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?

Flippin First Baptist Church is a real church, located in…Flippin, AR. Now, I’m not trying to just poke fun (okay, I am a little bit)…in fact if you are the pastor of the Flippin Church, I want to work with you…I’ll even do a project for free, we could have such a great time. I actually like the name, it stops you in your tracks (the mind LOVES to be surprised) but it points out an important thing to think about when naming your church…meaning matters and your name should say something.

I don’t care about your location. Whether you are located in Flippin, on a Hilltop, or you have a creek running through the backyard…it doesn’t matter.

While we’re at it don’t call yourself something you aren’t…world changers, world outreach…while great aspirations they just are typically not really who you are. You’re the local church, reaching real people, in your community…be that church.

If you’re one of those churches, and there’s a good chance that you are because they are all over the place, PLEASE don’t feel beat up, feel pushed towards something better. And remember: I love you all and I’m actually hoping you’re laughing a bit.

Now, on the other hand if I drive west a bit I could start Hell’s Church…and what better way to start a marriage but getting married in Hell’s Chapel?

While it means in a large part for us at Holy Cow Creative that we want to help change the way the church communicates…it goes deeper than that too. I believe too often when I say church, you think Sunday, but shouldn’t that only be a part of the picture?

Does church require preaching?

What would happen if tomorrow morning you got up and told your people that there would be no worship, no preaching…instead you were all going out to serve your community for that same time slot.

What if Sunday wasn’t the end of your week, what if it was the beginning and church on Sunday was all about equipping you to be the church on Monday and Tuesday…a bit of a pick me up on Wednesday…you get the idea. What would happen? Is that church?

Your turn.

Not for a community in Pheonix, AZ.

For many people living at the Stone Oaks apartment complex church means block parties, poolside socials and Saturday morning breakfast. For this group church isn’t so much about the order of service, it’s about building relationships.

“As a society we relate well where we work and play but don’t relate very well where we live. We pull into our garages and never come out to get to know our neighbors. It’s a very segmented, very private world,” Louis says.

I love this idea not matter what your Sunday morning routine is. We used to know our neighbors, and then we moved our front porch to the backyard and called it a deck…we’ve disconnected with our neighbor. Hard to love your neighbor when you don’t even know their first name. Imagine if we as the Church embraced an idea like this…I’d bet that your invitation to church on Sunday would be met with much greater acceptance.

If I’m wrong, I’ll make you breakfast.

Dear God,
You know me. Don’t you? I’m not just a person on a bus or a train.
I’m not just another face on CCTV; or just another login name.
I’m me, and I have stuff going on.
Love life issues; bills to pay. Egos at work to deal with; an overflowing inbox.
So please, give me strength. Guide me to focus on what’s really important. And help me make the most of every moment of this new day in this new month.

Thank you.
Amen

It’s great to see the church engaging in the media and I love the fact that they made it about the people reading it and not all about them. Too often we get so wrapped into our ministries, our sermons…that we forget about the real lives, the real hurts of the people we were called to serve.

Changing these opinions is not a matter of taking the blue pill vs. the red pill. There isn’t a way to explain it that will make the clouds part and the light of understanding shine upon them. People don’t have to be stuck, but it’s a process and it takes time. It is important to understand why some drag their heels. Here are 3 reasons I’ve seen.

1. They are happy where they’re at.

This is the most difficult situation. Truth is they aren’t going to move until they see, and experience, a better way. They need to be spoon fed new ideas, creative approaches to outreach. Ask them if you can try one thing, you’ll take all the responsibility, you’ll do all the work.

I worked with a pastor who just didn’t see the need for sermon branding, he had heard from God as to what to preach and the preaching of the word was all that was needed. I reminded him that God gives us WHAT to say but He also gives us HOW to say it. (john 12:49). Now that he has seen sermon branding in action and how it didn’t shadow the preaching but brought a new dimension to it, he now calls me and gets involved in the process.

