4- PASTORS
Usually this hurdle is due to miscommunication on our part and misunderstanding on their part. We as technical people speak a different language and most of the time would rather be tinkering with equipment than communicating anyway. Therefore we usually lack the interpersonal skills that pastors have perfected to communicate effectively what we can do for them.
We have to remember that media is, for the most part, not a ministry unto itself. It is an extension of every other ministry. It is a tool to be used. With that mindset then we can go to our pastors and first and foremost get not on the same page but on their page. The senior or lead pastor holds the vision of the body of believers that have been entrusted to his care. We have to learn to communicate effectively how media can be an enhancement of our pastor’s vision. We have to build the trust of our ministerial staff. Using media in our churches is still a growing phenomenon and many pastors and ministers do not think to incorporate media into their teaching, building disciples, praise and worship. Those that are gifted in the areas of audio, video, lighting, web site design and other creative outlets are given a vision of how to incorporate these different mediums into the overall vision of the church. If you step outside of the overall vision and use media to be using media then it will fail.
5-PEOPLE
You all have heard the old adage “It’s hard to find good help”. And it is hard but not because the help is not there. You have to dig to find the gems. You would be amazed at how many people in your church are technically gifted. Many times you have to draw them out though. Like I said before we lack in the area of interpersonal skills so it is rare for someone to just step forward and say, “Hey, I want to be part of the Media Ministry Team”. As a team leader you have to be constantly on the look out for those that are gifted and you have to approach them and be able to communicate with them. It is much easier communicating with them than pastors because you already speak the same language. Many times technically gifted people never find a place to serve within the church and do not grow spiritually because they are not interacting with God through an offering of their gift.
You have to have people because we can not do it all. I have tried to do it all and it doesn’t work. You have to have help and as your media ministry grows you need a lot of it. Make sure you keep your team well informed and well trained and make them a part of everything that you envision with media. That helps develop ownership and the overall scheme of things flows much better when your team has a sense of ownership in the ministry.
Ultimately people are why we are in a ministry anyway.
6-PERSONALITIES
The hurdle of personalities encompasses pastors and people. It is usually not hard to tell who is introvert and who is extrovert. Those are common personality traits that are tossed about. But how about who is resilient and who is reactive? Who is a preserver and who is an explorer? Who is a challenger and who is an adapter? Who is flexible and who is focused? And don’t forget the middle of the road personality traits of ambivert, responsive, moderate, negotiator and balanced. In team building and relationship building you have to be able to recognize people’s different personalities and how to relate to that person whether they are a pastor or one of your team members. You may not think of your senior or lead pastor as an introvert but they may be just that. Just because they deliver a message in front of the congregation every Sunday does not mean that they are an extrovert. You have to get to know people in different settings and different situations.
When training or instructing you have to be able to discern how people learn. Do they learn visually, auditory or tactile? Do they think globally or analytically? When you develop your training make sure you cover all the different ways that people learn. For visual learners you need a visual presentation, for auditory you need to be able communicate clearly and effectively and for tactile you need to allow time for hands on. When you broadcast your vision it is easier to cast an overall picture which will work for those that think globally or big picture down and then allow for questions for those that are more analytical who think from details up.
With all of that being said this is probably the area that I struggle with most. I have a hard time relating to other personalities sometimes. One of my personality traits is that I’m a preserver. In other words I have a low openness. I’m practical, down-to-earth, efficient and conservative in opinions and set in my ways. I, therefore, have a hard time with those that have the personality trait of explorer. They are described as creative, imaginative, or artistic and easily bored. They tend to be curious and seek varied new experiences. You may also know them as your musicians and worship leaders. I have had to ask forgiveness for the many times they have frustrated me to the boiling point. With the Lords help I have learned how to talk to them, give them what they need and still be able to accomplish the goal of providing a service worthy of the worship of Jesus Christ. I thank Kent Morris of Worshiptech.com and Brad Herring of Church Production Resources for allowing themselves to be used of God to point me and many others in the right direction in this area.
After we have cleared all of these hurdles then a media ministry can be used of God to reach the lost, make our fellowship more enjoyable, help in discipleship, enhance our minister’s message, make missions visible, and engage hearts and minds to interact with God in authentic worship.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Hurdles of Media Ministry Part 1
I’m learning that in media ministry their can be many hurdles to overcome. I’m going to list several and expound on them. Some of them I have experienced first hand and some I have not had to deal with but I know that some of you have.
