One of the forums I frequent had a thread talking about techies and how they worked with their pastors. In the middle of the thread, one guy made this comment:

"Reinforce that it's no big deal if [techies] screw up. If the people in the sanctuary turn around and look at them when a mistake occurs, just invite those rubber neckers to join with [the techies] next time."

I just can't agree with that rationale. That's like saying, "if my driving on the sidewalk offends you, you come and try driving on the sidewalk, too!"

When we as techies do our job well, we are felt, but not seen. The technology is there to support and enhance, not to be distraction on display! This usually means we need to have rehearsal time with the pastor's notes, understand what verbal cues might be used to anticipate any upcoming videos/slides/graphics and work out the delivery method that gives our pastors comfort and confidence.

We know that you can't beat up volunteers when they make a mistake. I teach that all success is shared and all perceived failure will be handled by the leader. At the same time, it's made very clear that what we do can be great or it can be a big distraction. We need to pay attention, maintain eye contact with the platform leaders and work with them to build up confidence in our role. Do those three things and you'll be amazed at how many of the "problems" go away!