SHEPHERDING THE TECHNICAL FLOCK: THE EMERGING ROLE OF THE MEDIA PASTOR | Kent Morris

A dozen black-shirted men and women scurried about the stage, placing microphones and monitors with deft precision in a technical ballet of immense proportions. Television cameras were whirled into position on large wheeled tripods. The enormous video screen silently lowered over the stage as if it were a huge Zeppelin. In moments, the standard room lighting transformed into a kaleidoscope of color, brought on by dozens of lighting instruments flown on imposing aluminum trusses. Far above the floor, other members of the technical crew strolled purposely with ease on the intricate network of catwalks. The intelligent lights, almost as alluring as the /sitecontent/reviews/images they produced, whirred and twisted themselves as if by their own will. Everywhere, cable upon cable lay in a congruence of paths, some in great highways of mass, and some in singular trails to somewhere. Choreographing this entire event was a Technical Director of modest stature whose commands were followed implicitly and whose stern gaze indicated she was no mere Technical Director and this was no mere Broadway play. She was the Media Pastor and this was church - serious church.
For many Christians, the term Media Pastor appears contradictory. They view the mass media as a corrosive influence on North American culture. Pastors are driven by biblical edict to care for their congregation as Christ would and to shield them from unsavory influences. From that perspective, any attempt to incorporate the tools used to erode the Church's authority is akin to inviting Satan to dinner. Perhaps, in response to that outlook, several mega-churches have created environments that not only include media tools, but that are entirely dependent on them for communication. Devices designed to improve retention of the Word can be a blessing to any church. On the other hand, care must be taken to prevent the media from becoming the message. The discernment needed to preserve this balance is a key component of the responsibility of the media pastor.

The role of a media pastor is to utilize the technical resources of the church to communicate the Word of God to the congregation. For the church, properly timing the creation of the media pastor position is crucial to its long-term success. The position is necessary when the technical needs of the church outstrip the volunteer staff's ability to meet the schedule of every event. In addition, since a media pastor must be technically astute in many areas, yet possess a high degree of interpersonal skills, the right balance between technical prowess and glad-handing must be achieved. If the position is to be salaried, some guidelines for performance expectations should be drawn. This list should detail the necessary technical duties of the services the media pastor is expected to direct, the significant special events that require extensive preparation, and the times of staff meetings the media pastor will be required to attend. Larger churches will face the question of ordination of the media pastor and whether he or she will report to the worship pastor or senior pastor. While ordination is not usually required of a media pastor, it is advantageous for a person in that position to work toward ordination within the denomination since the media pastor will be interfacing with other ordained personnel on a daily basis. The state of ordination then confers an equal footing within the relationship. Finally, with the available pool of talent quite small, the church will need to ascertain the "fit" of the media pastor candidates within the local church culture. A technical wizard might have difficulty conforming to the nuances of a church on an initial climb up the technical ladder, so a technical apprentice would probably work better within that church's framework and be allowed to grow along with the congregation and staff.

One church that has recently negotiated the confusing waters of media ministry is Mt. Vernon Baptist in Atlanta. Situated near the upscale Buckhead area, this mid-size church has experienced an unprecedented influx of members over the past five years. As a result, the demands placed on the technical volunteers surpassed their ability to address the church's expanding needs. Additionally, many of the new members arrived with high technical expectations that were beyond the church's traditional scope. Mt. Vernon sought out the talents of one of their own members, Danny Brundage, by trade a systems manager for MCI-WorldCom. With his plate already full at MCI and with his additional duties as a husband and father, Danny was reticent to add the role of Media Pastor to his repertoire. However, with the availability of outside professional media personnel quite low, he decided to take on the duties of a media pastor without acquiring the title. Danny suggested this part-time approach to the church as a way to solve the church's technical issues while retaining some time for his family. He also sought to fulfill his duty as a member of the church by removing the financial burden an additional fulltime position would entail. Since Mt. Vernon is considered a community church, not a regional mega-church, Danny has flexibility in creating his schedule and that of his volunteer staff. He reports to each of the pastors within the church, with particular emphasis toward the music and youth ministries.