1.EDUCATION
Educating your congregation on the relevance of technology in today’s churches can be very difficult if you have an older member base or even younger members that have grown up in rigid, legalistic churches. Many times you hear “we’ve never done it that way before” instead of thinking “you know, Jesus used everything at his disposal to teach life lessons. I wonder how God can use media and those technically gifted for His glory and to further His kingdom.” So many people get hung up on things that don’t affect the meaning of the Word of God or the truth that lies therein. Let’s face it; we are in a technology advanced society that has come to expect excellence in audio, video and everything else technical. As a wise friend once said, “The young people of our church demand excellence and the older members deserve excellence.” I ask that people not resist the change of using of media. Media is not bad. What people do with media is sometimes bad but why can’t we use the same thing to counteract all the filth, hatred and violence with goodness, love and peace.
2.EQUIPMENT
Many times I wish I could have been in on the planning and purchasing of audiovisual equipment so many, many years ago. Of course when your church is lacking in point #1 then you have a very difficult task of convincing anyone that you need to purchase quality equipment and systems. Many times you are just getting by and the high dollar equipment of 20 years ago is on its last legs. You have to keep patching and repairing until the piece decides to go onto glory.
Usually the minimal investment that is allowed on equipment is just that; minimal. Unfortunately what you do purchase does not live up to the expectation of your church and you end up looking like a fool. The old adage many times applies, “you get what you pay for”.
Be careful though because of the booming market of audio, video and lighting equipment to churches there are those companies that are looking for the fast buck. They don’t understand the church, don’t understand God and certainly don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ but they do understand money and greed. Churches are many times an easy target because of point #1. Do your homework! Research all of your equipment. Find out what is working for some other churches. Compare prices. Get multiple opinions. Learn from others successes and mistakes. Remember though that what may work in one church may not work in another. That is when it comes to having someone design systems in your church. Check references. You want to find companies that are reputable (preferably Christian based) and have the necessary people, tools and resources to get the job done. Also make sure you get several companies to submit designs and quotes. Don’t hesitate to tell them that there is competition.
3.ENGINEERING
I recently posted about power distribution and what a mess I find and I continue to find. It never ceases to amaze me what a predicament churches get into with regards to electrical. When it comes to buying equipment or designing systems do not forget electrical.
Even more consideration is needed when it comes to lighting systems. Those lights are power hogs. An excellent formula to use is nick-named after my home state of West Virginia. Watts = Volts x Amps or W=VxA. For example if you want to know how much wattage you have available you can solve for W. We will take 120 volts (US average) x 20 ampere rated dimmer circuit = 2400 watts. Then you would add the ratings of all your lighting fixtures to see how many you can place on the one dimmer circuit.
Audio and video equipment need clean power and common potential grounding. Grounding needs to be common at your service entry and all equipment needs to be tied to that ground to keep the same potential throughout your system. Otherwise you are asking for serious problems. There is the potential of electrical shock and much damage to equipment. Now if your building is very old then you may have some degradation in your circuits that can lead to noise and other problems. That is why you need to think of effective AC power regulation and distribution. Get rid of the $5.00 so call surge protectors you bought at Wal-Mart.
After power comes how everything else is wired. Keep your wiring neat and off your feet. Invest a few bucks on cable ties, wire loom and raceways. If possible keep your AC power, audio and video cables separate. It is possible to have noise on your system by induction of AC power on speaker cables and other audio cables.
I have a few more points that I would like to make but I will continue on this thread in another post. Stay Tuned…
1.EDUCATION
Educating your congregation on the relevance of technology in today’s churches can be very difficult if you have an older member base or even younger members that have grown up in rigid, legalistic churches. Many times you hear “we’ve never done it that way before” instead of thinking “you know, Jesus used everything at his disposal to teach life lessons. I wonder how God can use media and those technically gifted for His glory and to further His kingdom.” So many people get hung up on things that don’t affect the meaning of the Word of God or the truth that lies therein. Let’s face it; we are in a technology advanced society that has come to expect excellence in audio, video and everything else technical. As a wise friend once said, “The young people of our church demand excellence and the older members deserve excellence.” I ask that people not resist the change of using of media. Media is not bad. What people do with media is sometimes bad but why can’t we use the same thing to counteract all the filth, hatred and violence with goodness, love and peace.
