All posts in Cultivate 09

Jon Acuff :: Cultivate 09

by Tim Schraeder on 10/27/2009 in Cultivate 09 with 2 Comments
  • I want to clear away the clutter of Christianity so people can see the beauty of Christ.
  • “I’ll pray for you” can become a version of “I’ll call you.”
  • Booty God Booty… love it.
  • We hit walls when we try to tell God’s Story.
  • We don’t talk about the Devil much.
  • If hell has a branding deparment, kudos for them for working their way out of our conversations.
  • Oftentimes we associate words like hell, Satan, etc with old school fundamentalists that we want nothing to be like.
  • We need to bring the Devil back into the conversation; he hates when we bring God into the conversation.

The devil tries to destroy our story.

  • He’s not all-powerful, so he has to take short cuts.
  • One of his short cuts is attacking things that matter.
  • He  attacks our areas of giftedeness… he tries to destroy them.

The devil tries to get us to discount our story.

  • The Devil wants us to think that other people have a real story; we don’t.
  • [ Sort of like the people with 'dynamic' testimonies. ]

What do we do when we discount or destroy our stories?

1 – We need to give it to God.

  • We need to engage with God about what the real story is.
  • We can get drunk on our own sense of awesomeness.
  • Fame is gross thing to pray for… it’s a drug that destroys ministers and ministries.
  • Get inspired, encouraged and excited by other people’s stories… but don’t tell them.
  • Tell your story.

2 – It usually means we’ve forgotten why we tell them.

  • The second group of people God addressed in Exodus [after the priests] were the artists, designers and craftsman.
  • Exodus 36:2
  • Everytime we share our story, we are helping to rebuild God’s temple.
  • We can’t sit in the desert with our giftings, we need to build God’s temple through the sharing of our stories.

How do you give everything you have and get lost in it?

  • Our goal is to not CREATE a story, but to REVEAL a story.
  • We need to get quiet
  • Anytime we try to pour our what we’ve got to pour out, we’ll run out fast.

Satire is humor with purpose. Oftentimes, we put humor over hurtful sarcasm.

  • Satire is a mirror we can use to stand beside and truly see ourselves.
  • We overflow what’s inside.

We don’t use our best creativity to celebrate the Creator of creativity.

We need to be more deliberate about the messages we create and be mindful of where we are sending them out to.

We need to be quiet enough to engage with God … we need to be something before we become something.

Tell your story to the  people you have.

In a private sector, people are watching you.

Too often we write about theories instead of reality — we get too far off and too disconnected.

Too often we write about problems we think people have instead of the problems people have.

You have to leave enough room for people to tell their story in yours.

Leave room for others.

Everybody has a rock… judgement, hypocrisy, etc… that they want to throw at us the moment we talk about Christianity; we usually talk around it… we need to talk about it and hold their rock for them… give them something new to hang on to.

I keep asking God geography questions and He always answers with where He wants us to go in His presence.

There’s things we should not joke about.

You stay in line with God’s will for your story… daily, hourly, moment by moment. You can’t read it and go away from it.

Too often we do the “Christian courtesy” of rejecting compliments.

We need to create platforms for other people to tell their stories.

Mockery is a great shortcut to laughter but takes away the ability to speak love

The greatest disappointments in life happen when we ask other things or other people to be Jesus for us.


Clint! Runge :: Cultivate 09

by Tim Schraeder on 10/27/2009 in Cultivate 09, Principles with No comments
  • Gen X’ers are in their 30s, and are beginning to make an impact in their jobs.  When they go after a youth audience, they tend to think very differently than Gen Y.
  • What’s cool to a Gen X’er is not cool to a Generation Y’er.

