Vision. The Bible tells us that without vision, people perish. Vision was the business and church watchword a while back. It can be easy to dismiss a concept because it?s the hot topic at the moment, but the truth is, vision is actually pretty important. Even for a tech team. Perhaps especially for the tech team.
Hiding in the Shadows
It?s easy for tech guys and gals to hide out in the shadows of the church and do their thing without anyone noticing them. That is both good and bad. We facilitate the service, and if we do it well, no one knows we?re here. However, since no one knows we?re here, over time, we can wonder why it is we are here. Why do we get up at 5 AM for a 6:30 AM call on Sunday? Why do we stay well past the lunch hour? Why do we do this week after week? Without vision, people perish.
Allow me to suggest that if you are the technical leader in your church, you need to cast vision for your people so they don?t perish. Maybe they won?t actually perish, but they will burn out and quit.
Casting Vision
Now it may be that when you were hired as a technical director or appointed technical leader, you thought you were there to do the tech thing full-time. Mixing, lighting, video, whatever your fancy, you probably thought that was your job. However, if you are the leader, you are the one who needs to develop and continually cast the vision for why your team does what they do.
There are two parts to that equation. First, you need to have a clear picture of why the technical team exists. This will differ in each church, but you need to figure it out. That may require spending some time with senior leadership or your worship pastor to come up with a clearly defined vision for the technical ministry. And by clearly defined, I mean something you can articulate in one to two sentences ? any more and it?s not clear.[quote]You need to have a clear picture of why the technical team exists.[/quote]
The second part to the equation is that you need to continually articulate that vision to your team. This part is easy to miss. Chances are, as technical leader, you are there every weekend. You may be on staff and spend many of your waking hours on the vision. Your team however, most likely only serves once a month. And depending on the schedule, they may go 6-7 weeks between serving. I can pretty much guarantee your team doesn?t spend their free time thinking about the vision of the tech team.
It is going to seem incredibly repetitive to you, but you need to keep that vision before your team every weekend. Pretend you have a new team every week and that they need to learn the vision of the team for the first time. Keep doing that, and they will stay fresh and encouraged.[quote]Pretend you have a new team every week and that they need to learn the vision of the team for the first time.[/quote]
Everyone, Every Time
When I was a TD, I made it a point to personally interact with each one of my team every week. No one could sneak in, do their thing, and sneak out without me at least touching base with them. I liked to run the team through a summary of the service each week and reinforce the importance of their roles. At the end of the weekend, I tried to make sure I thanked everyone for serving and point out something they did especially well.
It?s easy to feel like you did that already, but remember, when they only serve once or twice a month, it?s not repetitive for them. Now that I?m a volunteer, it means a lot when my TD thanks me for serving each week. When they tell me they?re glad I?m here because I make their lives easier, that keeps me coming back.
So take some time to figure out why you do what you do. Why does your tech team exist in your church? Write it down, share it with your pastor and worship leader. Refine it and internalize it. Then share it with the team every week. Over time, the team will internalize it as well. And that will keep them coming back and serving well week after week.
