When Apple did their reveal of the MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar I didn't know what to make of it. Did they somehow have scrap strips from iPad screens they wanted to make money from? Were they running out of ideas? Then I thought it was cool in a weird way. When I walked into the iStore I thought it was stupid. I got my hands on a demo MacBook Pro and then walked out undecided. It was kind of OK, but why would I want one? Was it worth spending money on? ... Read More
When Another Church Plagiarises Yours
You've had a retreat and spent days working on concepts for the Easter campaign and series. Your church is going big this Easter. You can't remember a time you were this inspired. You can't remember a time you've been this original. From concept to video, sermon and life groups content and more, you have thought of everything. Your church tech and creative teams have never produced anything this good at this scale. After all your hard work you discover another church has plagiarized yours. ... Read More
The Shift From Comments, To No Comments, To Comment On Facebook
In days of old, you know, when blogging started, the number of visitors and views mattered most. The next important thing was the number of comments. For many, comments are an important way of measuring engagement and success. An important part of the engagement. Over the years, we've had 'successful' bloggers and marketers emphasize their importance. Then, some of the same, sang a different tune. They disabled comments on their blogs. After some time, commenting made a comeback. Now, there ... Read More
Why and How Church Tech Teams Can Get Involved In Communities Outside Church
I've been a part of and involved in different open sources communities over the years. And, being the son of a pastor, I've been in church my entire life. I've also served as full-time staff in a local church setting. It is easy to stay in your circle, some go as far as calling it a bubble, during the week when you're in meetings at church, or fixing this or that, if you're technical. Our lives can be cyclical. Home life, family, work, other church activities and Sunday gatherings. There's also ... Read More
Developing A Church Communication Strategy – The Team
We can do nothing well in a consistent manner without being intentional. This is why planning is important. Coming up with a strategy focuses effort. The same applies to church communications. Before you tweet, create the bulletin, or post an ad on Facebook, you need to be clear on why you're doing it. To be effective, crafting messages with care is important. Make sure you send it the right way to the right platform is another piece of the puzzle. These are a few of the things we've looked at ... Read More
“You’ve Got This” – A Pep Talk For Church Communicators [Saturday Morning Review]
It matters who writes a book. Not only that, but how they write it is as important. We want to read books by people who have something helpful to say. We prefer people with a fair knowledge of stuff. Oh, not speaking geek from dizzying heights is necessary. Being relatable is another must. Right? I mean what else could one look for in a book besides a ton of laughter and pictures. Books with pictures are the best. (Am I the only one who used to check out books from the library based on how many ... Read More
The Ultimate Guide to Mobile Bible Reading Plans
The New Year is more than a date change for many people. It is also a time of recalibrating, setting resolutions and goals (I chose one word instead of a set of goals or resolutions.) At this time, people tend to commit to doing something about their spiritual formation also. They commit to attending church more often or being more active in small groups. Prayer and Bible reading are also included in some of these personal goals. For this post, I'd like us to focus on Bible Reading plans on ... Read More
Developing A Church Communication Strategy – The Platform
Let's start with a quick recap. Developing a church communication strategy starts with a clear why, well-considered overarching messaging and great regard for the audience. The next consideration will be on the platforms. That is, the mediums you choose to communicate with your audience. Again, your choice of communication platform must be done with care. In this post, we'll look at a few factors to consider when choosing channels to communicate through. ... Read More
Developing A Church Communication Strategy – The Audience
A communication strategy for your church is imperative. It helps you stay consistent across communication platforms. To get some ideas about messaging you can read an earlier post here. Related to the message is the audience. They are a critical part of any communication strategy. It is obvious but a reminder is always in order: always be mindful of the audience. We could say that the church's audience is everyone but that's not helpful. ... Read More
Things I Wish Church People Would Stop Doing
I love the Church. I know and believe the local church is God's plan. One of the analogies used to describe the church is household. A family is also another appropriate way to describe the church. And, as with any family, you (should) love your family even with its dose of crazy. Every family has its weird aunt, uncle, sibling, and share of its dad jokes. Growing up in the church might have also allowed me to have a weird unique perspective on stuff. Every now and then, like we all do, we ... Read More