People should always be more important than the job. Whether it is another sound tech, a musician, a pastor, or someone in the audience, it is important to remember this.
First of all, make sure to be encouraging with your words. It is so easy to start being negative: “he never gets the monitors right…” or “that musician is always too loud, out of tune, always late, etc.” Yet, these words are not loving and are not team building; let’s focus on being uplifting (Eph 4:29, Phil 4:8, James 3-4).
Secondly, remember that equipment and “the job” are not as important as people are. Oh, I know it is easy to always want to try something new, buy something new, spend extra time tweaking that mic, take over because you are “better,” or a million other things. Yet, maybe it is more important to talk to the other people around you and learn about what is going on in their lives, or to respect the other needs that may need money and attention, or to help someone else to learn and grow. Maybe you need to take an extra shift at the console (or whatever your job is) to give someone else a week off.
So how should we do our jobs?
We should have an attitude of respect and love for one another, remembering that we are all created in God’s image (1 Pet 2:17, Gen 1:27). God made that other person; in fact He made them just the way He wanted to with a uniqueness that is on purpose and for a purpose. And yes, maybe that uniqueness can be frustrating because they aren’t like you and don’t think or act like you, but we need to trust God that it is good and is a part of His creative plan for the world.
We also need to remember that we are sinful just as other people are sinful. If it is sin that is upsetting us (not just a person’s “uniqueness”) we need to be gracious and forgiving. We must always make sure to “take the log out of our own eye” first; how easy it is to be blind to our own sin (Matt 7:1-5). If after prayer and Scripture reading (which should be your lifestyle!) you still feel that you need to address another person’s sin, then and only then, should you take steps to do so, but be cautious. As scripture says, make sure to go individually to that person first- talk to them about it, and make sure you are doing so out of love, not selfishness, pride, or anger (Matt 18:15, 1 Cor 16:14). Remember that our God is a God of forgiveness and grace! And He is the one to judge hearts, not you- that is not your job; rather you are to love Him and love others, so make sure that is what you are doing (Rom 14:10-13, Matt 22:37-40).
“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing” (1 Pet 3:8-9).