I spend a ton of time traveling, both in the air and driving (when can I please start sailing again?!) and most of the time I have my iPod on.  Only rarely am I listening to music, although I have a nice collection ranging from Eva Cassidy to the Rolling Stones, from James Taylor to J.S. Bach.  No, I’m catching up on Podcasts, mainly sermon series from Rob Bell, Mark Batterson, Andy Stanley… and about ten others.  I do this in blasts, waiting for a pastor to finish a series and then I listen to the whole thing in one shot.

I did that today, listening to Kent Dobson filling in for Rob Bell, then jumping over to Andy Stanley on the will of God.  If you have anything to do with podcasts here’s some advice I’ll pass on from today’s listening:

[Read more →]

“We’re not trying to grow a church here.” That’s not exactly what you expect to hear right before the pastor says that we must expand to three services because of our rapid growth. It’s not normal, but that’s what Rod Van Solkema told us this Sunday at Crossroads Bible Church outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

So it begs the question: if Crossroads isn’t focused on growth, why is it growing? (Especially when so many churches are extremely focused on growth, but are actually shrinking.) [Read more →]

Uber-Designer, Michael Buckingham, wrote a great post on his blog today in which he talks about the risk of promoting what you cannot deliver. It’s a good reminder.

As I was writing a response, I said to myself, “self” (I said) “this would be a great post on your blog, ergon agathon.” So here it is, not a rip off of Michael’s thoughts but just a spin on what he wrote.

Jesus said (as recorded by Matthew in chapter 12):   “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.  You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.  But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

What we say (promote, market, write, produce…) matters. Jesus said all that stuff (our creative output) comes out of what is in our hearts. Our words (ads, spots, postcards, fliers…) will either condemn us or acquit us.

Tell the truth in your marketing. If you find yourself embellishing, maybe you shouldn’t be doing any promotion until you help fix the underlying problem, then go wild and promote the snot out of it.

Trout like real trout bait. They hate the stuff that looks like a juicy worm but tastes like rubber. Your target audience hates stuff that tastes like crap. Give ‘em the real thing.

In a recent discussion with my resident curator of cultural conformity (my 16 year old daughter) (and yes, we do have discussions, where we both actually talk) we chatted about what she thought were the vital characteristics of a church that she would like to attend.  It all came down to two basic components: a head and a heart.

What’s important to her is a church that thinks about the issues that confront the world and its inhabitants and isn’t afraid of intellectual questioning and skepticism (that’s the head); and also has a genuine compassion (heart) for the world that expresses itself in service that is done simply to help those who need help (as opposed to service performed simply as a marketing ploy).

What parts of the anatomy is your church known for?  (I’m not talking about whacky hair, but for some people that defines one Christian broadcasting network.) Is it the mouth? We seem to be good at talking.  Is it the stomach — gorging on the bless me buffet?

Take an honest look in the full length mirror. It might be time for a makeover.