Posts from — May 2008

Somebody done somebody wrong… again.

Scott McClellan was one of President George W. Bush’s posse that moved with him from Austin to the West Wing. He was a trusted insider but left the White House in 2006 after serving as press secretary to the President. His kiss-and-tell book What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, gives a scathing, one-sided glimpse into the Oval Office.  One writer on the Houston Chronicle Commons site called it Scott McClellan And His Thirty Pieces Of Silver.

Meanwhile in the church…

Ed Young, Jr.’s pathetic rant against Church Pirates in a staff meeting ended up on the Monday Morning Insight blog (a great resource for those among us who kinda get off on trying to make the church better). Obviously somebody left Ed’s staff and started a new church (what was that ungrateful, insubordinate Judas thinking?) or it may have happened recently to a pastor friend.  This was not Ed’s finest moment, but it made clear the passions that are ignited by betrayal.

Some churches try to insulate themselves by enveloping their operations in a legal cloak of documents. I was on the staff of a very large church that required me to sign a non-compete agreement (if I left for any reason I couldn’t work for any Christian ministry within 50 miles) and a non-disclosure agreement (I couldn’t talk about the church or its leadership for five years after leaving).  Feel the love. Obviously they had some betrayal in their past.

Here are some lessons you can use today… [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.

Public Relations is a mix of art and science and is a practice every professional needs to master, even if it’s just to market yourself. Today you’ll learn a lesson at the expense of Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for the office of President of the United States.

It’s clear the flak that Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. has caught from his two-decades long association with his radical Afro-centric pastor, Jeremiah Wright has McCain’s attention. McCain is afraid that being endorsed by John Hagee and Rod Parsley will become his own Jeremiah Wright. Unfortunately, McCain did the knee jerk reaction, and in the humble opinion of your simple scribe, he has hurt himself.

McCain has denounced the endorsements of Hagee (based on his beliefs about the Catholic church, Israel’s rightful claim to the Holy Land and other issues) and of Parsley (primarily because of his historically-accurate teachings on Islam). By doing this he might have distanced himself from some political fallout, but he also distanced himself from many tens of thousands of evangelical voters who weren’t entirely in love with McCain to begin with.

Here’s what he should have done. (Get out your notebooks.) [Read more →]

I interviewed a young man for an entry-level producer position today. He graduated from college in December, was highly recommended by his department chair, has done a bunch of projects since graduation and now he’s very likely to get a good offer for his first “real” job in television… being mentored by me.

Now comes the fun, learning how to succeed at work. Here are ten lessons I learned the hard way.  These are universal, they work at any job. Take notes, there will be a test.   [send this to someone you care about, there are handy links at the bottom of this post] [Read more →]

One month ago, April 20, 2008, singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman was inducted into the Music City Walk Of Fame in Nashville, TN. Today, one month later, May 21, 2008 tragedy hits the Chapman family.

The Nashville Tennessean reported:

Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest child died Wednesday afternoon after being struck by a car driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.

Maria, one of the Christian singer’s six children, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The 5-year-old was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name.

The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see Maria in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.”

Many years ago I was in the Chapman home, producing a story for “The 700 Club”. Having been in the presence of many entertainers and stars, I was immediately amazed at the humility and warmth of Steven and Mary Beth. Their love for each other and for their family led to their adoption of three children from China. Maria was the youngest.

[Read more →]

Sunday my family and I visited Crossroads Bible Church in Grand Rapids. We had heard good things from some of Kat’s students at Cornerstone University who attend there, but hey, we’ve heard great things about some churches that were just plain scarey!

What amazed me was how it resonated with my spirit. I can’t remember the last time that I was in worship and realized that tears were streaming down my face. Not out of need or guilt, but tears of joy and awe as I knew I was in the presence of my Lord.

What went on to bring this response?  [Read more →]

Check out the new Collide site.  I liked the print version of the magazine and was ready not to be impressed with the web version, but it’s tremendous.

My buddies Yuri and Travis at the Church Media Group did an incredible job on this site. (They also did a great job with a kiosk project for me at Grand Rapids First.  I’d recommend these guys to anyone.) The design is clean and intuitive and keeps the cutting edge feel of the print magazine without having the design and architecture draw attention to itself. 

Great article by the first man of non-profit branding, Phil Cooke on the site.  Check it out.

I was listening to NPR today on my weekly trip to Lowe’s, and the anchor did a phone interview with an aid worker named Joy who was in China for Mercy Corps. I produced a series of radio programs for them a million years ago and I highly respect their founder Dan O’Neill, so I really excited to hear they were getting some good PR on NPR.

This girl sounded cute, but come on, take advantage of the PR opportunity. She never talked about the great overwhelming need and that only because of people’s generosity can they immeadiately jump into action. She didn’t have to give a web site (but she could have done that) but she should have at least given people the idea to donate to any charity that is working over there.

What really got to me is that there was no mention of Christ. The reporter really set the aid worker up nicely asking “why do you do this?” The reply was nice but she talked about her career choice and why it’s important to her. Maybe Mercy Corps has left its Christian roots. I hope not.

Finally, we can all learn from this. Joy, the aid worker, seemed to think this was more of a personal profile than a corporate PR opportunity. Please remember this, when someone puts a microphone in front of you first think about God and what He would have you say to give Him glory and second, think about the people who give you a paycheck… somewhere down the list you can think about yourself.

Props to Brad Abare, Michael Buckingham and the geniuses that came up with the Church Marketing Lab. There is a new thread on there that you MUST read. I envision every conference that you’ll go to this year will have at least one slide pulled from this list. Just to get you in the right frame of mind, here’s a few posts that I love:
You know you work in church communications if…

• you’ve ripped off a TV show logo/title to promote a sermon series
• you’ve used a t as a cross
• the only window you have in your office is from microsoft
• your portfolio is made up exclusively of fliers
• you’re asked to make a logo for everything
• for you, coffee isn’t merely a beverage, it’s a food group
• you’re not sure if you should admit to laughing and crying while reading this list

Trust me, it’s classic. Click here now!

Every now and then a deal comes around that you can’t pass up  (like buying oil futures when crude was $50 a barrel).  My friend Cory at 616 Productions has priced his upcoming Defender’s Conference at an incredible rate that I recommend jumping on.

Get this…  Mark Mittelberg, Dr. Norm Geisler, Dr. Alex McFarland, Dr. Jason Reed, Dr. Chad Meitzer and Dr. Paul Maier and Dr. JP Moreland — the top apologists of our day, in an intimate setting, helping you get your head around “WHY” you believe and “HOW” to communicate it. [Read more →]