It’s always weird to post your own notes from your own talks, but here goes! I was incredibly honored to have the opportunity to have a breakout session at the ECHO Conference to share some ideas and thoughts that have been running around in my mind.
Thanks to all who were there and who tweets and thanks to ChurchJuice for sharing your summary of my talk as well!
Enjoy!
We Live in a Different World
- It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the world around us is changing rapidly
- With advances in media/technology along with the recent economic shifts happening, the world we are living in is a different place.
- The world has become smaller as we’ve become citizens in new global community and as we’ve become tribalized.
- The way we work and communicate has changed.
- We are living in a new day and a new area and are literally seeing the world change around us every single day.
- With every major cultural shift has come a significant move of God.
- In Gutenberg’s time we had the beginnings of the Reformation.
- In the industrial age we saw revivals and the birth of many of our modern-day denominations and church movements.
- We stand as leaders in an ever-changing world with the unchanging message of the Gospel.
The church has never been more equipped to advance the message of the Gospel and we are living in the days of significant opportunity.
- With that opportunity comes immense responsibility… we will be held accountable for how we steward the resources God has given us in a digital age.
- We need to be people who are like the men of Issachar, who are able to see the times and know hwat to do are indispensable in churches that are growing and thriving in the western world
- We are now able to go to places we’ve never been able ot go before and can literally take our message around the globe with the click of a mouse.
The challenge for all of us is that we’re leading in a time of change, and as we know, the church is often very slow and resistant to change…
- We’ve got to learn how to lead up while leading from the middle and lead the church forward in communicating one of the most important message with clarity and conviction.
The world around us has seen that we’ve got to change to survive.
- Seth Godin says “the factory has died” and economist Richard Florida talks about the fact that we are in a cultural reset.
- The rules have changed.
- In order to survive, we have to change.
- We’ve got to change the way we work and stop holding tightly to the idol of “church as we’ve always known it’ and lean into the opportunity God has given us to extend his message to a world that is searching for authencity, hope and turth.
REWORK-ing Church Communications
No one Cares About your Church
- People’s view of church in general is on a significant decline.
- People don’t care because we’ve lost credibility and trust.
- We’re all big fish in our small fish bowls
- We’ve got to realize we’re not at the center of culture anymore.
- The challenge is to show that we care, genuinely care, about what people care about.
- This gives us an incredible opportunity to re-present the church to culture but it will be through focusing on the needs of our community and caring about what they are care about.
- We’ll only have a voice when we take the time to listen first.
- We’ve got remove the focus from our programs our needs and focus on people’s needs and the needs of our communities around us.
- It’s only when we show genuine care that people will begin to give us their time.
- We earn the right to be heard.
Know Your Real Competition
- Your competition isn’t the church down the street.
- We can oftentimes get competitive with other churches or look with envy at what’s happening over there instead of focusing on what God is doing right here.
- Our competition isn’t other churches because were’ all on the same team.
- Our real competition is the forces of darkeness around us.
- Our competition are things that people give their time, energy and attention to outside of the church.
Forget Your Mission and Your Vision
- Vision is important.
- Without a vision people perish.
- The problem is our vision can sometimes not be very compelling.
- A lot of our vision is pretty bland and sterile.
- It doesn’t motivate people to act.
- Vision is picture of where we want to go and who we want to be.
- Our passion is what truly motivates us.
- So many people these days say “if your church ceased to exist what would people miss’
- I’d say if you had to strip everything you do away to one single thing, what remains would be your passion.
- Passion is what motivates people.
- More than a vision we need a cause that people can be passionate about.
- We’re a generation that’s looking to be moved and who wants to give ourselves to something.
- In the Bible it says of Jesus, that passion for God’s house consumed Him.
- There’s nothing we can be more passionate about and give our lives to than the church and the cause of Christ.
- Your vision is where you want to go, your mission is how you’re going to get there and your passion is what will fuel the journey.
Technology isn’t the savior.
- I know it’s odd to say that at a conference all about church media but it’s true, technology isn’t the savior.
- The church has endured for 2,000 years without it and while I believe that it’s a significant oppporutnity for us, it’s not that end all be all.
- It’s great that we are able to broadcast our services do online baptisms and communion and all sorts of things that create buzz and I do believe that those things are effective
- BUT technology isn’t the savior, but we can use it to help point people to the Savior.
- One of the great things that having chuch online does and what having an active social media presence does is that it enables you to take your message and your experience to people that you may never have the opportunity to connect with otherwise.
Be Inspired, Don’t Imitate.
- One of the first glimpses we see of God and his character in the Bible is the fact that he’s a creative God
- Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created…”
- Creation is unique and God doesn’t create clones, He’s marked all of his creation with a sense of individuality and uniqueness
- So why in the world can we be some of the most uncreative people
- I think the greatest sin any of us commits in our work life is the sin of copying and pasting.
- We all learn by imitating but eventually we find our voice.
- It’s easy to copy and paste and sometimes you’re in a bind and it’s a quick fix
- But the problem with copying is that it skips understanding and understanding is how you really grow.
- Copying rips off the final layer and neglects the thought, energy, and intentionality that went on behind the scenes
- We feel we’ve got an excuse because “we’re the church” and I do think it’s great that there are people and churches who freely share things they’ve produced… and some charge.
