The Significance of a Single Email
Blogging is supposed to be about all of life, the good and the bad. With that in mind, I want to share one of the more harrowing Sunday tech director experiences I've had in quite a while.
Picture this:
10 minutes before the service starts
6 volunteers have arrived
9 volunteers haven't
9 phone calls placed to find out where they are
3 on their way
6 messages left
5 fill-ins coming at the last minute
2 minutes until the service starts
At this point I'll be mixing sound, running lights, and switching cameras, all at the same time, except for the fact that it's impossible.
The service starts, I turn on the lights, and the sound for the band (which I haven't soundchecked since I was making all the phone calls). Thankfully, no cameras are needed for a few minutes.
Halfway through the first song the three who were "on their way" and the five "fill-ins" arrive, taking over most of the empty positions.
Crisis resolved.
But, what happened?
To give a little background, we have four Sunday tech teams that serve once per month. They serve on the same Sunday each month: first, second, third, or fourth. They also rotate to cover fifth Sundays so that they do one fifth Sunday per year.
Last Sunday was a fifth Sunday.
And a holiday week.
And I just got a new secretary a month ago.
Somehow, in the transition of responsibilities from me to my secretary, I think we forgot to send our "reminder" email to make sure people knew they were supposed to serve. While that isn't the only way we let the team know they are supposed to serve on that fifth Sunday, it's typically the last communication before the actual serving time. Many people count on it. And they didn't get it. And their lives have been crazy with the holidays. So, in their minds it wasn't their week, and they didn't show up.
Phew! What a great reminder of the way we are creatures of habit, and that communication needs to be both creative and consistent!
Picture this:
10 minutes before the service starts
6 volunteers have arrived
9 volunteers haven't
9 phone calls placed to find out where they are
3 on their way
6 messages left
5 fill-ins coming at the last minute
2 minutes until the service starts
At this point I'll be mixing sound, running lights, and switching cameras, all at the same time, except for the fact that it's impossible.
The service starts, I turn on the lights, and the sound for the band (which I haven't soundchecked since I was making all the phone calls). Thankfully, no cameras are needed for a few minutes.
Halfway through the first song the three who were "on their way" and the five "fill-ins" arrive, taking over most of the empty positions.
Crisis resolved.
But, what happened?
To give a little background, we have four Sunday tech teams that serve once per month. They serve on the same Sunday each month: first, second, third, or fourth. They also rotate to cover fifth Sundays so that they do one fifth Sunday per year.
Last Sunday was a fifth Sunday.
And a holiday week.
And I just got a new secretary a month ago.
Somehow, in the transition of responsibilities from me to my secretary, I think we forgot to send our "reminder" email to make sure people knew they were supposed to serve. While that isn't the only way we let the team know they are supposed to serve on that fifth Sunday, it's typically the last communication before the actual serving time. Many people count on it. And they didn't get it. And their lives have been crazy with the holidays. So, in their minds it wasn't their week, and they didn't show up.
Phew! What a great reminder of the way we are creatures of habit, and that communication needs to be both creative and consistent!
