The [Seemingly] Least Creative Thing About Church Communications

What happens behind the scenes in church offices - the unglamorous administrivial number-crunching that most pastors abhor - does not seem to be a creative communication topic.  The one place you don't want a church to be creative is in its accounting.  However, a book I am reading, William Hoyt's Effectiveness by the Numbers: Counting What Counts in the Church [http://amzn.to/YoOxe9], offers a creative way to think about what missional churches count, and suggests creative ways to start counting those things.  

For example, developing next generation leaders is essential for the church, but how do you create a system for leader development, and how do you measure the effectiveness of that system?  Don't numbers have to be involved?  

Attendance is a number that many argue does not define the impact a church has on its community.  Hoyt states that attendance does not measure importance or success, but it does measure influence, trends, and outward focus.  The more people you communicate the gospel to, the better chance it will be heard by some.  Attendance going up means new people are coming to church.  New people coming to church means the church has a focus on those who aren't there, not just those who are.

Attendance is not the most important number we measure as a church.  But it does matter.  If no one is showing up, then the topic of this blog (Creative Communication in the Church, in case you didn't get it from the overly-long and not very creative title) is unnecessary.  Without people in attendance, we're just talking to ourselves.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.  They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily  those who were being saved.

Only One You

What you are writing may have been written before,
but never by your hand.

What you will speak may have been stated before,
but never in your voice.

When you communicate, consider your audience,
consider your topic, but do not forget to consider your self.  

There is only one you, and no one else can communicate what God has given you to say.

"David stepped forward to fight Goliath, the Philistine challenger.  Saul offered him his own armor to give him courage, but no sooner had David put it on than he cast it off again, saying that he could not make use of his own strength with another's armor.  He wanted to face the enemy with his own slingshot and knife.  In short, the arms of another will either fall off your back, weigh you down, or hamper you."

                                                                Niccolo Machiavelli, 1532.

The Communication Marathon: The Big Finish

I think it was around the eighth mile of my marathon that a man started jogging along side me and asked me if I liked my shoes.  I told him that I did, and he told me that he thought his were too small.  He had bought them the day before the marathon and they weren't broken in yet.  I told him that I had been advised to train in my shoes for at least a month.  He thought that was pretty good advice.

He then asked me how many miles I had trained.  I told him that I spent six months building up from two miles to 20.  The week before I had completed one 20 and two 16 mile sessions.  He said that was a good idea, too.  His longest run prior to the marathon was six miles.

When communicating, have you ever felt that you were coming up short?  You know, that feeling that you should have learned more or practiced more?  It can be painful (and not just for you, but for the other participants as well).  So, how does one train for communication?

The communication marathon requires dedicated listening.

The way we train for communication is by listening.  First, of course, we should be listening to God.  Through Scripture, and through prayer and solitude, we are learning what to say by learning what God is saying.  Second, we should be listening to other people.  Listen in conversation and in brainstorming; listen to sermons and lectures (TEDtalks are great - here's one).  The third way to listen is by reading.  It's important that communicators read.  (What comes out of you reflects what goes into you.)  

As a doctoral student, I have been reading about organizational leadership for two solid years.  I am training for comprehensive exams in November, and for my dissertation after that.  I am prepared to communicate about organizational leadership because I've been running in organizational leadership shoes and practicing organizational leadership concepts.  I've listened to lectures and had conversations.  I know what other people think about it, which has helped me form what I think about it, and I can articulate and debate it.  

That's my training, but I'd love to know about yours.  What are you doing to communicate in your context?  What are you watching and what are you reading?  

The Communication Marathon, Part IV of V

I watched Olympic track events this summer, and the ones I watched the most were the shortest ones.  The greatest thing about sprints is that there is a winner seconds after the gun goes off.  The network only shows highlights from the marathon, because no one will sit and watch an entire marathon on television.  Watching an endurance race, you are dependent upon someone else to tell you where the runners are and show you how it all comes out in the end.

