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!

Unfortunately life reared it’s ugly head and we find ourselves with a couple less than we had counted on for the panel. That’s where you come in. I’d really like to bring some various points of view to the panel…maybe a pastor, would love a woman’s perspective, or maybe you’re involved in a not so typical type of church or ministry.

If interested reply here or send me a note and we can talk some more.

You either need to be in Nashville already or willing to get there, but you will get full access (read free tickets) to the conference.

Here’s more info on the session and NRB:
The Unchurched: Who They Are and How To Communication with Them

• I was invited by Joe Sindorf to speak at NRB and was great to be able to hang out and be a part of his gig there. He pulled together a great panel with diverse enough backgrounds to keep it interesting and yet we all had the similar passion of reaching people through great work. The resources for excellence and inspiration can be found here.
• I’m not great at shmoozing, it’s just not my thing…but one of the great parts about conferences are the people you meet and the new friendships that are birthed. I got to have dinner with Mark Horvath the first night I was there and we clicked right away…similiar passions, shared frustrations, and the guy is just off the hook fun to be around. I really hope to be able work with Mark soon, because I know it will be mind blowing (in the good way).The good news for someone out there is that he’s looking for the next big thing.
• I also had the opportunity to connect with Phil Cooke. The guy is just sharp, certainly setting the pace. He announced the partnership with Morris Architects for the very exciting concept of the branded building. Truly a revolutionary idea that I’ve never seen before. Brilliant and I really hope to work with him soon on a project or two.
  
• I also spent some time with the gang from Cornerstone…our future leaders and visionaries. It was an honor to be hang out with a group of people so full of energy and potential. Big things are ahead for all of them.

I am grateful that God brings these opportunities, opportunites bigger than myself, and stretches me and makes connections I’d never be able to make on my own.

Purple Cow

The Big Moo

Made to Stick

A Technique for Producing Ideas

Church Marketing Lab

Design.Alltop

FaveUp

Enjoy…and please, if you have resources that you can’t live without, let us know!

I’m going to touch on perfection, but I’m going to spend most of my time talking about excellence. For those of you who will not be there, or for those of you who just want a sneak peek…here’s a bit of what I’ll talk about.

What’s Excellence

• Mediocrity vs. excellence
  we can accidently run into mediocrity, excellence takes work and is a way of life
• Perfection vs. Excellence
  Perfection isn’t just unattainable, it’s boring because it’s all about restriction and doesn’t allow for any risk or experimentation
• Doing the best with your best
  Excellence isn’t about being all things to all men, it’s about doing everything you can to communicate with impact with all that’s within you

Why be Excellent

• 1 Cor 12:31 “Eagerly desire greater gifts…”
• Phil 4:8 “Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely…”
• It’s not about you
  Or the preaching, or the church, or even the altar call…all good things, but not the main thing…it’s all about God and the change He brings. Never forget why you do what you do…this might be the most important point I make all weekend.

How to be Excellent

• Do what you do best (and stop doing everything else)
  God designed you a certain way on purpose, stop trying to be something you are not and embrace who you are
• Wherever you are, be all there
  Yes, the grass might be greener, and the water may even sparkle brighter; God placed you where He wants you, stop arguing with him
• Don’t steal ideas, Take inspiration … I’ve talked about this before
• Start with the end in mind
  Know where you are going, what you want to happen and how you want it to happen
• Store creativity in everything
  It’s all around you, store it up so that you can tap that resource later

If you’re going to be at the conference and want to chat, have a cup of coffee…give me a shout.