2.EQUIPMENT
Many times I wish I could have been in on the planning and purchasing of audiovisual equipment so many, many years ago. Of course when your church is lacking in point #1 then you have a very difficult task of convincing anyone that you need to purchase quality equipment and systems. Many times you are just getting by and the high dollar equipment of 20 years ago is on its last legs. You have to keep patching and repairing until the piece decides to go onto glory.
Usually the minimal investment that is allowed on equipment is just that; minimal. Unfortunately what you do purchase does not live up to the expectation of your church and you end up looking like a fool. The old adage many times applies, “you get what you pay for”.
Be careful though because of the booming market of audio, video and lighting equipment to churches there are those companies that are looking for the fast buck. They don’t understand the church, don’t understand God and certainly don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ but they do understand money and greed. Churches are many times an easy target because of point #1. Do your homework! Research all of your equipment. Find out what is working for some other churches. Compare prices. Get multiple opinions. Learn from others successes and mistakes. Remember though that what may work in one church may not work in another. That is when it comes to having someone design systems in your church. Check references. You want to find companies that are reputable (preferably Christian based) and have the necessary people, tools and resources to get the job done. Also make sure you get several companies to submit designs and quotes. Don’t hesitate to tell them that there is competition.
3.ENGINEERING
I recently posted about power distribution and what a mess I find and I continue to find. It never ceases to amaze me what a predicament churches get into with regards to electrical. When it comes to buying equipment or designing systems do not forget electrical.
Even more consideration is needed when it comes to lighting systems. Those lights are power hogs. An excellent formula to use is nick-named after my home state of West Virginia. Watts = Volts x Amps or W=VxA. For example if you want to know how much wattage you have available you can solve for W. We will take 120 volts (US average) x 20 ampere rated dimmer circuit = 2400 watts. Then you would add the ratings of all your lighting fixtures to see how many you can place on the one dimmer circuit.
Audio and video equipment need clean power and common potential grounding. Grounding needs to be common at your service entry and all equipment needs to be tied to that ground to keep the same potential throughout your system. Otherwise you are asking for serious problems. There is the potential of electrical shock and much damage to equipment. Now if your building is very old then you may have some degradation in your circuits that can lead to noise and other problems. That is why you need to think of effective AC power regulation and distribution. Get rid of the $5.00 so call surge protectors you bought at Wal-Mart.
After power comes how everything else is wired. Keep your wiring neat and off your feet. Invest a few bucks on cable ties, wire loom and raceways. If possible keep your AC power, audio and video cables separate. It is possible to have noise on your system by induction of AC power on speaker cables and other audio cables.
I have a few more points that I would like to make but I will continue on this thread in another post. Stay Tuned…
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Line Arrays: Does Everyone Need Them or Not?
2005 has seen an explosion on the market of line arrays by just about every company that manufactures speakers. Although line arrays have been around for over 50 years there is definitely a resurgence in their use. But are they the cure all for your audio woes? As always it depends on the room in which you are wanting to reinforce sound. But hey I'm not the expert. Read from those who know.
Hope this helps!
Line Arrays: Beware the "Craze"?
Understanding Line Array Systems
JBL’s development team talks about line array concepts
John Meyer on Line Arrays
Hope this helps!
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Dream Big, Think Big, Go Big!
Perry Noble offered a post titled Dream Big. For some reason they have their posts anchored instead of permalink so you will have to scroll down to find that post. After that, make sure you read the post above it as well. Good stuff!
Anyway the post got me to thinking about how many times I hear complaints about some aspect of media ministry. How when I mention what we could do with media or what it would take to really make an event stand out in the community then I get blank stares. When I'm asked by staff to improve an area but then the stewardship committee slashes my budget to the point that I have to maintain status quo. And that may be unfair because our church is fiscally sound. But it is frustrating still.
I'm not satisfied with status quo. The Lord has shown me the need to improve sound, video, lighting, website etc; in different venues to impact outreach, fellowship, discipleship, worship, missions and other ministries. Some of those ideas are a drastic departure from what we have now. But I want to jump out of the fish bowl into the pond and pond to lake and lake to ocean. I need to keep growing and learning and striving for excellence. I will continue to dream big, think big and someday go big!
Anyway the post got me to thinking about how many times I hear complaints about some aspect of media ministry. How when I mention what we could do with media or what it would take to really make an event stand out in the community then I get blank stares. When I'm asked by staff to improve an area but then the stewardship committee slashes my budget to the point that I have to maintain status quo. And that may be unfair because our church is fiscally sound. But it is frustrating still.