Differences Between Gen X and Gen Y

  • Gen X are 1965-1981
  • Gen Y after 1981.
  • Gen X grew up with the question, “How can I be different?”
  • It was all about becoming a unique individual.
  • Gen Y question, “How can WE be different?”
  • Gen X’ers have an attitude of exclusion.
  • Gen Y has an attitude of inclusion.
  • “Wevolution” – we are shifting froma a “me” culture to a we culture.
  • Gen X’ers source of information was an encyclopedia; today it’s Wikipedia.
  • Reporters used to have all of the information; today people are [ Twitter, iReport, etc. ].
  • Peer-to-peer approval is the most important thing.
  • For any youth generation we always care about what our friends thing. For Gen Y’ers it’s different.
  • Gen Y’ers get marketing. They don’t trust ads or big business but they trust their friends.
  • Credibility and authenticity comes from their friends.
  • You have a message? If you get into the audience they will send it.
  • Success to a Gen Y’er is a balance life, fulfilling career and strong relationships.
  • For Gen X’ers it was luxury items.
  • Gen Y’ers have a huge belief in causes.
  • Gen Y’ers thing that the biggest issue they are facing is the environment, economy, and education.
  • Environment is #1 because it’s easy. Getting involved is easy compared to war, economy, politics, etc.
  • Social causes used to be about protests; today it’s about wearing a wristband or having a sticker on your laptop.
  • Today’s youth are time-stressed.
  • The last thing they want to do is research.

Social Media

  • Websites used to be the “first screen”; today it’s your phone screen.
  • Figure out how you can get mobile.
  • Social media started with MySpace, Facebook, etc.
  • It evolved to being a place of promotion.
  • Today’s generation expects 15 minutes of fame.
  • It’s no longer an aspiration it’s an expectation.
  • Social media allows people to be supestars in their own realm.

Where is Social Media Going?

  1. Social media is going to the first screen; mobile. [ Dodgeball, Four Square, etc ]
  2. Social media is feeling less and less like our space. Big social networks are becoming smaller and smaller. [ www.sneakerplay.com - interaction for people who like sneakers. ]
  3. Social media is going into the virtual world [ Second Life ].
  • Wevolution plays well into Christianity and the cause of Christ; where we have a breakdown is how we position.
  • Our advertising gets so watered down that the message loses its significance.
  • You’ve got to offend people.
  • You can target your messaging specifically to avoid overlapping audiences.
  • If you do a good job with your message, Gen X won’t see it.
  • You need to make sure everybody is included.
  • Most of you feel like an island because you get it and no one else around you does.

How do you get Gen Y to get interested in God?

  • You’ve got to relate to them.
  • You’ve got to let them discover you.
  • Don’t make it about your message.
  • You’ve got to let them find their way to you and not just shout your message.

How do you judge success with Gen Y?

  • You have to change your expectations.
  • Any engagement is success.
  • Are they becoming brand loyalists?
  • Most people stay excited about a new brand for about 3 months.
  • You’ll spend your whole life doing nothing if you try to keep up with the trends.
  • Trends come and go, don’t follow them.
  • They are a waste of time and effort.
  • Find the overarching trends that tap into a generation.
  • There’s 5 Generations of people today… it’s difficult to brand for all of them, all you’ll do is a weak job at reaching all of them.
  • Find something you believe in and stick with it.
  • Most effective form of branding is having a specific target audience.
  • If you have big $$ you can brand to multiple audiences.
  • State Farm is getting killed by Geico.

What’s after Y?

  • the next generation is yet-to-be-named.
  • it will start in 2001… when things changed in our culture.
  • some people thing they will be like Gen Y x 50
  • Gen Y has been a cottled generation; it’s hard to argue with them.
  • They’ve been marketed to and told they were experts.
  • They will be a strong, family-oriented generation.
  • Gen X grew up with broken families.
  • Gen X’ers don’t want the same relationship with their kids like they had with their parents.

How is leadership defined in a generation of experts?

  • People don’t want to be leaders but they want friends who like them and who are doing interesting things.
  • Leadership is a sensitive subject.
  • Leaders won’t come out like Gen X leaders did.
  • Leaders in Gen Y will say, “how can we lead?”
  • The WEvolution.

