September 18, 2008

Sticky Church, Close the Back Door

Earlier this summer, our friends at the Leadership Network sent us a pre-galley of Larry Osborne's latest book, Sticky Church. It comes out next month and you're going to want to get your hands on this one.

First things first, yes, Larry Osborne is a mega-church multi-site pastor. He started over 20 years ago with 128 people at North Coast Church in San Diego and today they're hovering around 7,000. But before you judge this guy as just another mega-pastor with some revolutionary model you can play along with at home, give this conversation a consideration.

The premise of Sticky Church is that we have "become so focused on reaching people that we've forgotten the importance of keeping people." If ever there was a need for this perspective within CFCC/CMS circles, this books brings it. Says Osborne, "Churches need to be stickier" and "stickier churches are healthier churches."

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September 12, 2008

Spend Less, Reach More

In Spend Less, Reach More: A Pastor's Guide to Reaching the Most People for the Least Amount of Money, David Jones takes a rare look at marketing and its costs. Plenty of books out there deal with marketing on a philosophical level or even offer somewhat practical solutions. Those are nothing compared to the details you'll get in Spend Less, Reach More.

After a run-down of marketing strategy and philosophy, David gets right to the meat. "If I have [X] people and [Y] dollars, where should I put my marketing money?"

He hits all the aspects of a marketing budget--search engine optimization, bulletins, radio commercials, television commercials and more. In 80 pages, Spend Less, Reach More minimizes fluff and gives you a primer of all you needed to know about marketing and how to set your own budget. It's a great read for anyone involved in setting your church's agenda for marketing.

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May 27, 2008

Graphic Design and Religion: A Call for Renewal

"Religions must begin to see graphic design not as an expensive luxury or an unnecessary frivolity but as a steward of goodwill. Of course, design with no strategic context or no immediate relevance may be experienced as superfluous or meaningless. But when the best plans are laid and the task at hand involves communicating, graphic design is the medium through which the resulting messages will likely take root."

I'm going to admit something; I'm not a big fan of Christian non-fiction. So when I heard I was getting a copy of Graphic Design and Religion, I wasn't that excited. Then it came in the mail. I opened the box, and it was two pounds of pure beauty. I flipped through the pages, and I couldn't wait to dive in. When I finally got the chance, I wasn't disappointed.

Author Daniel Kantor takes you from the illumination artwork of the 14th century to the modern-day world of graphic artists. His insight is magnificent, showcasing his design work with religious organizations without ever trumpeting his own knowledge or prowess. He touches everything from branding, desktop publishing and everything in between en route to arguing for the importance of the graphic designer in contemporary religion. And every page of text is accompanied by examples of great work in the theater of graphic design for religions organizations.

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April 15, 2008

Pagan Christianity

George Barna and Frank Viola are getting a lot of heat for Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices. Although I think that's fairly inevitable when you use that title; probably even what they were aiming for. Tons of reviewers have lit up the blogosphere with their opinions on the book, spoof videos have been born and Frank Viola has answered questions and objections on his own site.

Now, I'm as big a fan of the local church as the next guy, if not a bigger fan. But I'm 100% all right with the house church movement and with progressive church models. I think megachurches and modern churches have some great things going for them, but I also think that they have some glaring holes. All that is a total disclaimer of where I stand going into Pagan Christianity.

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April 3, 2008

Branding Faith

Over the last several weeks I've been working my way through Phil Cooke's latest book, Branding Faith: Why Some Churches and Nonprofits Impact Culture and Others Don't. I've known Phil virtually for several years and have collaborated on some small projects with him in the past through my role at Foursquare. Having never met in person, you can imagine our surprise last month when not only did we find ourselves sharing a flight to Dallas, but we were seated right next to each other. Crazy!

Branding Faith is a must-read for church leadership that is unfamiliar with marketing and branding. Last time I checked that covered just about every pastor on the planet so you might as well order your copy today. It's a perfect companion to Richard Reising's Church Marketing 101 so go ahead and add them both to your Amazon cart or give them as a gift to your pastor.