I'm not satisfied with status quo. The Lord has shown me the need to improve sound, video, lighting, website etc; in different venues to impact outreach, fellowship, discipleship, worship, missions and other ministries. Some of those ideas are a drastic departure from what we have now. But I want to jump out of the fish bowl into the pond and pond to lake and lake to ocean. I need to keep growing and learning and striving for excellence. I will continue to dream big, think big and someday go big!
What is a Technical Staff Position Worth?
Anthony Coppedge never shies away from the tough issues facing churches in the area of media ministry. His post yesterday was no exception. I really appreciated him bringing up this topic.
In my case, I'm the last one to bring up the question of money. I have never wanted to appear that I was there for the money. That is probably why I have never did fair market value research for any employment that I have had and I have never asked for a raise. I believe the love of the job is first and foremost, then people chemistry and then money. When the love of the job wanes though...well that is a different topic.
Of course when you are called to a certain ministry then your salary should not be a determining factor in my opinion. Now if a church or ministry doesn't want to pay you enough to support the cost of living in the area they are located then maybe they have not done their homework. Maybe they have not prepared themselves to take on another staff position. Then maybe that is not the place that God has for you.
Anyway, check out Anthony Coppedge's post Salaries for "Media & Communications" People
In my case, I'm the last one to bring up the question of money. I have never wanted to appear that I was there for the money. That is probably why I have never did fair market value research for any employment that I have had and I have never asked for a raise. I believe the love of the job is first and foremost, then people chemistry and then money. When the love of the job wanes though...well that is a different topic.
Of course when you are called to a certain ministry then your salary should not be a determining factor in my opinion. Now if a church or ministry doesn't want to pay you enough to support the cost of living in the area they are located then maybe they have not done their homework. Maybe they have not prepared themselves to take on another staff position. Then maybe that is not the place that God has for you.
Anyway, check out Anthony Coppedge's post Salaries for "Media & Communications" People
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Casting a Vision
I heard the phrase "casting a vision" somewhere before but I don't quite remember where. Anyway, it is something that I need to learn how to do. How do I get a whole group of people to see the vision that the Lord has given me for media ministry and how do I get them onboard and as excited as I am?
I'm starting a DVD based training series on the fundamentals of audio starting this Sunday, August 14th. I pray that the Lord uses this to cast His vision.
I'm starting a DVD based training series on the fundamentals of audio starting this Sunday, August 14th. I pray that the Lord uses this to cast His vision.
Another P: Priorities
Every once in a while we need to take the time to get alone and assess our Priorities. Are we putting God first in all that we do? Even in our ministries it can become about the church or us and God is kind of put on the back burner. I know you all have heard the cliche "keep the main thing the main thing" but it is so true. When you get up in the morning try asking God; "Lord what would you have me do with your time today?" or "What would You have me do with Your money today?".
This is much harder when you are involved in a technical ministry when a lot of what you do centers on equipment rather than people. I try hard to not get wrapped up in making a service about the technology. It is such a fine line.
Another thing about being involved in a technical ministry is the time involved to make something right. We have to be careful about neglecting other areas because we are so involved in making an element of the service as perfect as humanly possible. This is where a good media ministry team can alleviate the burden of a leader and each other.
We must keep ourselves from becoming too busy for God. And it happens even in ministry. Our worship pastor posted an article in our church newspaper in which he took an entry from a devotional book printed in 1953. An excerpt from that devotional stated;
Another excerpt stated;
All of that to lead into a post that Gary Lamb put up on his Mad Babble From A Church Planter blog titled Worthless... Once again God uses Gary to speak to me along with others to show me that I'm getting too busy to know God and what He really wants for my life.
This is much harder when you are involved in a technical ministry when a lot of what you do centers on equipment rather than people. I try hard to not get wrapped up in making a service about the technology. It is such a fine line.
Another thing about being involved in a technical ministry is the time involved to make something right. We have to be careful about neglecting other areas because we are so involved in making an element of the service as perfect as humanly possible. This is where a good media ministry team can alleviate the burden of a leader and each other.
We must keep ourselves from becoming too busy for God. And it happens even in ministry. Our worship pastor posted an article in our church newspaper in which he took an entry from a devotional book printed in 1953. An excerpt from that devotional stated;
Christians are too busy even with good things, and the best thing -- to know God -- gets away.
