Just What Do We Do, Anyway!?!

by Curt Taipale - ChurchSoundCheck.com

I happened to be passing by the door to the church conference room some years ago just as our pastoral staff was finishing their weekly meeting. This was a particularly grueling week for me. As the audio support staff of one, I was putting in a lot of hours. I stopped to say hello and I'll never forget their look of utter disbelief at the hours I was putting in to get the job done. Their deer-in-the-headlights look was followed by this revealing choice of words: "Just what is it that you do, anyway!?!"

Good question. And surprising, since I'd been working alongside them for a few years at that point. They literally didn't have a clue what was involved, let alone why it should take so long.

I wonder if you've had someone ask you the same question. There's a great deal of misconception in the church about what it takes to pull off a worship service with technical excellence. Tasks we take for granted - some of which can take a substantial amount of time - aren't even recognized by people we work alongside. That could probably be said for any profession. But there never seems to be a lack of people who are ready to give their input on how we should do something different about the sound.

The answer is going to be somewhat different for each of us, but I thought it might be interesting to talk it through. So here are some of the responsibilities I would expect to handle as the Audio Director at a church. It really doesn't much matter if I'm full time paid staff, or volunteering my time. The tasks still need to get done. If I were the only member of the audio team, then I'd find myself actually doing most of these tasks personally (which in itself would be enough to make me find some help quickly.) As you read this, be thinking of other things that should be on the list, things that you do that I forgot to mention. We'd like to get your input on this, so read carefully.

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