When you do attend a session, workshop, etc. don’t just listen….in fact don’t just take notes. As a speaker, I don’t look at my part being that of simply a dumping of information. I have two primary goals whenever I speak:

1. Give everyone at least one idea, action item, etc. that they can take back with them.
2. Begin a conversation.

Too often conferences are just a blip on the radar. A successful conference is one that has an effect that spreads. I’m not just talking about spreading the content through twitter…though a great start (and I’m still kicking myself for not kicking off my session with my twitter ID and a hashtag) but it goes beyond that.

Don’t just take notes, process them later. Look over your notes and create action items based on what you’ve learned and experience. What good is inspiration if it remains static. Of course those action items can come from things outside of sessions and keynotes too.

Stay connected. This is the area I am terrible at. I just spoke at the HOW Design Conference and met some outstanding (these people truly stand out) people. What a shame it is to wait a year to connect with them again. Keep the conversations going, continue to develop the relationship. For me that means make a list of people to stay in contact with on a continuous basis. For me I keep that list fairly short, to help make it an achievable goal but I also have a list of everyone that I met that I will try to stay in touch with as well. Again, this is the hardest area as life and busyness get in the way.

In fact can I ask you to help me? If you’ve heard me speak will you do a couple of things for me?

• Connect with me at the conference.

Remember, I don’t usually go in with a team. And as much as I’m an extrovert, I don’t like to crash your group. So please say hi, let’s go to lunch, all that good stuff.

• Reach out afterwards

Again, this doesn’t come naturally to me and honestly, I don’t know if what I said resonated. If it does please stay connected through email, twitter, you name it.

• Give me feedback

I take my position as a speaker seriously. I want to be sure to give you everything that you are expecting out of your time at the conference. That’s why I always try to leave lots of room at the end for questions. If I can do things better, and I know I can, let me know so that I can bring the best content, engage you more, and ultimately give you what you need to do your work better.

I love this! What a great way to tell the story and use billboards in a new, and even interactive way. Imagine a church putting up a billboard, next to a Hooters billboard, or better yet a Strip Joint billboard that said something like “We love you girls.” , “Come as you are.” or something along those lines?

I love this idea so much, that we will design it for free. We’ll come up with some great copy, killer creative…all free. You just have to be willing to step out and do something bold (and have some billboard space).

Anyone up for it?

easier to learn and do, and requiring less talent.

I disagree with Seth’s premise that a few hours of reading = really good design. In fact that thinking = mediocrity. I agree with chadmaag in the lab (where this topic is creating a buzz) when he says:

I think any line of thinking that would encourage any of us to “step down our game” is a risky proposition. When you view this through the lens of kingdom thinking, we should always be pushing for our very best, if not we’re running afoul of being poor stewards of our talents and the resources we have available

Seth’s thinking asks us to do just that and perpetuates this idea that as long as you have the right software and hardware that anyone can create good design. But design is about more than knowing how to use Photoshop, understand DPI and learning the proper way to kern a word…design is about creating powerful visuals to communicate a message. Some are gifted in this, some are not.

In the bible we read that Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t learn and get better and stronger…it does mean that it’s not as easy as ready a few books and turning on the computer. It does mean that not everyone is created, designed by the creator, to be a designer and to try and force it not only produced mediocre design but it keeps you from what you were designed for.

I continue to hold Seth in high regards as a marketing wizard, if you haven’t read his books…read them and share them, especially Purple Cow
& Free Prize Inside!, he just misses the mark when it comes to design. BUT, I’m glad he’s looking at it and considering the topic and his thinking is not unlike many of pastors, church boards, etc. Remember, part of our jobs as designers is to educate.

Oh, and yes…that action figure is real. I don’t have one yet and it would make a great Christmas gift because I really do think Seth Godin is quite superb.

God deserves better than that. More than that, God desires better than that.

John Acuff has a great response to this. He thinks we’ve missed God’s love letter to the artist.

At the heart of it, the reason the church is not known as being a global leader in creativity and excellence is pretty simple. We missed God’s love letter to artists.

He’s talking about this verse:

“and I have filled him (Bezalel) with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.”

Do I have your attention? Go check out the full post at Stuff Christians Like. But please, don’t just read it and nod your head…spread the word and embrace the position God has placed the artist in His church.

But then my own pastor, Pastor Joel Stocker, who has been preaching forever and our Senior Pastor for 21 years told us what his #1 goal was as a pastor: “Finish Strong.” I’ve always seen what we do at Holy Cow as helping pastors run a good race…but I’m now also adding to that the position of helping you finish strong!

