If you are a tech kind of person, then you probably live among alot of technology. You probably sit at a computer all day long and there’s a good chance that you have been known to sit at your computer at home late into the night. It may be easier to reach you via e-mail than by phone, but if someone were to call you, it’s probably easier to catch you on your cell phone, only if your iPod is turned off. You may have at least one server operating in your home and 3-4 computers and it may not be a foreign idea to you to beam data between you and your spouse’s PDA’s. If you are fortunate enough to have a room in your house dedicated to computers, it is likely filled with spare parts, cables, cases etc. and there is probably enough spare electronics parts to build a couple of computers.
If you totally get the above paragraph, then you are a geek or at the very least, a techno-junkie. While that may be the case, most pastors are not and much of church leadership is not. Some are, and that’s great, but the majority are not.
The needs for technical expertise in the church are greater today than they ever have been and these needs will continue to grow. That means there are some new roles within the church and due to their newness, these new roles are not well established or well defined.
The challenge is fairly common, and the solution can be simple, kind of. The challenge is justifying the need for greater technical support within the church to the church leadership. From the geek perspective, this role can be filled by your average geek who lives the life of geekness.
From the leadership perspective, a geek, in and of him-/her-self is not impressive, so the challenge is to bridge the gap. The church is not a place to conquer, like you might jump into a corporate environment and knock their socks off with your technical knowledge.
The secret is to build relationships, establish trust and let time show your value. As the leadership in the church gains some real value through your training, your tweaking, your specific knowledge and expertise, then the trust will grow.
I have spent 15 years or so in corporate America, most of those years in IT. My success has come by taking on challenges, fixing processes, overcoming challenges, training users, then moving on to the next challenge. The Lord has been working on me for probably the last 5 years, leading me in a different direction and it has been the last 2 years or less that I have seen it leading to ministry.
It’s refreshing and exciting for me, but at the same time, it’s a whole new ballgame.
Church IT Corporate IT ( means not equal to in VB, for the non-geeks)
Church IT != Corporate IT ( != means not equal to in C++, for the non-geeks)
Here’s the takeaway: Church IT is a ministry based on trust and relationship. It doesn’t matter whether you are doing video, sound, web design, network administrator, desktop support or whatever. It’s a ministry of sharing Christ, whether it’s through video and graphics or through equipping a pastor to use his computer more effectively.
Technical knowledge and experience is important to the church IT department, whether you are staff or volunteer, but the church also needs your heart for ministry.
Jim, we need to share ideas and experiences – I mean you and me. I have been involved in Church IT for seven years on the side, evenings and weekends. I actually have a full-time job as a database administrator in Corporate IT (10 years). Now, guess which one I enjoy the most? Guess which I am most passionate about and gives me a sense of true purpose? Guess which one God has been revealing to me and my family through opportunities and circumstances is His direction for us?
So what gives? Why haven’t I (ahem) obeyed? Well, aside from the “sin nature” (major cop out), I believe God is NOT calling me to serve “on staff” at a particular fellowship – at least not yet. Until recently, I served in a member-contractor mode at my church for the past seven years. The staff constantly asked me when I was coming on board full time. I know people prayed for that and even dropped hints to the executive team. Twice I was offered the position as IT Director (which I accepted both times), but nothing ever came to fruition. Now, I am an IT Contractor (again on the side) for another wonderful *growing* fellowship who saw it made sense for them to outsource rather than hire a dedicated person. I did not solicit them, they came to me.
I know I am supposed to start an Church IT consultancy, or network, or something 3rd party-ish, but haven’t. The missing link, I believe, is my lack of leadership. Frankly, my leadership sucks. My people networking skills stink and my “gotta be involved in everything” attitide (i.e. PRIDE), is well, evident. I am probably bearing much more than I need to be in a public blog comment, but if you or any of your readers can identify with my struggles and would like to band together, seek the Lord’s face and start the journey of Church Tech Leadership – then I’m game.
Anyway, good night, peace out and God bless you.
I will be e-mailing you soon, Stuart. It seems that God is leading you and I in a similar direction. I am confident the Lord is leading me into full time ministry, I am not clear yet what that means or what that will look like for me. It’s interesting that we both find ourselves on similar paths, with similar backgrounds and I look forward to discussing and collaborating. My passion and satisfaction, is truly in the work I do at church, just as it does for you. God is moving in big ways, it seems and I know I have interfered with things He is doing more than I ever should have, in the past. Nowadays, I am learning to let Him lead me to do His will. When I let God have His way with me, the end result is always much greater than anything I could ever do on my own.
Anyone else want to join in this discussion and explore these ideas where God is leading?