2. Great ideas are rare in an atmosphere of fear.

The pastor that I spoke with that considered powerpoint heresy was speaking out of fear. Maybe it was fear of losing tradition, maybe fear of the reaction of others, quite possible it was simply fear of something new. It’s important to find out where the fear is coming from. One size does not fit all. What we do for one church with great success may bomb in another church. Celebrate the fact that each church has its own flavor and instead instead of trying to change the flavor, find ways to add some spice to it.

Realize that change is difficult. If you’re frustrated that someone doesn’t get the power of church marketing realize that you most likely have that sown in your identity. You’re most likely an early adopter, you probably get bored with the same thing day in and day out, you’re different than they are. Find a bridge, find ways to connect the two and not only will you both be happier but the end result will be much stronger.

3. They are not stuck, they are cemented.

This group is either so happy, so afraid or possibly unable to see outside of themselves that they are simply bound in cement. They aren’t going to change. You may very well be in the wrong place. Sometimes this person has some issues that they should work through, but that’s their issue, don’t make it yours. Others can just be called to a different way of ministry than you…and that’s ok.

What walls are you running into? How have you managed those that aren’t on the same boat as you?

You just don’t hear that anymore. Pastors are just like anyone else, they see a better or more exciting opportunity, they pray abou it and move on. I wondered that day how he did it, how he stuck with it without getting bored. In a post this morning he explains as he talks about the search for their next location:

“I want to pastor one church for life, but I also get bored if we aren’t doing something new. Multi-site scratches that entrepreneurial itch! We’re always on the look out for the next location.”

How about you, what do you do to keep it fresh? Could you commit to one church for life?

I watch the stats of the blog, the other day 2 people dropped off. Now I don’t who they are or why they left…but honestly, it hurts when people leave. Here’s what I did and maybe it will give you something to think about next time someone leaves your church.

Was it something I said? I went back to the last few posts to check if I had maybe ruffled any feathers or maybe put too much emotion in a post…I evaluated the content.

Was it something I missed? I had to ask if I wasn’t giving something that was being looked for. I checked our analytics for search terms, looked at the health of our postings in terms of clicks…I monitored the health of the blog.

I then admitted that while I hope this blog will fill with people and comments (if you’re reading blogs please post now and then) I realized that sometimes people leave and sometimes there isn’t rhyme or reason…people simply leave. I also reminded myself that I am here for the whole and can’t tear down the building and reconstruct for one person.

What do you do when people leave? I do think it is important to assess now and then, but don’t panic…people will leave and new people will arrive.

God protected the church from the Great Fire of London in 1966.

The church was so distinguished that it caught Hollywood’s attention and can now be seen in movies like Shakespeare in Love and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

But that’s not the most disturbing part.

According to the United Press International, St. Bartholomew the Great is now charging cover. And we’re not just talking about tourists. If you attend the church, you need to buy a year pass at $62.

I wonder when they forgot who they serve? One of the things we stress whenever we partner with a church and begin to roll out any marketing campaign is that it’s all about God. Not the programs, not the building and certainly not money. If we develop the greatest website, the most beautiful postcard but don’t have any stories of salvation, redemption or restoration attached to it, it was a failure. Same goes for your preaching on Sunday. I want to make a difference in the way the church communicates, but I only want to do it for churches that want to make a difference.

1. Black Friday works because of perception. Hundreds of people flood one store because think they are going to save $500 on a TV. Of course there are only 20 of them, but the perception remains. What are people’s perception of Sunday morning at your church? Do they expect to be one of those 20 lives that will be changed or is it just business as usual.

2. People prepare when they now there is something in it for them. Ads are leaked, maps are charted out. When people see church as not simple something that has to be done, but instead of something that adds to and changes their lives…people will begin to prepare for it. Encourage participation, encourage prayer and reflection through the week.

3. When it becomes all about us, we forget what IT is. Don’t let programs and hype get in the way of what’s most important. Don’t let a marketing package shadow changed lives and instead let it become the light showing them the way.

I’m sure I’m missing others…what else can the church learn from Black Friday?