When I Was on Staff at a Church, production needs changed constantly.
Can we add these new inputs tomorrow? We're tying in a broadcast truck next weekend. This guest is coming—can we accommodate a second band?
Over time, I found myself proposing more and more purchase orders to "solve problems."
A new microphone here. A converter box there. Another stage box. A computer to run this software. Tools that seemed like wise, budget-conscious solutions that kept us from the big spending I knew we needed when everything was maxed out—every IO, every buss, every matrix. My programming had gotten so complicated it was hard to accommodate anything new.
Leadership trusted me. They approved the purchases.
And six months later, I'd have a new set of problems, constraints, and frustrations.
Monitor mixes could never get settled. Sound pressure complaints and compliments came in the same week. The livestream was its own challenge altogether.
I thought I was being a good steward—spending carefully, proposing incremental fixes.
What I didn't realize: I was only treating symptoms.
What Actually Changed Things
Hearing other engineers mix.
When we hosted conferences and touring engineers brought their own consoles into our room, I heard something I couldn't explain:
Same room. Same speakers. Different mix.
It sounded fuller. Clearer. More natural. All the things I wished it could be.
And it was frustrating because immediately after the event, so many more comments: "Hey, how come it sounded like that for them, but it's not like that for us?"
I realized: the room was capable of this all along. And I'd spent so much time blaming the room, the speaker deployment, the brand of gear we had.
I just couldn't hear it from inside my own decisions.
What I've Learned About This Challenge
Many churches invest tens of thousands in gear to solve problems that compound week to week. And I understand—everyone needs the complete AVL overhaul when gear reaches the end of its lifespan, but not everyone can put in the newest immersive system and upgrade all their desks this year.
Here's what I've discovered: it's not usually the gear.
It's that time normalizes our perspectives.
When you hear the same room week after week, you only have context from last week. You stop hearing what really needs to be addressed. You adapt. You work around it. You build habits that compensate for systems that fight you.
PA systems change as drivers age. Stage plots evolve. Worship styles shift with different leaders. You're mixing for multiple environments on one console. Different operators with different experience levels. Every change compounds—but it happens so slowly nobody notices.
And leadership is doing their part—trusting you, approving purchases, supporting the work. They probably don't know what console creep is. (That's not their job.)
So the cycle continues. And six months later, we're all wondering why the same frustrations keep showing up.
What I Learned When I Started Touring
When I started touring, I realized why their mixes were so different from mine—even in the same room I'd mixed in every week.
It wasn't one big thing. It was the culmination of hundreds of small decisions.
Relational decisions with the band. Thinking through how to make the best of what's in front of you instead of wishing for what you don't have. Being obsessive about every backline and mic choice. Being open to feedback and the mix being a collective decision.
And here's what a lot of engineers are led to believe:
That you can download someone's template file or copy a Waves SuperRack file and sound like that mixer or solve your problems.
It doesn't work that way.
Those files can actually work against you—because they're built for someone else's room, someone else's workflow and mixing perspective, someone else's band.
What works is experienced perspective from someone who does what you do every day...
In your room. With you.
Outside In
When I walk into a church now, I notice things quickly—not because I'm better, but because I'm not inside your specific system.
Console programming that's working against the team instead of helping them.
Tuning decisions that are amplifying problems instead of solving them.
Workflow bottlenecks everyone has learned to work around.
And I know: it's not about talent. Everyone I work with is capable and committed.
It's about being inside your own system without an outside reference point.
When your church is moving fast and supporting so many events, it's difficult to find the time and energy to say, "We need to stop everything and reset."
Not the kind where you pull out every wire and rebuild every rack—but enough of a reset to get you through the next year with some headroom and margin back in your start template.
Here's what I've learned: having a guest come over is the fastest way to get your house tidied up.
When I schedule a 2-Day Reset, something shifts.
Leadership, worship teams, and volunteer teams suddenly have a reason to rally together. Everyone wants to show up prepared. Everyone wants to be part of making it better.
That collective energy—that's what creates lasting change.
Not just better sound. Better teamwork. Better communication. Better culture.
Without blame. Because the way things sound on Sunday is a culmination of everyone's work.
Not just the engineer's.
