There are many ways to describe the work I do. Some people think I just walk in on a Sunday and press a few buttons. Some people know the hours upon hours of intentional work that happens throughout the week leading to Sunday. Some people even think I’m just the person that flashes bright lights toward them, and that I keep the volume too loud. My job title might be Technical Director, but I really love the term Technical Artist.
“First this: God created…” (Genesis 1:1 MSG). To me, the term Technical Artist implies creativity. The first thing God did was create and we’re created in His image. He crafts the world’s best love story. Jesus shows that there is nothing that can separate us from Him. That even at our lowest point, God came to earth to die on a cross. All for us. All for you.
To that, I see only one logical response: worship.
For me, my response to the God of Creation, my worship, is so often to create. There are so many moments in my life that I see this happening when I look back, even if I didn’t see it then.
That’s the part that I love about what I get to do for work. Part of my job is creating a distraction-free environment for people to worship. And God is just so cool because my response, my worship, is to create an environment for other people to worship.
I know that you don’t need any of the lights, the screens, the cameras, or the sound systems to worship. God doesn’t need any of that to change lives. When we use these elements the right way though, we aren’t putting on a show. Instead, it’s us offering our best before God.
Just like the imagery from So Will I (100 Billion X) by Hillsong UNITED:
If the stars were made to worship so will I
If the mountains bow in reverence so will I
If the oceans roar Your greatness so will I
For if everything exists to lift You high so will I
We get to use these production elements in creative ways to point people to the Creator.
I heard this really good analogy that old cathedrals and churches, the ones filled with paintings and sculptures and other artwork, were created to inspire awe toward the Creator. Now, we’re using modern-day tools and equipment to accomplish that same mission. To inspire awe towards God.
And circling back to where this all started, that is just part of why I really like the phrase Technical Artist. It keeps me focused on creating for the Creator instead of creating for myself or creating to impress others.
Stealing a few more metaphors from song lyrics, God is the artisan inside the paint and the architect inside the plan (Arrival by Hillsong Worship). Thinking of Him in this way, reminding myself that God is the Creator, reminds me of how much like us He really is. God created, so will I.