Books or articles to read…

  • Entertainment Weekly
  • trend blogs online, etc

When Gen Y says, “I”… it’s really like saying, “you.”

  • Look for leaders within social networks.
  • Who’s throwing the parties?
  • If you get them, it will spread to their friends.

Is there such a thing as brand loyalty to Gen Y? No.

  • There will always be something new that will come around the corner.
  • If it’s better, they will switch.

What Gen Y does, Gen X will follow.

1 – New Politics

  • Young adults are disillusioned by politics.
  • There’s a lot of hope with a lot skepticism.
  • They don’t think their votes count.
  • They believe Steve Jobs and Apple will make a bigger impact in their lives than the government.
  • They look to corporations as the ones that have the opportunity to make change.
  • Political process and consumer process blend together; they vote with their dollars.
  • They support products they believe in.

2 – The Modern Guy

  • There’s a “new guy” mold forming.
  • Back in the day, the modern guy was tough, liked beer, trucks and sex.
  • Gender roles have been redefined.
  • Guys are asking, “what does it mean to be a guy?”
  • Media portrays guys like a lost boy.
  • Guys feel free to explore things they are actually interested in; they don’t have to fit the mold.
  • There’s new opportunities… they can be creative, etc.
  • Society is letting them be the guy they want to be.
  • As a church, we can help define that.
  • 500 Days of Summer was one of the first movies that showed a guy expressing his emotion.

3 – Life Tracking

  • Through blogging, Twitter of Flickr, they use it to let you know about their life.
  • There’s all of this data with Gen Y that we can start to use it for personal improvement.
  • Daytrum.com lets your track anything in your life.
  • PaitentsLikeMe.com lets you track your health.
  • NikePlus.com
  • Monthly.info – for women.
  • Shipsandwrecks.com – lets you track your relationships.
  • Mint.com – finances.
  • You track your data for personal improvement.

4 – Do the Right Thing

  • There’s a sense of pride in doing the right thing.
  • People question everything they do every single day… “should I?” or “shouldn’t I?”
  • People are looking for a moral code.
  • Where are they getting their information from to make their decisions? Their friends.
  • It makes people feel spiritual when they make the right decision.
  • When they do good, it’s a spiritual thing to them because the power is in their hands.
  • This is a big question to wrestle with.

Cultivate :: Phil Cooke

by Tim Schraeder on 10/27/2009 in Cultivate 09 with 1 Comment

Phil Cooke is the Founder and Creative Director of Cooke Pictures in Burbank, California. Many of the largest and most effective Christian organizations in the world ask for his advice, and his ideas are changing the way people of faith use media to communicate with the culture. Christianity Today magazine called him a “media guru” and you’ve seen him on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and numerous national magazines. His blog at philcooke.com is a highly respected resource on media, faith, and culture and Phil’s workshops are a rare glimpse into the future of media and entertainment. His new book is “The Last TV Evangelist: Why The Next Generation Couldn’t Care Less About Christian Media… and why it matters.” Phil is also a founding partner in TWC Films, an award winning TV commercial company in Los Angeles that produced two spots that appeared during the 2008 Super Bowl.

