Reject the tech-inferiority complex.
One reason I write about this is because I am part of the problem. It is very easy to be captivated by the tools. My laptop, smartphone, nerdy apps and my judgmental views on how others adopt or reject tech all make for a wired soup. We can chase this addiction to the point that we are envious of what other ministries practice. When another church ends up with a $600K LED wall, we can also see that some churches might spend millions and put them on their ceiling! In other words, you can never quite keep up with the Jones Community Church next door. This is nothing new. Imagine in past days churches comparing the size of the pipe organs or beauty of their stained glass. When we give up feeling inferior, we can enjoy and utilize the tech we choose and can afford. Additionally, when we build into people, we set our success with a biblical metric. We all know that people are what lasts.
Tools are there to serve people. If we simply try to add people to a tool, we dehumanize them. For instance, a guitar player who cannot play the new sound might have to get a new gear setup. What do we do to train that individual? We should be able to point them to ways they can learn—even our own time, as the worship leader. You can be the coolest tech church and be great with people. I would rather us envy our neighbor church that did better than us with people than the one who had better gear. In reality, a great group of musicians probably sounds nearly as good on cheaper gear, right? And, the hearts of worshippers are not measured by how fantastic our lighting set-up is, either.
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You can be the coolest tech church and be great with people. I would rather us envy our neighbor church that did better than us with people than the one who had better gear. But, this is not saying both are possible. It is saying that people should come first.
Reject the tendency to only think big.
One of the wisest man I had the chance to spend time with told me a story of how their new worship leader overused laser lights in addition to choosing an awkward opening song for Easter. “Carry on, My Wayward Son,” perfectly played to an exciting array of lighting tricks, fell flat with audible groans from parishioners and pastor. It was the last straw for this well-meaning worship leader’s attempt to be relevant. Against the advice of the team around him, he insisted on this lighting design and song choice. He soon was no longer employed at the church.
Don’t forget to think small before you think big. The budding megachurch installed state of the art lighting gear, which gave the opportunity for EDM rave level light programming—albeit to a song not really well-chosen. However, just because you can do something doesn’t make it the right thing to do. The remaining team had been at this church for many years—back in the days of the school gym and cafeteria. There was a phrase that they learned to live by: “Worship has to work under the glare of cafeteria lights before we add all that fancy stuff.” I am paraphrasing a bit, but the principle for technology in church ministry is clear. The fundamentals have to be there before we reproduce, project, orchestrate, brand or build.
Yes, we must use the best tools available, but people come first.
If we lose our heads and think technology in church ministry is the answer, our people will suffer. This is not to say we should shun technology in church ministry. The point is that people come first—both the ones that experience the tech and also the operators.
Our investment in gear as houses of worship is large enough to equal and exceed all other meeting venues in the United States. This means that industry loves us! We buy lights, sound, video and streaming technologies to expand our reach and enhance the message. The gospel must live in the modern world and be told with the new tools available to us. But, when we look to put our dollars out for this stuff, let’s remember to invest in people, too.
When it comes to technology in church ministry, here is a good passge to keep in mind: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7
This article on technology in church ministry originally appeared here.
