The Church Tech

Usually when I am in church, I am busy doing various duties with The Band or Sound and don’t have time to really think about things during the “Praise and Worship” time of the service.  However, recently while on vacation and attending a church out-of-town, I was a not part of leading worship.  This gave me some time to think a little bit about how technology can be further integrated into the worship service.

I have used “phone apps” for many things, but I was thinking, why is there not some kind of “broadcast app” that shows the words of the songs, sermon outline, announcements, etc. on a phone app.  There have been times when the Big Screen “conks out” for one reason or another.  Wouldn’t it be GREAT to have the option of displaying the projection screen on our phones.  Maybe even having the option of saving the screens for later use.

There’s got to be someone out there who is working on this doesn’t there?  Maybe someone already has it.  I don’t know, some times I am just too techie for my own good!

Is there anything that is more difficult to get “right” than the stage volume level?  Is it even possible to get it “right”?  Who decides if it is “right”? 

• The musicians on stage? 
• The Pastor (which one)? 
• Individuals in the auditorium? 
• The sound tech?

Of course, the answer to “who decides if it is right” is the first question you have to ask.  And to be honest, I can’t answer the question for you.  However, I can tell you which of the answers above are wrong.  There is only one answer in the above list that is obviously wrong.  And the most disheartening part about it is that probably 50% of you will say it is the correct answer.

The wrong anwer above is “The Sound Tech”.  The Musicians on stage could be the right ones to say whether the volume is correct … so could the pastor (or pastors) … a person in the auditorium could even have an input as to the overall volume in the auditorium based upon how loud it is on stage.

The only one in the list above who should not have an opinion on whether the stage sound is too loud is the Sound Tech.  Why you ask?  Because the Sound Tech is not a “decider”.  He is a servant. 

OK … you say that the sound tech has the right to say that the sound on the stage is too loud because it effects the overall volume level in the auditorium.  Yes, you are correct to some extent.  However, the sound tech has this right only if every other avenue has been exhausted.  What options am I talking about?  Well … for starters … how about:

1. Speaker placement
2. In-Ear monitors
3. Equalization
4. Monitor Mix
5. Multiple Monitor setups
6. Equipment replacement

These are just a few things that can be tried.  There are many others.  However, the first thing that usually happens is the easiest.  Turn down the monitors.  Running sound and being a “sound tech” is more than changing volume levels.  It is learning how to get the best sound for all everyone involved.

Read some of the lessons on this site.  Try a few things.  Never be satisfied with what is easy.  Be a learner.

During the past Christmas season, more people than ever before did their Christmas shopping on-line.  I was one of the masses who decided that it was a lot easier to find what I wanted on-line and have it shipped to my home rather than braving the crowds at the shopping mall.  And … it was great!  It didn’t take much time, I could easily compare prices from one place to another and, ultimately, I was able to give even more money than I anticipated to my favorite Christmas charity!  What a win!

The web, of course, makes this all possible.  But not entirely.  There are lots of supplementing technologies without which, none of this would be possible.  And, probably the most important of these technologies is the ability to pay for purchases on-line.

So … why don’t we use those same technologies to pay our tithes?  There could be some great advantages:

1. Tithes could be automatically deducted in the amounts and at the intervals requested by the individual
2. It could help to remove some of the hassle of tracking and securing offerings each week
3. It would remove one of the more “alkward” transitions that take place in every worship service
4. Who uses checks and cash anymore?  (OK … I use cash … pretty much exclusively since going through Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University”.  But this actually makes tithing a bit more of a hassle than using a check).

OK … there are also some potential disadvantages:

1. You don’t want people tithing with money they don’t have.  Using credit cards would be great for individuals who pay their balance off every month.  But, if it is being used as a “revolving line of credit”, that wouldn’t be a good way for them to tithe.
2. You don’t get the “satisfaction” of putting your tithe into the offering plate each Sunday.  True.  But, then that brings to mind the question about why we are tithing.
3. It makes it more difficult to call out “special needs”, particularly if people are no longer use to putting offerings into the offering plate.

I’m not advocating for this as a way of collecting tithes.  Niether am I saying that I think it is a bad idea.  I am just mulling the possibilities over in my mind.  I’m not aware of any churches that allow their congregation to tithe in this way.  Do you know of any?  If so, I’d be interested in hearing about it.

- The Church Tech