It is different for the runner.  The person in the race knows where they are, how they are doing in comparison to their pace, and how much farther they have to go.  They have mile markers to show them how far they've gone and a course map and arrows to show them where they are going.  When I completed my marathon, I always knew where I was.  The implication for communications:

Know where you are going and
how you plan to get there.

My husband was there to cheer me on.  He had the course map and my estimated times.  He showed up at certain checkpoints and waited to cheer for me.  I was at the first few checkpoints early.  I almost didn't make it to the next-to-last checkpoint.  He walked a mile downhill and waited for me, then walked up the hill with me, encouraging me all the way.  He was there at the finish line an hour after he thought I'd get there, weary from waiting but glad to see me finish.

Did I just describe your communication?  Do you know where you have been and where you are going?  Do you know the main points in between?  Have you shared that with your audience?  Are you making them work to keep up with you?  Are they sticking with you to the end, perhaps glad you finally got through it? 

Let the audience know where you are going
and how you plan to get there, and then stick to that plan.

The audience used to watching 15 second commercials and reading 140 character tweets is going to be challenged by a 30-minute sermon or 50-minute lecture.  If you break it up into shorter segments, moving from point to point and highlighting the major milestones, you make it easier for them to stay connected until the end.

The Communication Marathon, Part III

In my last blog post, I teased you with a story I promised to share with you from the motivational speaker before our marathon.  Here it is:

John told us about the importance of finishing strong.  He reminded us that we would be photographed crossing the finish line, and so we should smile through the pain and run it in.  Everyone he has coached has received the same advice.  One marathon, at the 26 mile mark, he called out to his group: "Don't forget to run it in - look good for the picture!"  One woman nodded to him, unzipped her fanny pack, took out a tube of red lipstick and small mirror.  Never in a million years would John have thought to counsel against this, not being one to wear lipstick.  The challenge with applying lipstick at the 26 mile mark is that your motor control is waning around the 20 mile mark, and by 23 your hand-eye coordination is completely gone.  At 26, any available brain capacity that manages physical coordination is focused on keeping your feet going to the finish line.  This woman's shaky hand reached up to her sweaty face and red lipstick went from cheek to cheek, lip to chin.  Her marathon finish picture looked like The Joker.

I remembered this great advice, and did not bring lipstick with me to the marathon.  But I remembered it beyond the marathon experience as a lesson in communications:

Consider the implications.

I realize that you cannot be responsible for everything your audience thinks while you are communicating, but it does not take a lot of extra effort to think through a few of the implications of what you say and write.  Sometimes, it is just helpful to bounce your ideas off of people who are different than you - lipstick-wearers, for example. 

When planning communications, consider the implications of what you are saying to people who don't speak Christianese.  Consider the implications of an older person, a younger person, a person from a different culture, hearing what you are communicating and interpreting it into their world.  To John, "for the picture" means looking strong - to her, it meant looking pretty.  Now, John uses that visual illustration to teach an important lesson about the physicality of the race...something I'll share in my next posting.

The Communication Marathon, Part II

In my last post, I mentioned that the motivational speaker the night before the Country Music marathon in Nashville gave us some incredible advice that translates well into church communications.

After asking, "Who here expects to win tomorrow?" (Part I), and encouraging us to run our own race,  John "The Penguin" Bingham told us an incredibly hilarious story about a woman finishing a race, but you have to wait for the next installment to hear that story.  It will be worth coming back for, trust me.

John coaches runners and runs the race with them.  For people like me who are far behind his pace, he stays at the finish line and runs in with them - every one of them.  He was there six hours after I started my race, running in the last few steps with me.  I was dragging my right leg behind me, having pulled my glute at about the 16 mile mark.  John called out, "Run it in!"  I replied, almost in tears, "I can't!" John said simply, "For the picture!"  I summoned all of the strength I had left, faked a smile, and lifted my knees just enough to make it appear that I was running as I crossed the finish line.

There is so much leadership advice wrapped up in his act of encouraging each finisher right to the end, but here's the communication advice:

Figure out what matters to your audience.