A Break for Executive Pastors & Creative Directors
(Engineers, skim this section 🙂)
"If I could get an experienced engineer to work with my engineer—and it not be seen as a judgment of their skillset, but received with receptiveness and excitement—I wonder if things could change?"
The answer is yes, and very quickly.
But it requires three things:
Your engineer being open to outside perspective (curious, not defensive)
Leadership ready to support the changes that come from it
Timing that's right—
If those things are in place, I'd love to be involved.
A Note for Worship Pastors Specifically
Your team needs consistency.
Not perfection—consistency.
When one Sunday sounds great and the next feels slightly off, your band starts second-guessing themselves. Your vocalists stop trusting the monitors—or worse yet, decide "it is what it is" and work with it. Your team spends energy on things they shouldn't have to.
The goal isn't to make your engineer perfect—it's to give them a system that works with them instead of against them.
Consistency isn't about being flawless, It's about having a reliable foundation.
And when your system is reliable, your team can focus on worship instead of jumping over obstacles.
Who I work best with:
I only work with 7-10 churches per year because my touring schedule limits capacity.
That constraint requires me to be selective about partnerships.
I work best with engineers who:
And I've learned that if a church has already decided to replace their engineer, coaching isn't the right path. Clarity is kindness—make the change.
If we're not aligned, I'll tell you honestly in our discovery call. And if I'm not the right fit, I'll point you toward what might be.
And I've learned that if a church has already decided to replace their engineer, coaching isn't the right path. Clarity is kindness—make the change. (Identify the right character and culture fit of someone on your team and invest invest in them.) If we're not aligned, I'll tell you honestly in our discovery call but that's why I want to make sure that it's a fit before talking about cost and schedules.
What Can Change After the Audio Reset
Ready to Explore if This Is Right for Your Church?
Schedule a discovery call.
We'll talk about your situation, your engineer, and whether the 2-Day Reset makes sense as a starting point.
No pressure. Just clarity on fit.
Not sure yet? That's okay too.
If you're still exploring or need to get internal buy-in first, feel free to reach out with questions. I'm happy to point you in the right direction—even if it's not toward working together.
Midweek coaching delivers better results. On Sundays, your engineer is in execution mode—focused on getting through the service, not learning. We can't stop, pivot, or refine in real-time.
Midweek, during rehearsals, we can:
The result: Better decisions, stronger confidence, and fewer Sunday surprises.
There's a personal reason too: After years as the person who was never home on weekends, I committed to being at my own church on Sundays with my family when I'm not touring. That boundary limits my capacity—but it ensures I show up fully invested in the ones I take on.
For longer engagements (Skills Accelerator or Mentorship Tracks), I'm on-site for at least one Sunday when it meaningfully serves the team—to align expectations, observe your weekend experience, and anchor long-term development.
How This Works
Real growth starts with truth—and truth is received best when it comes from the right messenger.
Engineers are often confident, opinionated, and highly self-directed. That's not a flaw—it's part of the role. But it also means growth stalls when feedback feels theoretical, outdated, or disconnected from real experience.
My approach is built around three principles.
1. Discernment before development.
Part of my responsibility is discerning timing: whether an engineer is in a place where coaching will actually produce momentum. Growth requires openness, curiosity, and a willingness to engage—not perfection, just readiness.
The result: You invest at the right time, and we focus effort where real growth is possible.
Once readiness is clear, the next question is: will they actually receive the coaching?
2. Kind truth grounded in experience.
My coaching comes from working at the highest levels. I've led teams across multiple campuses at a church of 30,000 weekly attendees. I've launched television programs and online church experiences. I currently mix in arenas and broadcast events where the pressure to deliver is constant.
This matters because engineers don't receive abstract advice well—they respect perspectives earned in the trenches.
The result: Defensiveness drops, curiosity returns, and growth can actually begin.
And once they're open to feedback, the final question is: are we developing the right things?
3. Identity before technique.
Audio education is widely available. What's rare is helping an engineer understand who they are as a mixer at their current stage—and how that aligns with what your church actually needs.
I help them reconcile:
The result: Engineers mix with confidence, restraint, and consistency—serving your church without misplaced ego.
Skills Accelerator (3-6 Months)
Right for you if:
What happens over 3-6 months:
Right for you if:
What happens over 6-12 months:
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.