do. And as mentioned in Matthew 5, if you know that someone has something against you, drop everything and go make things right…today!
