While I’ve held this opinion pretty much forever, as someone who is constantly looking at how, and what, the church is communicating I’m even more aware of it.

I’ve been further cemented in this opinion as I’ve celebrated Easter this year.

It started with a tweet from my friend @mattknisely

Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection.

I am deeply grateful and amazed that Christ gave his life for me, in awe that he would suffer so that I could live, it is a gift I will never forget. The gift was Christ shedding his blood for me, the cross was just the method. The cross as a symbol indeed represents our history, our old position as unredeemed.

But we are redeemed. Christ is our hope and promise of joy.

As my pastor, Joel Stocker, pointed out in service yesterday:

Satan doesn’t care if you believe that Jesus died on the cross, he wants to keep you from understanding that Jesus is alive.

Think about that. The price was at the cross, the power and promise is in the resurrection. (side note: I could be a preacher…those were all p’s) Anyone could have died on the cross, in fact many did die on crosses. The hope comes in the fact that death couldn’t hold the king.

Rob Bell says it well in a new video that reminds us that death didn’t have the last word. That even in the dark world in which we live, there is light and that light shows us hope. God has not given up on us. We matter to the King.

That is what we should be celebrating and pointing to.

Now that we’ve spent the day celebrating the resurrection, let’s hold on to that spirit of joy and promise all year. May we never forget what Christ did for us, but oh may we never let that be all about a cross and death. That was just the beginning. Let’s spend our efforts pointing people to the hope and promise that Christ gave to us within the power of resurrection.

Editors note: Yep, changed the title and the picture used. I don’t in any way want to come across as degrading of Christ’s death, the price that was paid…but I do hope spend just as much time rejoicing in the joy and promise of the resurrection

Take the newest entrant into the realm of hot cool must haves: iphone apps.

The first I saw was out of Mars Hill and now there are quick and cheap solutions that allow every church to create it’s very own iphone app. Awesome! Get out your credit cards. Right?

I don’t know.
Sure people will download it, maybe even check it out, but then what? Will they really use it? Are you filling a need or just trying to get on the bandwagon (without knowing where it’s really headed)? Now if it’s a free service, hey, knock yourself out at the most you’re just out your time. But even then, don’t skip strategy.

It’s not just iphone apps it’s also church online, your website and even Sunday morning. Getting people to download, show up, etc. can’t be the primary measure of success. Sure you’ll measure that, but the real indicator of a successful ministry effort is if people are using it and are changed because of it. If no one is using it, it’s not going to change lives. At best it gives you bragging rights. You hit 1000 people showing up to church. Good start, but that’s not a success beyond a bit of exposure unless those people do something with it.

Instead of jumping on board at the first sign of a new ______, ask yourself how you are going to use it. Ask yourself the question I asked earlier, “are you filling a need?” Only when you you focus on the need can you create the right solution. Otherwise you’re just throwing things at the wall hoping they will stick.

If you’re going to build an app, don’t just repackage everything that’s already out there (unless everything is everywhere and you create a central point of communication), give them something they can use, want to use and will use. LifeChurch gives a great example of this with YouVersion, they didn’t just give you the bible on your iPhone though that alone would have been nice, they’ve built layers of tools that people can use to connect with each other and scripture.

Same goes for online. Why stop at offering audio online? What if you also make available the overheads and notes to follow along with. Or create a discussion area for Sunday’s sermon. I’ll leave online church for another day.

On Sunday morning look beyond raised hands and an altar call and ask, “how will this translate into daily living. Did I give them something they can grab hold of and live out during the week?”

So yes, build the apps, have Sunday morning services but don’t stop there. Once you get them through the door you have an obligation to make it stick because it’s not about you, it’s about them connecting with their Creator.

What a fitting stop on his tour, Idea Camp’s theme this year: Compassion.

What better time for us as the Church and as churches to show compassion. Sure they’ll be people talking about going to India, traveling the globe, you name it…but you can and should be showing compassion right where you live. I turn on the news and I can’t help but to see a HUGE opportunity for us to show the love of Christ today. People are hurting and desperate for hope.

So please, consider heading to DC, filling up your tank and prepare yourself to pour out compassion on your city. You might even take the chance to help Mark fill up his tank so that he can make it the rest of the way.

Oh and did I mention it’s free?

I’d like to highlight #4 on his list of approaches (but do check out the whole entry):

4. Powerpoint or Keynote, but with no bullets, just emotional pictures and stories.

That gigantic screen behind you isn’t to regurgitate what you just said. Sure, it can be helpful to put up a scripture, etc. but it can be used for so much more. Forget trying to make everything start with the same letter, or a fancy acrostic…use that space to engage your listener visually. Would you watch TV if they just printed the script line by line? Not a chance, so let’s not do the same thing Sunday morning.

What are you doing to make your Sunday morning presentation of Christ engaging?

Would You Save Jesus From Murder, A Baffling Dilemma.

Escape from the Planet Mundane
I’m going to talk about church marketing, why it often sucks and what we can do about it. Of course much of that will apply to whatever type of ministry you’re in and will include:

• God created us to be creative
• Our role as storytellers
• Us+Them instead of Us vs. Them
• Habits of creativity
• Group activities to get the mind moving throughout the session.