- Your church is unique… you have a unique voice, DNA and call God has given you and our role is to cultivate God’s creativity and present our church and our message in a way that’s reflective of our context and community
- Copying what worked somewhere else doesn’t mean it will work where you are.
- This doesn’t just go for other peple’s work it applies to things you always do.
- Don’t just rely on what worked before.
Constraints are a Blessing
- I think I very common conversation at these conferences goes something like “we’re waiting for the budget to get that… we’re working on a new site… we’re going to change our logo…”
- We get way too preoccupied with what we don’t have or are consistently thinking we need more than what we’ve already God.
- Most churches are feeling the affects of the economic climate we’re in right now and have been forced to cut back our budgets and spending.
- And honestly, I think it’s a good thing.
- All too often we use what we don’t have as an excuse.
- Your videos aren’t going to get better with a camera… the pixel quality may improve but if it’s a dumb video, it’s a dumb video.
- Content is what matters most and having the best doesn’t mean you’ll do the best.
- Having less means you’re forced to maximize and make the most of what you already have.
- Constraints force you to be creative.
- In our age of abundance it’s easy to rely on what we’ve got and less and less on seeking God for His divine inspiration.
- Having less will increase our dependence on Him.
- You don’t have to do everything you just have to do what’s right.
- Less really does more.
- Jesus fed 5,000 people with 2 loaves and some fish and had more than enough left over.
- He can take our little and make it much
Flawed is the New Perfect
- We are trained to not trust marketing anymore
- We don’t believe what we are told at face value
- We connect with real people and with stories
- We feel closer to people when we know what’s going on behind-the-scenes in their lives
- The movies, TV shows and music that we consume tend to show the down and dirty and a raw with emotion and authenticity
- So why in the world do we try to wrap everything we do as a church up in a pretty package?
- Life is messy
- We shouldn’t be afraid to show our flaws.
- There’s beauty to imperfection because it shows people you don’t have to have it all together to be a part of your church
- It’s all about simplicity
- Talk like you really talk
- Use real pictures of real people who go to your church
- Reveal things people don’t want to talk about
- It’s ok to not be perfect because that shows you’re really being genuine.
- A well produced, polished service will pale in comparison to raw story of someone who is on the journey of finding their faith.
- We see how to do this most clearly in the life and ministry of Jesus… he told people, “come as you are…”
- We say that but do we really show that in how we present ourselves?
Stop Speaking in Tongues
- We need to be interpreters.
- We have created our own language in the church subculture.
- The challenge we have is that language matters.
- Language is oftentimes our first impression.
- Are we speaking in a way that people easily understand?
- Does what we say make sense?
- Are we creating easy onramps for people or creating barriers with our language.
- It’s not about dumbing down the Gospel but making it easy for people to connect with and understand
- Remember to have an outside set of eyes and ears.
- Jesus was a pro at this, he used everyday terms and ideas to express some of the most significant spiritual truths.
- We’ve just created our own language trying to explain it all.
- Go back to the basics.
You Don’t Need a Marketing Budget
- The rules of marketing have changed dramatically with the rise of social media.
- It’s now more about what other people say than what you say about yourself
- In an overmarketed-to culture, we do better off to realize that marketing is effective but only when it’s done right and oftentimes, we’re pretty bad at it.
- Marketing is often expensive and the return on investment isn’t often very high.
- We’re getting our message out there, like scattering the seed, but is it really taking root?
- Everything your church does is marketing.
- Your church marketing is the sum total of everything you do… it’s the experiences and interactions you have with everyone and your marketing team isn’t some people who sit around a table it’s the people who attend your church.
- What other people say is what matters most.
Don’t Communicate, Curate
- One of the most critical roles in any museum is the role of a curator
- What matters most isn’t what’s on the wall but the stuff that’s not
- You don’t make a great museum by putting everything on display, you make a great museum by saying no
- The curator decides what needs to stay and what needs to go
- In an age of information overload the discipline and tact of editing is an indispensible quality
- We’ve got to learn to stick to what’s truly essential
- We’ve got to pare things down until only what’s most important is left
- We can always add more later, but it’s really about getting your core message, your core idea, the thing that makes your church what it is front and center.
- It’s not about events or programs its’ about people
- We’ve got the best message that’s out there and an immense responsibility to share it in way that connects with people
- That means we have to sacrifice some good ideas for the great ones
- That means we have to be actively engaged in the life of our church and listening and collecting stories
- We need to shift from communicating to the intricate task of curating
Closing Thoughts
- We have a tremendous responsibility and an incredible opportunity and it will require us all to think differently, look at the world around us with new eyes, to listen with ears that are open and to realize that we are all shaping the way the world around us sees the church.
- We’re not geeks or techies, and what we are doing isn’t about being hip and cool and trendy, what we are doing is leaning into the opportunity that God has given us to communicate his truth to a world that’s desperate and seeking for answers.
- It’s not about how many followers or likes we have, how many hits or comments we get or how many people fill our multiple campuses and online venues each week
- It’s about true life change and people finding their story in God’s story.
- We’re pursuing a holy calling and our labor and our work is for something so much greater
- Communicating for the church is a big deal, especially in today’s hyper-connected world.
- I hope we can REWORK the way we work and communicate so the greatest message that’s out there can be heard with clarity… that people might get connected to our church communities and ultimately, to Christ.
Huge thanks to 37signals for their inspiration and for the book REWORK!
