As we begin Christmas week, I invite you to watch a short video: The Digital Story of the Nativity. My thanks to the folks at ExCentric for creating the video and Andy Sahl, who blogs at Unpackthis.com, for bringing it to my attention. It was posted one week ago and already has been viewed over 2 million times. So What? How do you leverage the power of new media to help you tell biblical stories in fresh ways that allow people to hear something familiar as if for the first time? Read More …
Trends
Rethinking Spiritual Formation (#0216)
Ben Witherington is the Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Considered by many to be a leading New Testament scholar, Witherington has written over thirty books and six commentaries. For more information, view his faculty profile page or read his blog. Recently he listed his concerns with contemporary views of spiritual formation: Monastic models of piety frankly don't Read More …
How Does Your Web Ministry Measure Up? (#0215)
United Methodist Communications provides the following list of the "Top 10 Practices for Web Ministry" Develop a Web ministry team Know your target audience groups and develop ways to reach them Design seeker-specific experiences through your church’s Web presence, and enlist church members to meet seekers when the online experience leads to offline participation Use a consistent brand image for your church’s online and offline presence Employ the user-centered design process for your Read More …
The Limits of Social Media for Ministry (#0214)
Maurilio Amorim is CEO of The A Group, a media, technology and branding firm in Brentwood, TN that consults with some of the country’s largest ministries, leading churches, and Christian publishers. Founded in 2001, The A Group has transitioned from a traditional marketing agency into a marketing technology and branding firm, leveraging social media and mobile technologies. To connect with Amorim, friend him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter, or read his blog. Amorim recently Read More …
The Church of 2010 (#0213)
The Barna Group just released a list of six megathemes that characterize the American church in 2010. The list was created by "analyzing insights drawn from more than 5,000 non-proprietary interviews conducted over the past 11 months." The Christian Church is becoming less theologically literate. Christians are becoming more ingrown and less outreach-oriented. Growing numbers of people are less interested in spiritual principles and more desirous of learning pragmatic solutions for Read More …
The End of the Christmas War (#0212)
James Martin is a Jesuit priest, the culture editor of America magazine, and author of numerous books, including The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life (2010). In his recent article, "The War on Christmas is Over . . . and Christmas Lost," Martin suggests that "in public discourse the holiday has been distanced from the holy day." He argues that Christians have been losing for a long time and that this is the year he is willing to declare that Read More …
The Top 3 Books on Leadership (#0211)
Slant33.com, a website designed to "help challenge, inspire and equip youth workers through thoughtful dialogue and varied expression from youth ministry’s leading thinkers and doers," recently asked three of its contributors to answer an important question about leadership: "What three books do you recommend on leadership development?" Danny Qwon, a youth minister for almost twenty years and a current Ph.D. student in organizational leadership, recommended one book designed with youth Read More …
The Gap Between Saying and Going: A Church Attendance Reality Check (#0208)
How many Americans attend church regularly (two or three times a month or more)? Extensive research suggests that the number who say they do so is between 35 and 45% of the adult population. Interestingly, new research by Phillip S. Brenner suggests that there is a significant gap between what Americans claim about their church attendance and their actual attendance. Philip S. Brenner is a University of Michigan research fellow at the Institute for Social Research. Read More …
Most Pastors Don’t Identify Obama as Christian (#0206)
Almost every American with a television or access to the internet has been exposed to stories questioning the sincerity of President Barack Obama's Christian faith. According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, those indentifying President Obama as a Christian have declined from 51% in October of 2008 to 34% in August of 2010. During that same time period, those labeling him a Muslim have risen from 12% to 18%. Among those who state that President Obama is a Read More …
Leveraging Facebook – 7 Suggestions for Your Church (#0205)
Roughly half of all American congregations now have a presence on Facebook. While creating a presence is an essential first step, leveraging that presence requires effectively utilizing it and educating those who have affiliated with your page. Randy Vaughn, one of two real life twin brothers who have teamed up to create The Marketing Twins, recently blogged about how churches can effectively utilize Facebook as a part of their social media strategy. He recommends churches Read More …