We Have No Sound in the Sanctuary…
By: James Denmon
Sunday morning – 7:00AM. I’m lying in bed, just waking up for the
day. I roll over and check my phone as I am wont to do and lo and
behold, I have missed a call. It’s from a customer - a local worship
pastor so, I expect they must have a serious issue.
I shoot off a text message apologizing for missing the call and ask,
“What’s up?”. The response: “We have no sound in the sanctuary…” So,
we run through a series of troubleshooting questions: “Have you checked
the amps? Is something unplugged from the back of the console? Are you
getting input to the console? Are you getting audio to any other parts of the
facility?”
After that discussion I had a pretty good idea what was happening so I
asked another, perhaps more important question: “What time does your
service start?” The reply: “In 15 minutes…” I told them I couldn’t be there
that fast and asked when does the second service start. I was told it begins
at 11:00 so I hopped up and the race was on!
My initial assumption, which ultimately turned out to be correct, was
that their stage box was not functioning. They have a Soundcraft digital
console and it just so happened that I know a guy who owns a production
company that uses Soundcraft. He graciously allowed me to swing by his
warehouse and grab a stagebox. I then rushed to the church and as soon as
the first service was over, I went to work un-patching the existing stagebox
and getting it out of the rack. Then I installed the new stagebox and repatched
all of the cables and voila – they had sound for the second service!
Understand, I’m not telling this story to toot my own horn. I do pride
myself on being there for my customers, but that is not what this story is
about. It’s not every Sunday that you will be able to get in touch with your
AV guy (or gal) to help you out of a jam. So what will you do if you find
yourself in a situation where a critical piece of equipment fails at a critical
time?
Understanding ‘Stewardship’
If your church uses volunteers to operate the tech systems like most do
then it’s a distinct possibility their troubleshooting skills are somewhat
limited. Afterall, it’s not their day-to-day job. They are doing it because they
want to help your ministry and serve the Lord, but that doesn’t necessarily
include having the skills to figure out why the system isn’t working while
the pressure is on!
So, as a Tech Director, Worship Pastor, or lay person with the
responsibility of maintaining these systems what can you do to assure you
don’t find yourself telling the band they are doing an acoustic set on Easter
Sunday?
Here I think it is wise to have a brief discussion about stewardship.
Many times this word is interpreted as “spending the least money possible”.
However, that approach often leads to a situation where you find yourself
with less than ideal equipment. This can actually lead to more issues and
more money being spent.
The actual definition is “the careful and responsible management of
something entrusted to one’s care”. In other words, use wisely the resources
that you have. That leads to the question of balance. You must find a way
to balance purchasing the best equipment that you can to meet your needs
with what you can actually afford and consider which items are critical and
need backups in place.
In the case of the church in this story (shout out to my pals at Mt.
Zion Baptist!) it would prove a fairly expensive purchase to buy a second
stage box that is just going to sit on a shelf. But you have to determine for
yourself if that is a worthwhile expense to prevent being without your audio
system at a critical time. For some of you it may be video presentation
systems. For others, lighting or your streaming system are priorities.
Click here to continue reading: https://tfwm.com/magazine-issue-08024/#Audio_NoSound_0824