Unchurched
We talk about reaching the lost…but guess what? They don’t know they’re lost, they probably don’t feel lost and they think we’re full of it. So how do we reach the unchurched. This presentation was the easiest and hardest to put together. Easiest because it really centers around 2 words:
WHAT
HOW
Hard because it’s not easy to change WHAT we are saying and HOW we are saying it. If you’ve heard my speak before you know I love the verse “The father gave me what to say and how to say it.” and I include it in just about every talk I give. But I’m taking a different spin on it this time and examining some of the religious junk that makes the church feel good and people feel unwanted. This is going to be extra great as I’m able to speak alongside Joe Sindorf, Jenni Catron and Matthew Turner…I expect this to be much more conversation than speech.

If you’re in the Nashville area let me know, I’d love to connect with you!

If I were to ask you if you were “visitor friendly” I would imagine you would say yes, of course you are. After all you do many things to welcome guests to your church. But what about the things that happen once they get there? Do you say that you want to welcome guests and then do things that alienate them? Let me give you a few observations and some suggestions along the way.

Your words make a difference. Just because your circle uses certain words, and just because they sound natural to you…for those outside the church much of our vocabulary is foreign. Words like exegesis, sanctification, backsliding are just not part of people’s normal vocabulary. On a Sunday morning when you have a mixed crowd and are trying to speak to the outsider use their language. Say “explanation of the scripture”, “grow spiritual”, and “screwed up”. Here’s a great (and quite humorous) translations for some other Christianese phrases.

Not everyone was brought up in the church. That means not everyone knows the Lord’s prayer, the doxology, or even John 3:16. Use your screens, even when it might seem redundant to you. It helps people to stay with you and not feel like such an outsider. And please, make sure whoever is running your projection is on top of the content, make sure they can follow along and even judge your next move.

“everyone stand up and raise your bible…” The bible shouldn’t be your ticket into church and I don’t really think it’s your job as a pastor to make someone feel guilty for not bringing theirs to church. Maybe they don’t have one, maybe they left it at home…does it really matter? If you want people to have a bible, put one in nearby. If you think that people bringing a bible to church = a committed churchgoer…well, putting on my ski coat doesn’t qualify me for ski patrol. Instead let’s show people how relevant and engaging God’s word is…give them a reason to dig into their bible at home because quite honestly they don’t need it so much on Sunday morning, but they do need it a whole lot on Friday night.

What did I leave out? Here are 10 other ways from David to make guests feel unwelcome. What are others ways that we send mixed messages to our guests?

I’d suggest that you send them a thank you card.

They’ve opened up a door for conversation. Don’t just slam that door shut because you don’t like their motive…use it to talk about God and how He’s made you good, how He makes things good, how he gives more than just a moral compass, etc. etc.

It’s the same as what I said about the DaVinci Code…this isn’t just an attack, it is an opportunity to have a conversation. Don’t be afraid, don’t let fear exaggerate the enemy…allow people to question your faith and their own faith, that’s how it becomes stronger.

What do you think? Should we picket? Stop taking the bus?

Oh…and something else to think about (especially those of you who “have no budget” for marketing)…they spent $40,000 to communicate the message.

A house divided will not stand.
– Abraham Lincoln

I’m already hearing the rumbling. Many within the church are not happy with the results of the election. I’ve heard things like:

“God has taken his hand off of the US”
“McCain was God’s choice and we didn’t listen”
“Evil will reign”

What’s your response going to be? Before you answer…a few reminders:

1. Obama won in a big way. Both in electoral and popular vote. That means that many within your church body voted for Obama.
2. Those outside the church are still watching. When we curse the election results, what does that say?
3. When you called McCain “God’s choice” and then he loses…you make God much smaller than he really is.

and most importantly…

4. God is still in control. HE is our king.

I am going to suggest that we follow Michael Hyatt’s example and make the right response.

1. I will pray for him and our country.

2. I will assume his motives are good, giving him the benefit of the doubt.

3. I will not speak ill of him, even if I don’t always agree with him.

4. I will cast off the spirit of cynicism, and be a positive force for good.

and you might add a fifth:

5. I will remember that not everyone sees things the way I do. I will remember that many voted for Obama and are happy about the results.

I also encourage many of you to address this on Sunday morning. I’m not a fan of supporting candidates from the pulpit, though I’m certain many pastors did in the last few months (even if you pretended not to.) Great communicators will continue that conversation, don’t leave it hanging.

You encouraged those in the church, your friends, your family to pray and then vote…now you need to trust that God hears ALL your prayers and answers every single one…even if it’s not the answer you’re looking for.

Don’t allow for bitterness or despair to creep into your church body…it will destroy it. Instead proclaim God’s victory in all things. Set the tone.

And folks, let’s face it…something did need to be done. And none of our options were so great…and to put our faith in a politician…well come on, we know better than that.

Oh, and more thing…he really did have a killer logo, especially for politics.

	Out of candy. Giving out Taco Bell Sauce Packets.
	Oh, oh. Dentist’s home. (aka. sugar free gum)
	Reeses…get it?
	Garbage…skip it!
	Jackpot! Full-size candy bars.

Use it well! And for those of you who hate halloween…feel free to call this the Code of Fall Harvest (ps. it’s still the same even though you’ve renamed it).

See more here.