Believe me, I am glad that this (Christmas pageant) weekend is over. I had my crew all set and ready, and I was going to sit back and direct the TV show... Unfortunately my worship leader had other plans, demanded that I run sound personally... apparently he was not comfortable with anyone else running it. So after the first rehearsal, we had a crew meeting, rearranged everyone, patched up a few hurt feelings (hopefully), and went on with the show.
- Anonymous
Randy wrote:
<< I need ya alls input on how much control the Minister of Music has over the sound booth in your church. >>
Ten years ago my church task was in chaos. We had a poorly designed system in a live auditorium. Standing waves and comb filter problems galore with very uneven sound throughout the auditorium. My ears (and I am an engineer by degree and vocation) said the spoken word was clearest when not run overly loud. But staff members insisted the louder the better, and even reoriented speakers during the week when I was not present. This led to not only a lot of personal frustration, but also much disrespect of me from the church family. I was once presented with a letter of reprimand from a staff member stating the musicians had 100% say on FOH. I refused to accept it stating I could hear the music, the musicians could not, and that I would gladly work with the musicians to give them the artistic impact they desired.
Both my team and those of the musicians are all volunteer. One music team leader did not know what she did not know. Once a vocalist in the worship team who had intermittent hearing problems kept asking for more monitor. I complied, but then this leader publicly lambasted me for poor balance. It was obvious to me the leader was hearing the monitor wash overpowering the FOH, but my explanations were not accepted.
My breakthrough came with a change of music leadership. The new man had three years of physical science in college, but more importantly wisdom. He was the one who told me about this listserve and suggested I subscribe [to the CSC Discussion Group]. He subscribes and lurks. Two years ago there was an extensive discussion on monitors and the problems they cause with wash. He could not believe such a simple thing as a monitor could be so complicated. But he also recognized that what this group's consensus on that issue was consistent with my insistence of certain monitor placements. He has since trusted my judgment completely. He had always tried to retain an open mind, but previously did not understand my issues. Today he is pushing for a Hearback system to allow all musicians to have their own mix while minimizing monitor wash.
Bottom line is that this ChurchSoundcheck Discussion Group was instrumental in developing a loving cooperative relationship between musicians and techs. That and a Worship Leader who lives his love of Christ.
- Anonymous
Even though I've been a lurker on the list for about 4 years, I've never really shared my story. It really ain't much of one, compared to the experience and wisdom I've seen on the list, but I felt that maybe some of it could minister to someone. You decide!
I have been the "sound guy" with our church for about 12 to 15 years. We had a little Shure Vocalmaster in the back corner of our tractor dealership / plumbing shop converted into a church. Over the years, after some people conflicts, growing needs, help from you guys, our system has grown to a Mackie 24-4 with real live racked amps, a Sabine DSP, and physics problems that I'm learning to slowwwwly understand and now, maybe, begin to fix.
There is a sad part to my story that I'd like to share, too. For the last 2-1/2 years I've been out of the sound ministry. I had been trying to learn as much as I could about sound. I had a heart to train our volunteers, but it seemed no one cared. I was constantly being second guessed by well meaning people that just felt that they knew something or someone that one-upped what I knew.
The last straw came when I tried to educate folk on drum shields. We had a loud drummer on a small stage... (you know the rest!) Anyway, advice from folks on the list was just blown off. Leaders know better, and now we have plexi shields that just share their noise with all the mics on stage. So I quit. I said to myself, Self, I said, why are you beating your head against a wall?
