11/21/2024
What to do When Things go Wrong
You may have noticed it’s been a little while since my last post in this thread. Hurricane Helene made a visit to Western North Carolina in late September. My family was well blessed compared to others in the area. Power was out for weeks for some people. Initially, all communication systems were down. No Internet, no cell phones, no landlines. Roads were washed away. Some towns were washed away. Many churches in the area sustained damage. One in particular in Marshall, NC had mud up to the top of the pews. While most of us will never experience a catastrophe such as this, things will go wrong with our technology from time to time.
In times of major disasters such as this, churches need to shift their focus from themselves and what they can’t do, to others and what they can do. I saw this in practice all over WNC in the weeks after this disaster. Churches held services outdoors with no microphones, no stage lights, and no lyrics on the walls. Churches became distribution centers for free supplies to their community. They provided meals to those affected and to volunteers who came from all over the country to help. Yes, we did have FEMA and the National Guard in our area, but it was the churches and religious organizations who were there first, stayed the longest, and had the greatest impact.
But what about the times when little things go wrong? When the soundboard acts up? When the lyrics do not show up on the screens? When the batteries go dead in your cordless microphone? The most important thing to remember is that technology is there to enhance our worship. Our worship is not dependent on technology.
A few months back in the church I attend, half of the sound board went out during our Sunday morning practice time. We had microphones but none of the other equipment worked. After 30 minutes or so of frantically trying to fix the problem, the worship leader “called an audible.” She changed to songs that could be played on acoustic guitars and didn’t require a keyboard. Sunday morning services were held and the majority of the people in attendance had no idea of the technical difficulties we were facing. She focused on what we could do and not on what we couldn’t.
Pastors, when things don’t go exactly as planned with technology, be careful not to call attention to it, even in a joking way. Your tech team is working hard to make sure everything goes right. Most of them are volunteers. Often, they are using equipment barely adequate for the tasks at hand. Things will occasionally go wrong. Calling attention to it only demeans the people working hard with what they have. If things go wrong more than occasionally, then you need to address that sometime other than Sunday morning.
Technology is meant to enhance our worship. If we can’t worship because some piece of equipment is malfunctioning, are we really worshiping? Or are we just putting on a show?
