Gettiing into the Routine

So I've been interning here at Rockharbor for almost 6 months now. I've had a lot of time to get a feel for all of the ministry opportunities the production team offers. Lately, I feel like I'm reaching a point where I am fairly comfortable in any position I'm put in. The challenge now is to become more consistent in every position.

This Sunday night, I was in charge of working the lyrics booth again. After getting comfortable with how the program works, the job is pretty easy to undergo. I just basically bring up the right slides at the right time. Anyone with basic computer knowledge could learn that quickly. The trick to being a good lyrics operator, however, is being able to pay attention to the small details. Knowing the right time to switch between slides or constantly keeping a step ahead of the music can make a large, yet seemingly unnoticeable, difference. In a way, you could say that I'm learning to be a multimedia "artist" (to stretch the term outside the box a little).

I happen to have always agreed with this philosophy and appreciate the fact the Rock Harbor does, too. Honestly, most people don't pay attention to how important a lyrics operator's job is until something goes wrong. For example, have you ever tried to sing a new song with the worship team but couldn't because the words on the screen were wrong or the slides were not being changed in time with the band? Or how about when the pastor is trying to explain a point in his sermon but nothing shows up on the screen till 30 sec. later. It can be pretty frustrating, and more importantly it makes the multimedia aspect of a church service more of a hindrance than an aid.

For this reason, I always try my best to pay attention to what is happening when I'm behind the lyrics book. It isn't uncommon for a worship leader to tag a completely unprepared chorus at the end of a song or even transition into an entirely new song altogether. The same goes for Bible verses. Sometimes the pastors refer to verses that were not originally in the sermon notes. Fortunately, because of how EasyWorship (the multimedia program used at the church) is setup, it is extremely easy for me to pull up any song in a matter of seconds.

However, there is more to being a good lyrics operator than just pulling up the right slide at the last minute. I also need to be sensitive to the right moment to pull it up and take it away. During worship, I may make a last minute decision to keep the chorus slide up because I know the worship leader is going to repeat it. While in another instance, I may anticipate fading out one slide during a musical interlude and wait to bring up the other until right before the worship leader begins to sing. Though these may seem like minute decisions, they make a huge - yet often subtle - impact on how you are enabling the congregation to respond to what's happening.