Sound Issues with Pastor

[MEDIAMinister]

Well I'm just gonna jump right into this. I attend and work at a church of 450+ and I have been the media minister for about 6-7 years. Since I have been there there has been no consistant "sound man". A new one will come in get his feelings hurt by a congregant (we've all been there I'm sure) and will leave the church. To fix this problem our pastor decided that he would start running the sound system. Now I cannot talk down about my leader but I will simply say that he doesn't know exactly how to operate the system, beside the basic overall volume controls. We just upgraded the entire audio system and now we have a MORE complicated mixing console and he honestly has no idea where anything is. I've said all that to say, I have some sound mixing experience and would like to take over the duties of mixing the worship services. It would allow better coordination between the Audio Recording team and Livestream team for audio issues. I would like to see what everyone on the forums thinks I should do. Should I ask if I can start running it or if I should leave it alone????

[Borggren]

Just wondering how your pastor is doing that practically. Both being service pastor and running the sound.
I cant imagine anything else, then it bust be a relief for your pastor if you offer to take over the sound and coordination.

[bruceybaby]

I agree, unless your pastor has rocks in his head I can't imagine him doing anything but thanking you for stepping up.
Be respectful of the effort that he has put in, but let him know you are capable and willing, and stick it out too, even in the face of the inevitable criticism.

[RIK]

We have all been there. You have to respect their position, but that goes both ways. In My Opinion: if you have a complicated sound system, send one or two candidates to an accredited sound school. This church should pay for this. Then the pastoral staff, should gradually yield control to the person trained in that field. I also feel that there should also be some sort of ongoing training maybe paralleling pastor training. This way, your sound engineer knows about sound, and also knows the goals of leading a church service.

[yeshua]

Hmmm....must be a Pastor DJ? I can see it now, Pastor is up on stage with the sound board and some cd's and record players.......

Well I don't honestly know how he can do sound and preach (unless hes doing it from the sound board) but I know, my Pastor at least, changes his vocal volume throughout his sermon some days so I always need to keep an eye on him....no sleeping on the job for me!

I can't imagine that in a congregation of 450 people, that there isn't 2-3 people willing to constantly do sound for the church. It might just need some helpful persuasion and lots of asking. When they do get interested they do need to be warned that they probably won't get the appreciation that they would get servicing the Church anywhere else, eg. the worship team. But thats where you as the Media Minister need to keep them thanked and appreciated.

But as for your problem, if you are interested in doing sound, just ask your Pastor if you can do it. He may not release it immediately for every week depending on your experience and how fast you learn, but honestly, I think he will thank you for stepping up and asking because the Pastor of any Church has so much more to worry about then "how to make a service work".

I've found that over the last 3 years of being on the Church board and even before that, that whenever someone takes over something to lead from the pastor, eg. sunday school class or bible study or worship leading(or even backup vocalist), it allows the pastor to have more time for the people of the Church and in fact, many times he was then able to start a new ministry or idea. The pattern?
Pastor starts something --> Someone Takes over to Lead --> Repeat

The more help he gets, the more grateful he will be. I bet he is and has been praying for someone to take over so that he can worry about the people....not the tech....you might just be that guy!

You could also try something like what Mike Sessler did it.....
http://www.churchtecharts.org/home/2...h+Tech+Arts%29

also, as for learning more about sound, I've found that out of many sites, my favorite resource is http://www.behindthemixer.com/ Its been a great help to me as I had no one to teach me how to do sound....just wish I found this resource about 6-7 years ago! And of course this site is really good too!

Good luck with you and your decision, and the rest of your Church family! Please let us know what comes about and let us know if you need more help! Thats what we are all here for!

[MEDIAMinister]

Thank You to all for your advice! I have scheduled a meeting with the Pastor and Associate Pastor explaining to them the importance of having a dedicated "Sound Guy" and that I am willing to expand my normal duties to include that job. I will everyone know the outcome afterwards. Thank you again for all of your advice!!!

Blessings

[Vinnyw]

My advice would be to not approach it from (as it sounds in your reply) an educational session for them. Rather, make it (if you feel this way) more a discussion of how to sort out what might be a calling for you in this area. They will be far more open if you approach it from a calling perspective than a 'I know this and need to tell you' perspective...they can dig in their heels with the latter, but will embrace the former.