At this point in the race, telling me to go faster because it would improve my time would not be motivational.  I left my hopes for finishing in 5 1/2 hours at the 16 mile mark.  John didn't say run it in for the win or for the crowd.  He told me to run it in for the picture.  This is the picture that would be posted on the internet for everyone to see, and you don't want a picture of yourself dragging your lame leg across the line.  Everything in my body wanted to collapse, but instead I ran.  For the picture.

What are you doing to figure out what matters to your audience?

The Communication Marathon, Part I

In a series of posts, I am going to discuss why communication is like a marathon.  Currently, the only physical indicator that I have ever completed a marathon is the 26.2 sticker on the back of my Corolla, but back in 2006, I did indeed finish a marathon. Here is my less than impressive proof:

If you follow the Olympics, you know that the winner of the women's marathon finished in 2:23.  My half marathon time was more than that. But John "The Penguin" Bingham, the speaker at our motivational dinner the night before our marathon, gave us some incredible advice that translates well into church communications.

The first question John asked us was, "Who here expects to win tomorrow?"
No one raised their hand.  His response was, "Then what's your hurry?  Everyone who comes in between 2nd and last place gets the same prize.  Your medal will look the same whether you finish in three hours or six."
(Contrary to the sage advice of Reese Bobby, "If you ain't first, you're last," you can be second, third, fourth, even fifth.  Same medal.)

In church communication, we often compare ourselves to other churches and other pastors.  I don't preach like Kevin Myers, write like Mark Wilson, or rap like Troy Evans' crew, and you probably don't, either.  But here's the thing: we are supposed to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us," not the race marked out for them.  It would be ridiculous for me to try to rap people into the kingdom (although I do provide excellent background vocals for Lecrae on my car stereo) or to attempt to mimic Kevin Myers' preaching (although he says y'all more than I do these days).  God has called you and your church to run the race marked out for you.  He has placed you at your post and given you your pace.  The finish line is the same for everyone - "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith" - but not everyone is to run it identically. 

Run your own race.

How has God designed you to run the race in your context?

A Peach of a Post

It would seem to me the main differences between communicating via twitter, facebook, blog, printed collateral, video, or sermon are the immediacy of the thought and the longevity of the message. 

We often have fleeting thoughts that we would like to share with others.  This morning I had a peach so juicy I had to eat it over the sink.  That represents those moments we like to share with others immediately.  This Scripture, thought, event is so dripping with depth, happiness, excitement that I must share it now.  We don't expect these moments to last forever.  We send them out via twitter or facebook, knowing that they will move ever lower on our friends' newsfeed and finally disappear into "older posts" to quietly die. 

Our blogs, we hope, will be a bit deeper and last a bit longer.  Sometimes we resuscitate older posts and remind people that what we said had some timelessness to it.  One of mine that seems to get some new life every once in a while is "On Minions and Semantic Noises," perhaps because of the odd title, but hopefully because there is some lasting truth in it.

The videos and printed materials we create in our churches often call for an immediate response and can be shared similarly to a status update.  Often, however, video and print last longer than tweets and posts.  They aren't a peach that needs to be consumed immediately.  They have a longer shelf life.  The amount of thought that goes into this form of communication should be equal to the length of time you forsee using the collateral and the long-term impact you hope it will make.

How long do you expect your sermon to last?  Will it be downloaded from the internet years from now?  Will the notes be tucked into someone's Bible and referenced in another place and time?  Does it even transcend time and translate into someone's eternity?

How much time goes into your communications?  Do you devote more or less time to various modes depending on their shelf life?



  

A Borrowed Post

Katie Strandland has written an excellent post about Rembrandt's ability to not just tell the facts, but tell the story.  Great advice for any church communicator.
http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/2012/06/church-communication-heroes-rembrandt/


Katie's website is www.cautiouscreative.com.  She is a twenty-something blogger with a different perspective.

Fill in the Blank

In 2001, on a support staff application for Crossroads Community Church, there was this question:  List the position(s) for which you feel most qualified: ________________.

I entered "Senior Pastor."

As an HR manager at the time, I just wondered if anyone ever read applications at the church and wrote that as a joke.  The senior pastor was Kevin Myers.  CCC became 12Stone 6 years later, now the largest church in our denomination and one of the fastest growing churches in America for several years (according to Outreach Magazine).

