high school basketball vs. church worship team

For the last couple of days I have thought about some of my high school days. I can't really tell you why, maybe just reconnecting with old friends through the massive internet. Anyway, my thoughts often end up centered around playing basketball for my high school, good times. Those days were a blast but one thing always got to me, my junior and senior years I hardly ever played. Even today I ask my self why did I play on the team? Why did I go to all those practices, work my tail off, and then sit at the end of the bench where no one could see me? At times it was easy to think that I wasn't really part of the team or even needed.

Running sound in church is much the same way. As a sound person I was usually required to be the first person there to turn everything on, set gear up, and troubleshoot any problems. Then the worship team would come in and lead the church in worship while I sat unnoticed unless there was major feedback, of course. It's true the often sound people aren't thanked for the hard work and commitment they give to the worship team. But, the time and effort is necessary to allow the worship team to do their part with excellence. Just like I had to realize that I was an important part of the basketball team, part of the secret of being a sound person is to recognize you are an important part of the worship team. We should be working towards the same goal as the people on stage, leading people in worshiping God.

That's the conclusion I had when thinking about all the hard work I put into basketball. If I had not been faithful to practice as hard as I could, if I had not been committed to be a part of the team regardless of how much recognition or playing time I got, no matter how much sacrifice and serving I had to do, my goal was to help the team be better. How does that happen? Well, as a soundperson do whatever it takes to serve the worship team, if that means adjusting monitors or being a little early to change guitar strings then do it happily. If your not a soundperson then go out of your way to make the soundperson feel appreciated and part of the team.

Just some thoughts from the 'glory days' of high school basketball..........thoughts?