What does your newsletter really communicate about your ministry? What impression does it leave? I recently invited churches around the country to send me samples of their newsletters. They responded with an assortment of newsletters–printed, emailed, and web-based–from all kinds of churches. I found some good examples, some bad examples, and some ugly examples. Here’s [...]
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Those Who Find Fault with Your Innocence
February 29, 2012
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“Christians are a bunch of judgmental witch hunters. They find a way to vilify anything that anybody enjoys.” Increasingly, that’s the reputation attached to Christian folk. And, sadly, some church leaders and teachers go out of their way to promote their holier-than-thou judgmentalism. As a publisher of Christian resources, I frequently hear from squinty-eyed conspiracy [...]
Read more 6 Keys to Power Up Your Message With Video
January 26, 2012
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You can move—or distract—your audience with video. The motion picture can help you drive home a point, or drive aimlessly into oblivion. I’ve seen churches make good use of video, and not so good use. I’ve watched the searing story of a faith-filled church member who was dying from a terminal illness. And I’ve sat [...]
Read more Odd Things Christians Say
November 30, 2011
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Peculiar people. The apostle Peter used that term to address his people. After a couple thousand years, I guess we’re still peculiar. But I’m just not convinced that everything we do to differentiate ourselves from the rest of society really helps the cause. Some of our peculiarity comes from the jargon we love to use [...]
Read more How to Waken Comatose Listeners
October 26, 2011
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The 30-minute lecture (a.k.a. sermon) anesthetizes the audience every week. As I reported in my last post, most people remember very little of the typical sermon after a few days. Few show any life change as a result of the oratory. Yet preachers keep following the same old protocol week after week. A pastor friend [...]
Read more Your Last Sermon: Memorable or Forgettable?
October 19, 2011
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What was the point of the last sermon you heard? Over the years, I’ve interviewed church-goers on Wednesdays. I asked them what they remember from the previous weekend’s sermons. Their answers are pretty similar. I’ve seen little difference in their responses due to parishioner demographics, or church size. You can see what they said. Watch this brief [...]
Read more Are You Deep Enough?
August 17, 2011
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“Your ministry (teaching, preaching, Bible studies, curriculum, small group, etc.) isn’t deep enough.” It’s a critique I hear from time to time. Not usually from participants. But from onlooking ministry leaders. I’ve wondered, what do they mean by “deep”? When I’ve probed, “deep” seems to mean dense information, lots of historical detail, many Bible verses, [...]
Read more Church Fugitives: In Their Own Words
August 10, 2011
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This week in America, most people won’t step foot in a church. What are they thinking? I mean, really. What are they thinking? Where are they and why aren’t they in church? I’ve heard a lot of church leaders and members opine about these people and try to speak on their behalf. Then it dawned [...]
Read more Why Your Church Fights Change
August 3, 2011
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For years people have told me the church is one of the most change-averse entities on the planet. Ministry people sometimes leave in frustration when their congregations beat down any proposed change. And lay people often flee from churches when they tire of the pastoral staff’s intransigence. It doesn’t seem to matter if the change [...]
Read moreThe Creativity Creed
July 27, 2011
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I love creativity. And today’s church needs all the creativity we can muster. But for some, creativity has become a frilly idol. It has degenerated into a form of exhibitionism, elitism and cosmetic distraction. Ministry celebrities promote their creative philosophies and practices in conferences, books and speeches. “The church should be the most creative entity [...]
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Why Church Doesn’t Fit Most People
- Anti-Missional Language
- Sermon Fill-in-the-Blanks are ____________.
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What to Say to Your Local Heathens
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6 Keys to Power Up Your Message With Video
