The Tech Guy Who Missed His Daughter's Baptism: Burnout in Small Church Media

Marcus has run sound, livestream, and worship tech for nine years at a 180-person non-denominational church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He tells the story of the Sunday he watched his own daughter's baptism on a nine-inch monitor — six feet of cable away — because nobody else knew how to bring the stream back up if it dropped. In this episode: Why the "media booth of one" is the most common trap in small church ministry The elder retreat four years ago that turned a vision for reaching the unchurched into a one-man production job Asking Pastor Dale for a second camera operator — and getting "I'll pray about it" instead of a recruiting plan The pulpit volunteer ask: an 83-year-old saint who didn't know what HDMI stood for, and a guy whose work schedule changed Trying to hire a Bible college student for $50 a Sunday and running into a zero-dollar line item Easter two years ago: 240 people in the room, his son Caleb's first kids' choir solo, and the frozen stream that forced an impossible choice Sarah's three-word turning point: "Then change it" Realizing the unchurched weren't watching live — they were watching clips on their phones Tuesday at lunch Sources: Episode interview with Marcus, volunteer tech director, Cape Girardeau, MO Subscribe: sermon-clips.com Full transcript Marcus Webb: So you missed your own daughter's baptism. Marcus Holcomb: Yeah. I did. Marcus Webb: Walk me through that morning. Where were you? Marcus Holcomb: Behind the board. Same place I've been every Sunday for nine years. The cameras were rolling, the livestream was up, and Pastor Dale was in the water with Hannah and... I watched it on the monitor. Marcus Webb: On the monitor. Marcus Holcomb: Six feet of cable away from my own kid. I could see her face on a nine-inch screen and I couldn't leave because if the stream drops, nobody else knows how to bring it back up. Marcus Webb: Nobody. Marcus Holcomb: Nobody. That's the part that still gets me. Marcus Webb: Marcus, for folks who don't know you, tell me about your church. Where are we? Marcus Holcomb: Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Non-denominational, about a hundred and eighty on a good Sunday. We're not a megachurch, we're not tiny, we're that awkward middle where everyone assumes someone else is handling it. Marcus Webb: And you've been the tech guy how long? Marcus Holcomb: Nine years officially. Probably eleven if you count when I was just helping out. Marcus Webb: How'd you end up there? Marcus Holcomb: The way everybody ends up there. I knew which end of an XLR cable went where, and the guy before me moved to Tennessee. Marcus Webb: That's the call to ministry, right there. Marcus Holcomb: That's the call. Nobody else raised their hand. Marcus Webb: So you're running sound, you're running the livestream, you're doing worship part-time. When did leadership start pushing for a bigger online presence? Marcus Holcomb: Probably four years ago. We had this elder retreat, and somebody came back with the idea that we needed to reach the unchurched in our community. Which, amen, right? Great vision. Marcus Webb: Sure. Marcus Holcomb: But then it became, we need a better livestream, we need clips for social, we need a second camera angle, we need lower thirds, we need... and every one of those needs landed on my desk. Marcus Webb: Did you push back? Marcus Holcomb: I tried. I sat down with Pastor Dale and I said, look, I need a second camera operator. I need two backup volunteers I can train. Otherwise this is going to break, and it's going to break on a Sunday morning, and it's going to be me getting the phone call. Marcus Webb: What'd he say? Marcus Holcomb: He said he'd pray about it. Marcus Webb: Okay. Marcus Holcomb: Which I love him for, I do. But prayer and a recruiting plan are not the same document. Marcus Webb: That's a t-shirt. Marcus Holcomb: It really is. Marcus Webb: So what'd you try? Because I know you, you didn't just sit there. Marcus Holcomb: No, I went through every option. First I tried the volunteer ask from the pulpit. You know the one, hey church, we need help in the media booth, come see Marcus after service. Marcus Webb: How'd that go? Marcus Holcomb: Two people came up. One was eighty-three years old and a saint, but she didn't know what HDMI stood for. The other one came twice and then his work schedule changed. Marcus Webb: That's so common. Marcus Holcomb: It's the most common thing in small church ministry. The ask goes out, the willing come, but the willing aren't always the trained, and you don't have time to train them because you're doing the job they'd be helping with. Marcus Webb: The whole catch-22. Marcus Holcomb: That's the whole thing. Marcus Webb: What was next? Marcus Holcomb: I tried hiring out. I went to leadership and I said, look, if we can't get volunteers, can we pay somebody fifty bucks a Sunday to run a second camera? Just a college kid from the Bible school down the road. Marcus Webb: And? Marcus Holcomb: Budget. Always the budget. They said the vision was the online presence, but the line item was zero. Marcus Webb: Vision without budget is just a wish. Marcus Holcomb: Write that one down too. Marcus Webb: So where did it actually break? Marcus Holcomb: Easter two years ago. We had probably two hundred and forty people in the room, biggest Sunday of the year. I'd been up till one in the morning building the slide deck. My oldest, Caleb, was singing in the kids' choir for the first time. Marcus Webb: Oh no. Marcus Holcomb: And the stream froze. Right in the middle of his song. I had to choose between fixing the stream or watching my son sing, and I... I fixed the stream. Marcus Webb: Marcus. Marcus Holcomb: My wife filmed it on her phone. I've watched that phone video probably forty times. It's not the same. Marcus Webb: That's the moment. Marcus Holcomb: That was the moment. I drove home that night and I told Sarah, I said, I can't keep doing this. Something has to change or I have to step down, and if I step down there's nobody. Marcus Webb: What did she say? Marcus Holcomb: She said, then change it. Don't quit, change it. Marcus Webb: She sounds like a wise woman. Marcus Holcomb: She's the smart one in this marriage, no question. Marcus Webb: So what shifted? Because clearly something did, or we wouldn't be having this conversation. Marcus Holcomb: A couple things happened almost at the same time. First, I stopped trying to do everything live. Marcus Webb: Say more. Marcus Holcomb: For nine years I'd been treating Sunday morning like it had to be a broadcast production. Multi-cam, switched live, everything perfect in re...