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by Greg Atkinson
It happens all the time, in churches all
around the world. You may have felt the tension
or experienced the frustration without even
realizing it. What is it? It's the coming
together of two teams: music and audiovisual,
right-brained and left-brained, artsy and
analytical - the artists vs. the technicians.
Here's the deal. Like it
or not, these teams
not only exist in every
church, but they
have to come together to
work and minister.
You can't avoid it. How
they meet is the
issue. Will they collide
or merge?
Collide - 1. to crash together
violently.
2. to clash or disagree.
Merge - 1. to lose or cause
to lose identity
by being absorbed or swallowed
up. 2. to
combine; unite.
The collision
If your church has never
struggled with this
issue, consider yourself
blessed. I know
this never happens with
your music and tech
team members, but other
churches sometimes
experience tension when
the two teams are
communicating to one another
in a rehearsal
or sound check. This can
surface in many
ways and there are many
reasons (physical,
emotional, and spiritual)
why this can happens.
Sunday morning sound checks
can be rough
on both teams. There are
enough spiritual
battles going on without
us knowingly or
intentionally adding to
the regular pre-service
stress. A lead worshiper
and senior pastor
have a ton going through
their mind before
a worship service. Besides
the practical
things like remembering
things to say, transitions
and the like, they also
carry a huge burden
for the people they're
about to minister
to and are trying to be
as sensitive to the
Holy Spirit as they can
be. Neither needs
to be distracted by poor
attitudes or silly
tiffs. Here are a few thoughts
on steps we
can take to ease the tension
and grow together.
Appreciation: Have you
ever had to take an
"Art Appreciation"
or "Music
Appreciation" course
in school? As painful
as those classes may be,
you end with a new
appreciation and understanding
of what goes
in to a painting or a song.
I honestly don't
think that those serving
in our worship and
tech teams have a true
feel for what the
other is going through
and the pressures
they face.
Most singers or instrumentalists
I know would
freeze up and be totally
stressed out to
be "in the booth"
and responsible
for the sound or visuals
during a service.
The reverse is true, too.
Many techies talk
a big game until you put
them on the stage,
place a mic in their hand,
and ask them to
sing a solo. Most people
would rather do
anything else than sing
in front of people.
What can you do? Get to
know someone on the
opposite team. Years ago,
I met with my organist
and asked her to explain
to me the different
kinds of stops she used
and what all those
knobs did. When I moved
to a contemporary
church and started working
a praise band,
I sat down with my drummer
and asked him
a thousand questions. I
wanted to speak intelligently
when asking him to give
me a rim-shot, more
kick, or to play a certain
feel.
Understanding: A step further
than appreciation
is a true understanding
of what the other
team members go through.
Personally, I think
musicians make the best
audio engineers.
Besides the obvious reasons
(like having
a great ear), I think understanding
plays
a big part in how they
mix and interact with
band members. Have you
ever come across a
sound person who seems
to get upset and take
it personally when you
ask for more of something
in your monitor (forgive
me if that is you)?
I have led and presently
serve on both teams,
so here are a few scenarios
and things to
ponder.
- A vocalist asks for more
of their voice
in their monitor: A sound
tech who also sings
understands the vocalist's
point of view
and the insecurity that
can come when a singer
can't hear one's self.
- The keys/pads player
keeps asking for more
keys in their monitor as
the band cranks
up: Anyone who has played
electric keys with
a band knows that, unlike
a real piano that
makes sound whether it
is amplified or not,
a keyboard player only
hears what comes out
of their monitor.
- The worship leader wants
more of his acoustic
in his mix: An acoustic
guitar player understands
how an acoustic guitar
can sometimes get
lost in the mix due to
stage volume, making
the guitarist feel as if
he/she is playing
on thin air.
- An electric guitar player
gets upset when
they're told they can't
play through their
rig: An electric guitarist
needs their amp
to produce the right sound
and voicing that
they're going for, which
is not the same
as plugging into the house
system via a direct
box.
- A bass player: Well,
bass players can never
get enough of themselves
in their monitor.
You know it's true! Basically,
anyone playing
a fretted instrument needs
to be able to
hear themselves so they
can play in tune.
I could go on and on. Obviously,
each musician,
including drummers (just
kidding), has a
unique role and circumstance
when it comes
to the overall sound. The
reverse is true
as well. I used musical
examples to make
a point, but this works
both ways. Musicians
would do well to learn
a little about mixing
for live worship and the
challenges it brings.
All who serve on the platform
should seek
to understand and appreciate
those who serve
behind a console, computer,
or camera - hey
that's 3 Cs! By the way,
those with a musical
background also seem to
run the lyrics the
best. They know the music
and have great
timing and a natural feel
for when to advance
to the next slide.
Respect: God help us. I've
heard some pretty
rough things said between
the two groups.
Instead of assuming the
worst about one another,
we should assume the best
and trust that
whoever is on the other
side is not against
us.
On a few occasions, I've
come across people
that did have a heart issue
and needed to
be confronted in private.
If needed, sometimes
people need to step down
or be relieved of
their duties. But for the
most part, people
try their best to excel.
They get extremely
embarrassed when they mess
up and believe
it or not, they are just
as frustrated as
you are about what went
wrong.
Those who run sound, lights,
video, or projection
lyrics serve behind the
scenes and are extremely
under-appreciated. You
know how it is: If
they do their job well,
no one notices them.
If something goes wrong,
everyone turns around
and looks at them. There
is a lot of pressure
and not many accolades.
Each of us should
give one another a huge
measure of grace
and unmerited respect.
Commitment: Truth be told,
we love everyone,
but we don't always like
everyone. You know
what I'm talking about.
It is entirely possible
to have people serving
on your tech and music
teams that don't like each
other; it's bound
to happen. What needs to
be understood and
communicated is that we
are in this together
and it is so much bigger
than me or you or
us. It's all about him,
not us.
We should be committed
to the vision and
mission of our church and
the part we play
as communicators (via the
message, music,
or media) of the Gospel.
Our commitment to
Christ and his Church should
be so strong
that we would never sabotage
an event or
service, or allow others
to get under our
skin and pull us down to
their level. Audio
person, this means no matter
how rude a singer
is, you don't mute their
microphone to teach
them a lesson (not that
any of us would ever
do that).
The merger
Please know that I have
made many sweeping
and generalized statements
throughout this
article. Not all churches
experience this
tension the same way. Also,
please know that
techies are artists. I
don't mean to imply
an either-or-type view
of the people who
serve in our worship arts
ministries. I think
the goal is to appreciate,
understand and
respect those we work with
each week, while
committing to a vision
that is bigger than
us all.
Webster defines merger
as: "The absorption
of a lesser interest or
action into a greater
one." My hope is to
see music teams
and tech teams merge in
our churches. To
put to death the trivial
wars that can sometimes
occur. Let's seek to gain
a new appreciation
and respect for one another.
My challenge
to you is to at least start
the conversation
of merging at your church.
Bring this article
to a rehearsal or broach
the subject with
your leaders and team members.
If there's
an issue, prayerfully address
it and do whatever
needs to be done to stretch,
learn, and grow.
Christ and his Church deserve
it.
©2007 - Greg Atkinson (www.churchvideoideas.com)
Used by permission from
author. All rights
reserved by author.
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Greg Atkinson lives in Dallas with his wife
and their three small children. He served
previously as the Director of WorshipHouse
Media, after having served as a worship pastor
for 11 years. Greg is now the Technical Arts
Director at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship and
continues consulting & teaching on media. |
You can connect with him
through his daily
blog, Church Video Ideas, his podcast, Creative Synergy, or his email:
greg@churchvideoideas.com.
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