Another excerpt stated;
If you are too busy to find time for God, you are too busy, You have received a charge to keep, and if your busyness keeps you from being about your Father's business, you are a poor business man! Take time for God!
All of that to lead into a post that Gary Lamb put up on his Mad Babble From A Church Planter blog titled Worthless... Once again God uses Gary to speak to me along with others to show me that I'm getting too busy to know God and what He really wants for my life.
Monday, August 08, 2005
July Concert Series
Our July 2005 "Concerts on the Lawn" series is over. I'm kind of disappointed that it is over. It was a lot of work. It was very frustrating at times. It was almost a disaster at one point. All in all it was a great learning experience and I had a blast. I met some great singers and musicians who above all had a heart for the Lord and a desire to spread the gospel above everything else. That is what it is all about.
The first week we had The Songsters. These gentlemen were in the tradition of southern gospel quartets and were outstanding. Their bass singer had recently passed away so they are for now a trio but sounded awesome. It was a pleasure to help them when they had some audio problems on set up and we were able to have the cure of a couple $3.00 adapters. Those will get you every time. I enjoyed helping them on their outdoor mix as well.
Week 2 was the disaster week. It can be read about at Planning, Preparation, Practice. Enough said. I hope to be able to let people hear how good the praise band from River Hills Community Church really is someday. Also a big thank you to Tim at All Pro Sound. He knew exactly what I needed to remedy my problems plus turned me on to some adapters that I didn't know existed. This saved me some making cables, building connectors, soldering pins time. That I liked. The guys at All Pro Sound are always easy to talk to and know exactly what you are going through because they are not just salesmen. They are out there on the weekends using the stuff just like we are.
Week 3 was moved indoors due to the intense heat we were experiencing. This really cut down on our set up time. No speakers to fly or snake to run and no amplifiers to move or mixer station to roll out. Only mics, stands and associated cables.
The group was our own praise band which is our own singing group Surrender joined with lead and bass guitar, an additional keyboardist and drummer. All the details can be read about at What a Difference a Week Makes.
The last week was also indoors but this time because of storms. The group was His Anointed This is a local family group that is on fire for the Lord. They really had the place jumping. They are also southern gospel but probably most closely resembled The Crabb Family. Not only is the whole family vocally gifted but what really impressed me is how much they love the Lord and how well they work together in everything they did. From their set-up to sound check to concert to tear down was all like a fine tuned machine. Outstanding!
Well, this summer was definitely an experience and one that the Lord refined me in more ways than one. I can't wait to see what He has in store for our media ministry next.
The first week we had The Songsters. These gentlemen were in the tradition of southern gospel quartets and were outstanding. Their bass singer had recently passed away so they are for now a trio but sounded awesome. It was a pleasure to help them when they had some audio problems on set up and we were able to have the cure of a couple $3.00 adapters. Those will get you every time. I enjoyed helping them on their outdoor mix as well.
Week 2 was the disaster week. It can be read about at Planning, Preparation, Practice. Enough said. I hope to be able to let people hear how good the praise band from River Hills Community Church really is someday. Also a big thank you to Tim at All Pro Sound. He knew exactly what I needed to remedy my problems plus turned me on to some adapters that I didn't know existed. This saved me some making cables, building connectors, soldering pins time. That I liked. The guys at All Pro Sound are always easy to talk to and know exactly what you are going through because they are not just salesmen. They are out there on the weekends using the stuff just like we are.
Week 3 was moved indoors due to the intense heat we were experiencing. This really cut down on our set up time. No speakers to fly or snake to run and no amplifiers to move or mixer station to roll out. Only mics, stands and associated cables.
The group was our own praise band which is our own singing group Surrender joined with lead and bass guitar, an additional keyboardist and drummer. All the details can be read about at What a Difference a Week Makes.
The last week was also indoors but this time because of storms. The group was His Anointed This is a local family group that is on fire for the Lord. They really had the place jumping. They are also southern gospel but probably most closely resembled The Crabb Family. Not only is the whole family vocally gifted but what really impressed me is how much they love the Lord and how well they work together in everything they did. From their set-up to sound check to concert to tear down was all like a fine tuned machine. Outstanding!
Well, this summer was definitely an experience and one that the Lord refined me in more ways than one. I can't wait to see what He has in store for our media ministry next.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
