BETTER BY SUNDAY
WORSHIP + TECH TEAM FAILS: THE CARE AND CULTURE PROBLEM | Doug Doppler
Hello friends! This month we’re talking about THE FRUIT AND THE VINE they’re super busy with their family. Maybe I can
something so important, that for me this will These articles take days to bring to fruition, do something to help!” I can assure you that
be the most important article to date. And for and as I’ve been ruminating on this one, I was the quality of the answers to our own questions
the first time, I’m not only going to infer you act struck by the vision of the tomato that had fallen will dramatically shape the quality of our serving
on what we’re talking about, at the end of this away from the tomato plant in my backyard. experience.
column I’m going to ask you to actually take While the other tomatoes continued to ripen, some action that has the potential to transform the lone tomato that fell away not only stopped GREAT GREAT RESOURCE
pretty much everything about the culture of growing, it has started to decay. How many I’ll echo one of the amazing insights I got from
your worship and tech community! people have you known in your worship and the interview in this issue that I did with Alex
tech community who fell away from the vine? Pappas from Hillsong Y&F. For some people,
sci·en·tif·ic meth·od Who comes to mind when you ask yourself if it is so easy to press the pause button and
noun: scientific method; plural noun: scientific there is anybody who might be in the process just hang out with Jesus, it is something that
methods of falling away? Of the people you’ve known comes naturally. One of the things that Steffany
who fell away, how many times did you say to Gretzinger from Bethel Worship mentioned in
yourself, “Didn’t see it coming!” the interview we did a couple of months back
1. a method of procedure that has characterized
natural science since the 17th century, consisting
in systematic observation, measurement, and
experiment, and the formulation, testing, and
modification of hypotheses.
When applied as a science, psychology studies
patterns in human behavior and as noted in the
definition above, draws conclusions based on
tests that can be consistently replicated. While
I’m no Ph. D, I’ve spent enough time leading
and serving on worship and tech teams to
observe the following about the creatives who
serve on these teams…
1. We seek and need community
was how she would come home from school
GOOD GOOD QUESTIONS and spend hours just reading the Bible. Me, I
We are, in many ways defined by the quality spent hours playing the guitar, which is why I
of the questions we ask. As much as worship felt convicted and confused at the same time.
and tech teams are about communication, in I want to be the deeply engrossed Christian,
my experience at least, we tend to be really but I’m not. I felt a tremendous sense of relief
bad when it comes to communication itself. from something Alex said. To paraphrase, we
One has to ask, if we can’t communicate well all have different relationships with our earthly
internally, how effective can we truly be about fathers, so how can we be expected to have
outward facing communication? That, is what I the same kind of relationship with our heavenly
mean by a ‘good good question’! Father? Quite simply we can’t.
THE JUSTICE TRAP Truth be told, besides the Word of God and
My sense for justice has gotten me into all sorts the Holy Spirit, my biggest spiritual influence
2. We tend to feel things intensely, even if we of trouble because I’ve gotten caught up in that has been my wife. She grew up under the
don’t say them sort of trouble in ministry… “They should be leadership of Darlene Zschech at Hillsong,
doing this, they aren’t caring for people that.” and I’ve been so privileged to drink out of that
I’ve lived way too much of my life in ministry fountain since the day I got saved. My wife is a
yapping out about injustice, when the truth is researcher and as of late she’s been listening to
3. We want to feel known
4. We want to use our gifts alongside others
to further the Kingdom
that I was just judging people. Don’t fall into Podcasts from Carey Nieuwhof, and the things
5. We tend to feel frustrated when things the justice trap – you hurt others and you that she’s sharing with me are just changing
aren’t progressing, even if we don’t say it hurt yourself. me from the inside out. Sometimes it’s not the
message, but the method that gets through.
Chances are that most or all of the above GOOD GOOD ANSWERS I’m not a reader, never have been, chances are
applies to you and/or the people on the teams While it is good to ask ourselves questions like, I never will be. I’m not a Podcast dude either.
you lead. What’s interesting is that when I think “Why doesn’t my leader see that I need more But, when it comes to talking about stuff that
about the teams that I’ve served on, most of team time getting to feel known?” before going my wife has read and listened to, I’m all in,
the time the focus has been about worship and to a leader I’d always suggest answering the and Carey Nieuwhof and his new book, “Didn’t
not about the care and feeding of the team that question for yourself through the lens of mercy See It Coming” is rocking my world and will
creates it. and grace. “Maybe they don’t see it because probably rock yours.
106 August 2018
WorshipMusician.com