Consistency is valuable, but you have to also zero in on quality and that comes from competence. Which, it sounds like, you feel that you have a little bit more than he does. If you step up to this role and purchase it with fasting & prayer, fellow laborers will come. If you have a strong youth ministry, there may be a HS junior or senior who has the maturity to handle the responsibility and has the interest.

I'm curious to see how this goes.

Vinny

[yeshua]

any news you would like to share?

[MEDIAMinister]

Well....I never got to chance to talk to him about it. However something came up this past week where I was wrongly accused of doing some things to our internet. Which was the drawn to the point of a meeting. At which the point the Pastor wants to set up a "Media Committee" (whatever this means is still unclear). Then the question was asked if sound would be a part of this committee. The pastor then replied with a stern no. And then went to explain the sound (all audio for that matter) was not part of media. Sometimes I wonder why I keep going on with the media ministry because this is definitely not the first time something like this has happened. So....for now that is all the news that I can provide. I thank each of you for the comments posted before this and welcome any afterwards. God Bless!

[Vinnyw]

When I hear the word committee ... I usually want to run away...

All too often, it seems that they end up being filled with people who have
1. no passion for the entity that they are being asked to govern
2. little to no knowledge of what it takes to govern said entity
3. little to no authority to govern - they are more in an 'advisory' role

They also tend to give the illusion of having a plurality of leadership, when they usually end up being dominated by one person; the others, because of one or more of the above points, just go along with whatever the alpha member comes up with. This is particularly dangerous when the goals and/or responsibilities aren't defined clearly & definitively at the outset.

The presence of a committee won't 'prevent' whatever the accusation was about from happening again...there will always end up being one person who ultimately is responsible for maintaining and/or implementing the 'wishes' of the committee...If something doesn't go as planned, the committee probably won't have that person's back...

The thing that really concerns me is the unfounded accusation... you didn't exactly say that you were exonerated... if it hasn't been made 'official' that you did nothing wrong, then you need - for your own sake (a good name being far better than riches or fine gold) - to have that made official...and disseminated to all who know of the accusation. Your ability to have a meaningful participation in serving your church community depends on it.

Vinny

[D.R.HADDOCK]

The main reason why the pastor probably took over the sound was,
It wasn't being done the way he wants it done !
You need to find out how HE wants it done,
And then offer to do it HIS way.
reguardless of the way you would like it done,
Usually the sound team think differently to what the pastor
woud like it to be.
If you want to change that way,
you have to be patient and sensitive
about how you go about it.
So sit down with him and talk with him,
See what HE wants,
Remember HE is the boss.

[Les]

Originally Posted by D.R.HADDOCK

The main reason why the pastor probably took over the sound was,
It wasn't being done the way he wants it done !
You need to find out how HE wants it done,
And then offer to do it HIS way.

See what HE wants,
Remember HE is the boss.

Any church I help with or am a part of I am always willing to sit down and talk with the pastor, get input and work as a team along with the worship pastor.

However, I can't necessarily agree with your statements. If the pastor knows what he's talking about with audio (usually they do not have in depth knowledge so...) and they can provide useful input and guidance then by all means listen and work with them. But, if they are not knowledgeable and what they "want" is not the right thing or the right way to do it then something's got to give.

Certainly you'll need to be respectful when this is discussed and explained as to the why and how it could/should be done (or why what's wanted isn't correct or the most correct). Also, you should be prepared and humble enough that during the discussion you just might be proven wrong! Go into with a right heart and humility and you'll be fine (even if it doesn't go the way you want you'll at least know that you handled it with the right heart).

Now, I've had to have the talk with pastors where I'll tell them if you want me to do it that way (their way/the wrong way) then I'll have to respectfully relinquish my role and move on.

I've also given up install gigs at churches for the same reasons as well. They "want" something that isn't right (numerous different examples) and I know it will significantly compromise the integrity of the system they are asking me to install. In those cases I've had to tell them that I cannot do it that way for reasons x, y, z and if they insist it has to be done that way then I let them know that they will have to find someone else.

Point is. If the pastor is wrong or misguided then we owe it not only to them but the congregation to point it out, in love and humility.

Also, I'm with Vinny on the committee thing... When I hear that word I run and run fast. Honestly I've seen very few healthy committees in my day...