I was on staff at 12Stone (aka Crossroads) those six years, during which time I was called to vocational ministry, obtained my MMin, and was licensed (and later ordained).  Who knew that joke would turn into a prophesy (not that PK is in danger of losing his job to me, but prophetic as to pastoring)?

We should be writing down the position we want in the future.  We should figure out what steps it will take to get there, and we should assess our progress.

But even more than that, we should be writing those names down of individuals whom we would choose to replace us.  For example, I know one District Superintendent who has a dozen names written down of people who could replace him.  Until he retires, those names get put into the hat for roles that will develop those individuals so that they will be ready when the DS role is available, even if not in their own district.

What are you writing in the blank of your future role, and who are you developing to fill your current role?  What expectations are you communicating to those people through how you fulfill your role and how you talk about your role?  (Would anyone want your job in the future based on how you communicate it now?)  Finding and developing the person who will take your place requires creative communication.  Remembering that communication includes listening, how are you listening for passions, skills, and availability?  For example, when someone is excited about something that you get to do in your current role, do you make a note about that person's passion?  

What role are you writing in the blank "List the position(s) for which you feel most qualified: ________________," and who is writing your role in their blank?

(This posting was inspired by Shawn Hipps' resignation from Mars Hill Bible Church after taking Rob Bell's place earlier this year, which I first read about on David Drury's blog here, and after writing this, I read Paul Tillman's blog about it here.)

Man's (second) Best Friend

I read a lot.  Not because I enjoy reading.  I'm personally still waiting for them to make all of the literary classics into full-length feature films.  I'd buy a ticket to Dostoyevsky's Idiot starring Mark Wahlberg or a Pixar version of Love in the Time of Cholera, voiced by Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz.  I like my fiction on the big screen. 


I read because I am a student.  And when it comes to acquiring knowledge, nothing beats a book.  In less than 200 pages, you can read research that took thirty years to develop.  There is so much great information packed into a good book.  If you could change one thing about how you think, feel, or behave based on a truth you found in each book you read, think of who you would be after 50 books.  Fifty times wiser in 50 small things adds up to a much, much wiser you.


Since this is a blog about creative communication, you might expect me to suggest books on creativity to get you started.  But the thing is, the act of reading, reflecting on what you have read, and then changing is one of the most creative things you can do.  And, you get the benefit of hearing other people's perspectives, which enhances your creativity.  


Here's the book that has 30 years of research packed into less than 200 pages: The Truth About Leadership: The No-Fads, Heart-of-the-Matter Facts You Need To Know by James M. Kouzes and Barry Pozner (2010).  Kouzes and Pozner are well respected in the field of organizational leadership, and they have written numerous academic articles about their research.  This book is easy to read and full of practical advice about improving your leadership.  In the past few months, I have had an experience to which I have been able to apply their advice that failure is "one of the best teachers you can have."  This is a new belief that I have added to my leadership wisdom.


What book have you read lately, and what has it added to your creativity and wisdom? 


“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.

  Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” —Groucho Marx

Inductive Creative Communication

In Inductive Bible Study, we learn to read the verse, then read the pericope (the section that gives the verse context), then read the sections immediately preceding and following the pericope, then the chapter, and then do the reverse back down to the verse again. Have you ever thought of doing this same thing with your creative communication, but through the lens of people's lives? In other words, look at the teaching point you are going to use as your main text, and then think about that text in context of a person's personal relationship with Christ, then in the context of their relationships with their immediate family and friends, then in the context of their marketplace relationships, then to the global community, then reverse it back to the text of your communication. Thinking about your listeners' context will make your communication relevant. 

Just as in Inductive Bible Study, we sometimes have to use outside help to better understand the context.  What do you know about the context of your listeners/readers, and how can you develop a better understanding of it?

Pastors: Be Encouraged!

This blog post is dedicated to pastors and church staff who creatively communicated the Gospel this weekend and may be feeling a bit drained this morning.