Let this be an encouragement to any of you who are in the last part of your race, who may think that you’re just wrapping things up, to finish strong. This might just be the best, and most exciting part of the race yet!

The difference between those who did well and drew a crowd and those who were wasting their time was all about their commitment to what they were doing. Spider Man did okay, he got up on the light poles and did his thing, but his outfit looked like children’s pajamas…he found a shortcut, and it spoiled the experience. SpongeBob and the Transformer had the outfit, the Transformer’s costume was hand crafted and very nice, but just stood there and waved. The best they got was a kid pointing and waving…from across the street.

Then there was Jack Sparrow. He went all in. He had the costume and threw himself into the part (although probably a bit too much with the alcohol). It was as if Jack Sparrow himself had jumped out of the movie and everyone wanted in on the action. I don’t have any doubt that this isn’t his ultimate dream, I don’t think he came to Hollywood to street perform on the strip…but he was committed to the craft and threw himself into the role.

Which are you? Who are your ministries, communications, preaching? Are you Spider Man who has the passion but has taken the shortcuts? The Transformer who has the flash but has no passion?

Or will you be Jack Sparrow? Will you fully commit to what you do and how you do it? We need more Jack Sparrow’s in the church (minus the stench of alcohol). All the flash in the world doesn’t make up for a lack of passion and I’m seeing a disturbing trend in ministry, especially in these tough times of a ‘just get it done’ attitude. We’ve made getting ministry done, especially in the world of communications, simply a list of to do items and we try to get each of them checked off with the least amount of effort.

This will save time and money. But it is rarely (and only because I hate the words always and never) a winning strategy.

Doing 4% less does not get you 4% less.

Doing 4% less may very well get you 95% less.

That’s because almost good enough gets you nowhere. No sales, no votes, no customers. The sad lie of mediocrity is the mistaken belief that partial effort yields partial results. In fact, the results are usually totally out of proportion to the incremental effort.

Church, please stop getting by. If you can’t do great, remarkable work…don’t do it. Do what you can be remarkable at. When you settle for mediocrity it’s not just ineffective it will often set people back 10x the amount. Let me give some examples:

If you can’t afford great creative for a mailing campaign…don’t do it.
If you can’t afford a powerful logo…don’t do it, just find a nice font.
If you aren’t ready for a remarkable website…don’t do it, use facebook.

Think about this, remarkable means being worthy of being noticed…especially being noticed as extraordinary. If you are doing anything less then that can you really say you’re effective as a church? If the message you bring isn’t worthy of being noticed what are you doing?

What do you need to stop doing…or start doing to be remarkable?

So Bravo Kirk Cameron, set the bar high…I hope everyone’s done the same with the movie and will deliver something that is top shelf.

Your turn.

Would you kiss someone other than your wife on screen?
Are you planning on seeing the movie?
Do you think the movie’s title graphic is a bit cheesy or ultra clever?

So why talk about? Why not just brush it under the rug? Because it’s a reminder to all of us to watch where you are headed and who you believe in.

Our faith should only be found in Christ. Allow yourself to be shepherded, but keep your eyes and adoration on God. Too often I believe we set the leaders up for failure, we put them up on pedestals to the point where they can do no wrong and they become untouchable. In the world of church marketing, we need to be cautious not to turn our pastors into untouchable rock stars. Ask yourself “who are we giving glory to?” Our marketing and communications must be authentic, and the only way to do that is by focusing on the power and holiness of God.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

When our faith is in God, when we rest upon God for our strength, news like this will sadden us but it will not shake our foundation built on Christ.

Thank you Ragamuffin Soul for the video link:

I -highly- recommend finding a great copywriter to work with. It’s easy to come up with a tagline, it’s even easy to be clever…but a copywriter will help you create something powerful.

Logos, taglines…all easy to get done so you can check it off the list, but creating something powerful that is more than just a mark or words is worth the full effort.

You see, when you don’t bring in someone who is really talented and gifted at what they do we end up with things like Purity Balls. Now to some of you who are much more wholesome than I you may automatically think of a celebration of protecting your child’s purity….that’s not what I thought when I first read it.

Can you find someone to come up with a tagline, or the clever phrase on your church sign? Sure. But it’s another one of those things that shouldn’t just be a check in a list of to-dos. Put the energy in and you will get the full benefit in return.