Mt. Vernon's recent addition of a dedicated youth facility illustrates the positive results accomplished by carefully selecting a media person apropos for the local worship environment. The burgeoning youth department at Mt. Vernon requested, and was granted, its own addition to the church campus. Naturally, the youth ministers sought to create an edgy, Gen-Y look for the room, while the elders wanted to retain the conservative feel of the rest of the facility. A grand compromise was reached by covering the exterior in red brick and mortar with the interior finished out with a black ceiling and a modular seating arrangement. The result is an architectural version of a blended worship service, with all parties receiving something important to their position. Danny's real world experience as a longtime volunteer allowed him to be intimately involved in the design of the room's media systems. Partnering with his long-time vendor, National Sound, Danny laid out his plan for a true state-of-the-art system. Key to his approach was a design that would envelop the senses without overwhelming them. Balancing his duties at MCI with those of a new construction project became a daily task of setting priorities. Though he did not carry the designation of a media pastor, Danny brought the authority of the church into several discussions in order to ensure items were completed correctly. Areas of great concern for him were the inclusion of numerous, large conduit runs, correct floorbox locations, and sufficient AC power for the smooth installation of the forthcoming media devices. By keeping the infrastructure of the media systems intact, Danny assured the eventual ease of operation so vital to a successful media ministry. The system is centered on a Yamaha GA-3212 mixing console, chosen for its innovative method of allowing a flexible number of auxes and busses. The system is driven by several Crest VS series amplifiers that together provide tremendous power at a reasonable price point. The signal is routed through trusty Rane processing gear and is carried to the audience by a pair of flown Renkus-Heinz TRC-121/90 main speakers and OAP LF-118 subwoofers mounted into purpose-built concrete recesses in the stage. The Renkus-Heinz speakers were selected for their smooth frequency response and are sonically complemented by the impressive OAP subs. The stage mics are Audix OM-5's and the numerous wireless systems for handheld, headworn, and instrument application are all Audio Technica 7000 series UHF systems. Several recessed floorboxes were strategically positioned at Danny's behest since he knew best where the praise team members would be located. The task of keeping the visual elements stimulated led him to a Proxima 9320 video projector in harmony with not one, but two Da-lite screens: a 87" by 116" unit for lyrics and a larger 126" by 168" model for running videos. The projector was mounted to properly cover both screens from one position. Had there not been a church media staff member present, the more conventional and costly method of two projectors for the two screens would have been employed. Danny's foresight helped Mt. Vernon realize a significant cost savings on the project with no loss in performance. The stage is professionally lit by a dozen Colortran ellipsoidal and Fresnel instruments controlled by an NSI MC-7524 console through two DS12-24 digital dimmers. The compact two-space dimmers also control the entire house lighting and boast two remote control panels strategically placed at entry areas. Again, having a technically proficient staff member onboard saved the church significant funds when Danny altered the original architecturally specified lighting system in favor of the effective, yet less expensive system from NSI.

A media pastor is capable of "paying their own way" by unearthing cost-effective alternatives and performing some of the mundane tasks in-house. Having a staff person with the time and knowledge to solder cables and tweak-out a system is obviously advantageous to a schedule-regulated church. A church without a media pastor must resort to hiring outside service personnel during time-and-a-half non-business hours since most church functions occur in the evenings and on weekends. The stewardship role of a media pastor is also integral to the job, since he or she is usually the only staff member able to converse competently with the church's technical vendors. By identifying the church's true needs, the media pastor can relay those wishes to the vendors with a clear line of communication based on shared technical ability. The media pastor's innate sense of what is technically feasible and the proposed project's associated costs may prevent the expenditure of precious resources on ill-advised desires of non-technical staff members. As the liaison between the systems integrators and the church, a media pastor assumes the role of peacekeeper. The media pastor's function of focusing the technical strength of the church on its core values will ensure that maximum results are achieved with the minimum outlay of funds. The time to bring a media pastor onboard is clear when the church leaders sense resources are being squandered in piecemeal attempts to meet the congregation's needs. A media pastor's greatest ability is to oversee a coordinated effort to effectively communicate the message of the entire church body to itself and the surrounding community.

The qualifications that a media pastor should possess include demonstrable technical proficiency, overt spiritual maturity, highly developed interpersonal skills, and a general showing of the Fruits of the Spirit. The media pastor will be required to oversee the entire audio, video, and lighting systems, as well as the various computer systems throughout the church. Every technical person has one area of expertise and several other areas of reasonable familiarity, but the best media pastors acknowledge their biases and focus on developing skills outside their comfort zones. A church considering a media pastor should allow each candidate to direct a worship service and have the technical team assess the prospective leader's ability. Since the technical team will be interfacing with the media pastor on a regular basis, their acceptance of the candidate is vital. Hiring a respected industry consultant to assess the candidates' ability is another wise move. References must be meticulously verified by the hiring committee if potential issues are to be aired before the commitment is made. Finally, the diverse nature of contemporary congregations necessitates that the media minister be comfortable dealing with the entire cross section of the local body and the makeup of the neighboring community. These qualities would benefit any position within the church, but apply especially to the role of a media pastor. The position need not be fulltime, but it should be compensated above the level remunerated to secular personnel in the same situation to reward the best talent for staying within the church.

The position of media pastor will soon become as commonplace as youth pastor and will be viewed as necessary to the proper function of the local church. Currently, the demand exceeds the supply of qualified personnel so the most effective route may be the in-house development of technical volunteers into media professionals. The extreme depth of knowledge across many diverse fields needed to fulfill the requirements of the media pastorate is a rare and valuable commodity. Still, the church that is willing to harness available enthusiasm to the wagon of continuing education may develop their own solution to the problem of clearly delivering the message through the means of technical media.

Kent Morris www.worshiptech.com