Mailers, flyers, cards, and tweets went out to draw people to Easter Sunday services.  A lot of creativity went into producing services that conveyed the joyous resurrection of Jesus Christ and the wonderful gift of salvation that He brings.  Churches will follow up with people who raised their hands, checked a box, stood up, or bowed their heads. 

Whether you had thousands or are still waiting on the one, the thing that matters most isn't how creative your marketing collateral or relevant your message or quick your follow-up.  On this day after Resurrection Sunday, can you say this?

I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart;
    I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power.
I have told everyone in the great assembly
    of your unfailing love and faithfulness. Psalm 40:10 (NLT)

Because really, when it comes down to it, God just asks us to tell others about Him.  It helps others to receive the message if we are creative, relevant, and persevering, but God has called us to talk about His faithfulness and saving power, to tell everyone that gathers about his unfailing love and faithfulness.  If you didn't keep the good news of his justice hidden in your heart, but declared it yesterday, God is pleased with you.  It's your job to tell everyone.  It's God's job to produce fruit.

It is the same with my word.
    I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
    and it will prosper everywhere I send it. Isaiah 55:11 (NLT)

Be Creative For God's Sake

We incorporate stage design, props, and lighting to create impressive worship environments.  Every series is branded with new graphics, logos, and lingo every four weeks.  We find creative ways to update traditional church terms.  We sing contemporary music.  The church is using a lot of theatrical and marketing tools to attract and retain church-goers.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.  At the churches where I've been on staff, my job has revolved around these forms of communication.  The challenge to the church is when we are being creative for creativity's sake.  This causes the message to get lost in the method.  We don't need to throw out the methods; we need to be more strategic in their use.

I read an article recently that said people are used to being entertained, and so the church needs to be more entertaining.  I disagree.  Story-telling, stage-design, lighting, language, and music are the method.  The Message is the message.  The question every church communicator needs to ask before embarking on any creative journey is, "How can we convey the Good News of Christ to a lost dying unsaved non-religious unchurched post-Christian postmodern not-yet-Christian world?"  The method then flows out of the message.

The answers are, "In my community, people would respond best to ____________."  And then figure out, of all the possible fill-in-the-blank answers, which ones your church could do within your budget and with real impact.  If that doesn't include set decoration, then don't do it just because every megachurch creates a new worship environment every four weeks.  Because creativity for creativity's sake is a wasted opportunity to spend time strategically considering how you can be creative for God's sake.

Hi, I'm Esek, and You Are...?

A lot of people are naming their children after Old Testament characters and place names these days.  (If they are pastors' children, they are named alliteratively: Judah, Jeremiah, Josiah, etc.  Hopefully they run out of children before they get to Jehoshaphat...but I digress.)  Today I read about Isaac digging wells and then getting into disagreements about who owns them, and he named one well Esek, which means argument.

I paused at that verse and read it again, thankful that this was not the trend when I was born, because this may have been the name my mother would have picked for me.  I prefer to say I engage in friendly, enlightening debates, but honestly, I argue. 

My communication style reflects my personality.  I argue with myself over what should or should not be included.  When communicating, I present my case in an attempt to win people over.  I'm an Esek.

Others are emotional, weaving a sad tale that tugs on the heart strings and generate empathy and introspection.  They're communicating as Jeremiahs.
There are some who use hyperbole, making big statements about little things, and communicate in a way that causes a decision for action.  They're Esaus.

Think about your primary communication style.  It can be a strength to understand how you communicate best and to lean into that.  But also remember that based on your topic and audience, it could be a weakness.  If I want people to feel something, I can't argue facts.  I need to find my inner Jeremiah and lament about the topic.  If I want people to not just change their minds, but to do something, I must tap into the Esau in me.  My best communication effort makes use of all three - facts, emotion, and action.

Do you tend to engage in communication as an Esek, Jeremiah, or Esau?  How can you incorporate other styles into your communication?

Priorities

Work     School     Marriage     Family     Friends     Church     Hobbies

In what order would you put these?  When was the last time you thought about what is the most important to you, and refocused on those things? 

When was the last time you thought about what was the most important thing to the people with whom you are communicating?  How can you refocus on those things?