Chapter 1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  And that Word was preached from the hilltops and in front of the temple.  A reader would shout the Word of the Lord as loud as they could, and hopefully the crowd would be able to hear him.  Over the years people have learned how to build amphitheaters and project their voice so that more and more people could hear the Good News.  Until one day someone found a way to use electricity to amplify the voice out of speakers that could enable thousands to hear at one time and even at multiple locations at once. 

Sharing the Word used to mean one person would yell really loud.  But now we have mixing consoles and microphones and amplifiers, which all help of course, but what used to be a one person operation now requires people who know how to manipulate the dozens of knobs and controls so that the reader or speaker can be heard by crowds of all sizes. 

And that’s why you’re reading this book.  You have either asked or have been asked to volunteer to be a part of the team of people it takes to share God’s Word through the use of modern audio equipment.  Or perhaps you are a builder and mistakenly thought this book, Reinforcing the Church, was about how to engineer and build the structures that people meet in every Sunday.  Sorry about that, this book isn’t for you.

And in fact, this book may also not be for you even if you were intentionally looking for a beginners guide to audio systems.  It isn’t the right job for everyone.  Running the sound board and most of the tech production volunteer jobs require a special kind of person to be able to handle it.  One challenge that makes the job geared for a particular type of person is that it requires a strong level of humility (or it will teach it if you aren’t humble already). 

Think about this: how many famous audio engineers can you name?  If you are a true Beatles fan, you may know the name of some of the people involved in their recording process.  But more than likely, you don’t know any.  That’s because it is a thankless and invisible job.  Or at least, as a good engineer you hope it is.  The only time someone thinks about the sound guy or looks back to see what’s going on in the booth is when something is horribly wrong: shrieking feedback, horrible noises, no sound, etc.  Otherwise, all the attention is up on stage and you will be invisible.

And that means that it has to be your goal to be unnoticed and invisible when you are volunteering in the audio or other production environment.  The best you can hope for is that nobody notices you are there.  If you are lucky, or in a good environment with great people, you’ll at least get some praise and gratitude from the pastor, worship team, and other staff or volunteers.

Below is a list of traits that make a good audio engineer, as well as a list of warning signs that may want to prompt you to consider looking elsewhere for volunteer opportunities:

You can be a great, invisible, and unnoticed audio engineer if:

• You love music and like having the control over how loud it is
• Your picky about how the music coming out of your stereo sounds.  You’d rather have the stereo with full Bass, Treble, and other tone controls over the basic stereo that has a “Tone” knob if that (whatever that is). 
• You are or want to be a musician
• You would rather work behind the scenes to bring glory to God than be out on stage struggling against the temptation of drawing attention to yourself.
• One of your primary spiritual gifts is that of service, or helps. 
• You don’t mind some heavy lifting every once in a while.  Speakers and other gear can weigh a lot and sometimes they need to be moved.

You may want to talk to the volunteer coordinators in your particular ministry if any of the following can apply to you:

• You get frustrated that nobody ever appreciates the hours you put in or shows gratitude for a job well done.
• You have some level of tone-deafness.  If you can’t tell whether the sound from an instrument or microphone sounds natural or not, then you may have a physical handicap that prevents you from being able to mix well.
• If you have never thought about what the Bass or Treble controls do on your stereo and have never cared what setting they are at, then you may not have the attention to detail that is required to adjust settings towards the goal of invisibility.  For some people this can be a learned skill, but I have met some who for whatever reason never quite get the whole equalizer thing and may end up creating an environment where the audience is thinking about how the microphone sounds like a telephone or whatever.  The fact that the general audience would think about the fact that there is a microphone already means that you haven’t yet achieved the goal of invisibility. 
• If you think you’ll get to hang out with or meet famous people when you run sound for them, you may find nothing but disappointment.  I once was working in production for a venue where Dave Ramsey was speaking.  The closest I got to meeting him was being able to hand the microphone to one of his staff members that then passed it along.  I have yet to ever say “Hello” to Andy Stanley and have never had the chance to hang out with any of the “celebrities” at North Point Community Church where I currently spend most of my time volunteering.  If that were my goal, the staff responsible for where I volunteer should be concerned. 

None of the above automatically disqualifies you from being a part of the audio, video, or production crew.  But it may mean you aren’t best suited for the role directly behind the mixing console itself. 

Still reading?  Great, it is my hope that you find the remaining chapters informative and educational.  If you have never worked with a mixing console before, you should be able to manage your way through turning on microphones and even mixing a band by the time you finish.  And with enough practice, you too can be an unnoticed and invisible part of your church.  Fortunately that’s not the end of the story.  I don’t doubt for a minute how much God values the giving of your time and talents to help other people hear the story of the Word made flesh.  And that’s all that matters. 

May God bless you and show you directly his gratitude for your giving heart, willingness to volunteer, and humility.