Loving People? Part 2

Today, I want to turn this focus on “loving” people towards the Technical Ministry. How those of us in tech ministry care for each other? Is it restricted to just the team on a service day, to the larger tech team within the church, or to a larger global community of tech servants?

My answer to the first question is simply to pay attention to those you regularly serve alongside. Do you know what is going on in their lives? Do they have a need you can particularly relate to? If they have such a need, can you do anything to help or even just listen and empathize?

I know, I know, much of this sounds platitudinous, but sometimes just stopping to listen is a huge help. Pay attention and don’t forget that the relationships do not end with the worship services.

My answer to the second question posed at the beginning of this post is all three. If the teams stay relatively the same by weekend in a month then you will definitely begin forming relationships with those you serve alongside. It is tough not to when you are in a smallish room with six other people for seven hours once a month, right?

Regarding the larger team within the church, I have never wanted to see teams become separate from the larger team as a whole. We all use the same equipment in pursuit of the same purpose and vision.

We have fought this occasionally at my church. There used to be a very separate group of people who served on Saturday night and who served on Sunday morning. Now because the services are so different there will always be different teams who specialize in the particulars of the services they most commonly produce. However, this does not mean that they are separate. We should learn from each other’s experiences and challenges and I think we do a pretty good job of this here at my church, but we certainly did not always do so.

Finally the larger global community of techs, I have been occasionally surprised at how common the challenges and experiences are for all techs. If you subscribe to Curt Taipale’s Church Soundcheck Discussion Group (www.churchsoundcheck.com) you will find people asking all kinds of questions about equipment, challenges of relating to church leadership and each other, and prayer requests. Subscribing to the discussion group will put you in touch with over three thousand techs who worship through service in different ways all over the world. If you have stayed cut off from the larger community, I would encourage you to engage and offer your insights. Another way is through reading blogs (yes, like mine), but also Anthony Coppedge (www.anthonycoppedge.com) and any others you can find that relate to the unique challenges in pursuing ministry through technology.

All I am really trying to say is that you are not alone in the world with the challenges and struggle that are faced. Techs tend to be too task focused and they forget to stop and listen to each other. That is what I am really trying to get across. Stop once in a while and listen and don’t forget that there are others who are pursuing the same purpose on other days and in other locations around the world.

Loving People? Part 1

Well, I am back from vacation; somewhat rested and definitely re-focused. I quickly come back to my original premise for this blog. Ministry, even technical, is about the people. It is about loving people.

How do we love people?

It seems to me that the word “love” has become somewhat hackneyed and overused; particularly in Christian circles. We throw the term around a lot in sermons and in conversations, but how often do we actually act?

Jesus lays out how important love is in Mark 12:28-31. He [Jesus] is asked by a teacher of the law "’Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’ ’The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.’” Very rarely do we talk in plain, practical terms on how to do this within a community.

After all, a team is a community of faith. It is similar to a small group with a key difference. Small groups gather to learn and grow together. A ministry team gathers to undertake a task.

How do we bridge the difference? How do we live out Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”?

I don’t have all the answers, but this is the central question I am wrestling with as a ministry team leader. How do I do this from a leader standpoint and keep my life balanced? How do I help the teams encourage each other?

On thing I have learned is that “loving” is a verb. It is an action, it is not a feeling, but about a choice. Look through 1 Corinthians 13, love is not described as a feeling, but as an action that requires choice.

What do you think?