  • “Welcome to the experiment.”
  • I’ve been fascinated with the way the church expresses itself to culture.
  • I love people who have a great heart but do a really lousy job of expressing their faith to culture.
  • We’re being bombarded with media messages.
  • Between 3-5,000 per day.
  • Avegare television is on 8 hours per day.
  • We only sleep 6 hours, 40 minutes each day
  • Media controls our lives.
  • As a result… our content has become shorter.
  • When the printing press was invented we became a print-centered culture.
  • Books took time to write.
  • It takes most people weeks or months to read a book.
  • Live theater was 4-5 hours.
  • Disney musicals went to 2 hours.
  • Film is 90 minutes on average.
  • Then, TV shows, 30 minutes.
  • Web and blogs made content shorter.
  • Average video on YouTube is 2 minutes long.
  • :30 is the max amount of time.
  • Then, email and Facebook…
  • Twitter reduces our communication to 140 characters.
  • We spend more time communicating.
  • We manage our stuff.
  • The average employee sends/receives 200 emails per day.
  • Average employee spends 40% of their day dealing with email.
  • Email is as addictive as gambling.
  • The rush you get from hitting the “send” button is the same as pulling the slot machine.
  • We spend more of our day communicating but we spend less time creating messages.
  • How much do you spend creating content?
  • We have cut that down.
  • We live in a  time suck.
  • We spend a lot of time creating content that doesn’t matter.
  • We’ve lost the ability to reflect.
  • Media changes us.

4 Questions

  1. In a time disrupted world, what are you really trying to do?
  2. How do you deal with ambiguity? [there is no right or wrong answer] Finding the right answers is not as important as asking the right questions. Jesus told parables that He didn’t explain.
  3. Are you asking the right questions?
  4. Stop focusing on how much it will cost and when it will be ready. We let schedules and budget drive everything we do. But schedule and budget aren’t the most important thing.

Comments

  • Jesus didn’t reach the world for Jesus.
  • What can you do… be incredibly specific.
  • If you are going to succeed you need to be an absolute expert in a narrow niche.
  • How do we live in the tension of elevating the cross and our personal brands/churches.
  • Don’t think in terms of these questions just applying to your church/organization… it matters as much to your church as it does to you personally.
  • There’s not a lot of answers in life.
  • How do you deal with ambiguity?
  • Our job is not to make sure people are listening, our job is to make sure people are connecting.
  • No matter how anointed your message is, if nobody is listening, you’ve failed.
  • “The Gospel is the answer” is a given, but how do we communicate that to this culture?
  • Half of being good at something is figuring out what you’re bad at and stopping doing that.

What Are The Right Questions?

  • What do we need to stop doing?
  • Who does this glorify? Who gets the credit here?
  • How can we enter into what God is already doing?
  • How do people want to be communicated with?
  • It’s not how we want to communicate with us, it’s how they want to communicate with us.
  • Are we being purposeful in what we are using?
  • Just because tools are available, does it make sense for us to be using them?
  • Am I wasting my time doing what I’m doing?
  • We live in the tension between the culture and our audiences.
  • If we’re not reflecting more and shutting our computers off more, the content we create is going to show it.
  • Focus on what really matters, not what’s urgent.

Can’t Make Cultivate? No Worries, Watch Online!

by Tim Schraeder on 10/26/2009 in Cultivate 09 with 2 Comments

This time tomorrow Cultivate will be well underway. About 250 people are going to be here for a conversation about where media, technology and innovation connect in the Church.

We’ve heard from many people who wish they could have been here but for whatever reason couldn’t make it.

Well, I’m happy to tell you that we will be streaming all of the main sessions from Cultivate and Cynthia Ware will be doing some behind-the-scenes interviews with some of the different facilitators throughout the day.

The schedule below is for Central Standard Time:

  • 9:10-9:50 AM             Phil Cooke
  • 10:00-10:40               Kem Meyer & Kent Shaffer
  • 10:55-11:35                 Michael Forsberg & Tim Schraeder
  • 1:50-2:30 PM              Clint! Runge
  • 2:40-3:20                     Brad Abare & Maurilio Amorim
  • 3:35-4:15                      Terry Storch & Bobby Gruenewald
  • 4:25-5:05                     Jon Acuff

HUGE thanks to Bert Newman from Ziglar Inc. and Park’s own Jason Widney for making this possible, and a HUGE thanks to AspireOne for doing the live streaming site. This really was a team effort!

Tune in tomorrow at www.cultivateconference.com.

[ And you better believe I'll be blogging my notes! ]