I have spent this time learning to forgive, and watching our tech ministry go nowhere. Volunteers that don't know the very basics of the equipment they're expected to know and run each week are there, bless their heart and when things go wrong, all they get is frustrated looks from people that have no Idea that these people, as you have said, don't want to fail, they just don't know how to succeed. Today was such a day. Pastor's wireless didn't work at the beginning of service, things finally got fixed, but you could feel the stress. At the end of the service, I just hung around. I still wonder why. ( I think it was lotsa prayer from people that KNEW something had to change) I asked Pastor if he had a minute. That minute ended up taking about 45 minutes. I shared my heart. I said that these precious people needed training. I looked Pastor in the eye and said, Your vision isn't going to get smaller, It's going to get bigger! He and the board spend time every month dealing with sound system problems. I opened my mouth and said... I will do it again. God gave me a gift, and I need to use it. Please don't let people second guess me, or micro manage me, just give me what I need to do my job so I can give our tech folk what they need to do theirs. I asked him if I could get the Boot Camp in a box He said YES!
Now, I ask you, how cool is that! We also hugged, and apologised, and I think a load was lifted off of both of us. He's going to talk to our board about me coming back. Please pray for me. I know this is just the beginning.
Curt and Jeanna, thank you so much for your heart and the service you provide. It's not just tech, It's ministry. Heaven will probably have a special gadget corner for you and us.
- Anonymous
First, it is possible to push ourselves too hard and think the church or church leadership is doing it. This happened to me, and my pastor had to take me aside and tell me I was doing too much and he was going to help me figure out how to cut back. It has worked reasonably well. I found a total of 4 people to mix, one each Sunday. To do it I had to understand that there are ways of splitting the job. Two of the 4 don't know how many conductors there are in a mic cord. That is OK. They know sound and they completely understand the board. The only part of the deal left is I need the self discipline to back out of the booth and leave them completely alone. I am working on it.
Just last night I learned that the woman who does all our slide and video work has worked her self into the same spot. Now as part of the leadership over her I need to help her understand that we don't want her under so much pressure and help her find a way out.
Second. God doesn't need us but he WANTS us. The right amount of service is good for us. It builds us up and helps us to help others. As has already been said, too much is bad for us and the church, but none is bad too.
- Anonymous
You have touched me with your situation. I think that is what is happening to me. Except I wasn't pulled aside, I was coldly told in an email. I personally didn't think I was working too hard... I love it personally. But I think there are also worries of what if something happened to me... They would be in a pinch, which I totally agree with.
I personally felt a little resentful when no one bothered to ask me how I thought it might work and they just presented a plan and proceeded to move forward with it, just notifying me... Not including me. It felt very much like I was out of the loop. But I am coming to realize that I think it is just poor communication. They have the same "problem" with several groups like the setup (chairs etc) and have the same fix for them. The issue is one fix does not fit all here. So I am praying and working to smooth the situation out a bit. I hope to have some conversations later this week to work this all out.
I have to say... This thread in particular and this forum in general has been a wonderful blessing to me while working out these issues. I have had several personal blows to my soul recently by our parish. They had just formed the building committee where I felt very strongly a music ministry person should be part of... Turned out I was the only one who applied and was "rejected" so there is no music ministry presence on the building committee for our new church and school. Something I feel very strongly about and have a problem with. But it is done and there isn't a thing I can do about it. Then to have them arbitrarily rebuild ministries without talking to those currently running those ministries first?? I think they have good intentions, but wow, it seems to me they are making some mistakes in the process.
I will continue to pray, listen, talk and read this forum to gain perspective and valuable insight. I don't know if this will help anyone else, but it helps me to put it out there, so I thank you for your indulgence.
- Anonymous
Not a very pretty picture, eh!?! There are plenty more stories where those came from, but I believe you can start to see some of the problems. We're only hearing one side of the conversation here. Not knowing the individuals involved, it's hardly fair to judge them, other than to say that a common thread appears to be that these problems developed out of years of poor communication. Sometimes the tech is at fault. Sometimes the pastoral staff turn out to be inept managers. Each story has its own dynamics.
If there is a lesson to be learned, one that will bring these relationships back to where God would want them to be, it's that it is absolutely critical that pastors, church staff, musicians and technical volunteers find a way to understand each other. And that, my friend, is what we hope The Heart of Technical Excellence will start to open up for you - a path toward understanding one another. Enjoy!