If you don't know Phil or if you've never heard him speak, you gotta know up front that he is a call-it-like-it-is kinda guy. In Phil's words, he "was born with a very sensitive B.S. button." I am naturally drawn to people like this although they do tend to get on my nerves sometimes. Phil both drew me in and got on my nerves a little.

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January 24, 2008

Shopping for God: Denominations and Megas

This is the fourth and final part in a series from the book by James B. Twitchell titled Shopping for God: How Christianity Went From In Your Heart To In Your Face.

In his chapter titled "Holy Franchise: Marketing Religion in a Scramble Economy," Twitchell reminds us that the mainstream denominations are in "deep trouble." He says the "majors forgot how to sell."

Just as we no longer keep the same job for a lifetime, or live in the same house as long as we used to, we also no longer are stuck in the same church we grew up in. Back in the day, "church denomination was a social marker."

"In the first part of the twentieth century, you could often 'buy' a family pew. It was yours. Your name sometimes was engraved on a little plaque. Plus, the further up front your pew, the more prestigious your social status."

In the end, says Twitchell, "consumers maintain the need for the product, but lose the bond to the brand." And when that bond to the brand is lost, the product usually ends up in generic packaging. And it's this "repackaging of spiritualism [that] is at the heart of many megachurches." "The megas are the triumph of the generic."

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January 21, 2008

Shopping for God: Great Awakenings?

This is part three in a series from the book by James B. Twitchell titled Shopping for God: How Christianity Went From In Your Heart To In Your Face.

Twitchell suggests that modern church marketing really began to take off when Mel Stewart, an Assemblies of God minister, created the J. M. Stewart Corporation, the nation's largest manufacture of church signage. More than just a roadside nameplate, these signs, with their changeable letters, "would spell out something to give the tastes, the personality, the pizzazz of the place. In so doing, [Mel Stewart] would change forever what is called in church parlance 'the last hundred feet.'"

Church signage, suggests Twitchell, would open up the fascinating subject of "how churches position themselves, how do they separate themselves from one another, and how do they break through the clutter."

Supply and Demand
Twitchell goes on to argue that while "religious consumption" has remained pretty consistent from a historical perspective, it's the delivery of it that has been "incredibly innovative." "Often what excites the market is not increased demand but shifts in supply, innovations in packaging, new lingo, new sound system, new payment schedules, new pastorprenuers. New signage."

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January 17, 2008

Shopping For God: The Spiritual Marketplace

This is part two in a series from the book by James B. Twitchell titled Shopping for God: How Christianity Went From In Your Heart To In Your Face.

Twitchell starts the book with a nice summary of what it's all about. "Essentially, this book is about how religious sensation is currently being manufactured, branded, packaged, shipped out, and consumed." He takes the first chapter and gives a sweeping overview of the "Spiritual Marketplace." His observations are viewed entirely with a consumer mentality as he looks at movies, television, radio, Internet and books. Twitchell wants his readers to see how our crave for spirituality is being met with product experiences that we purchase. Just as Madison Avenue says we drink the advertising not the beer, so Twitchell says that what we buy is the story. The product is thrown in for free.

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January 16, 2008

Shopping for God: The Book

Over the Christmas break I took a couple of days and read James B. Twitchell's latest book, Shopping for God: How Christianity Went From In Your Heart To In Your Face. A professor of English and advertising at the University of Florida, James is the author of several other gems including Lead Us Into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism and Living It Up: America's Love Affair with Luxury. The titles of his books are a good indicator of the lens Twitchell views life through. In Shopping for God, he is no less insistent on suggesting that too much of life is all about too much. "Everything in this culture goes to market," says Twitchell, "why should religion be any different?"

Continue reading "Shopping for God: The Book"

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November 29, 2007

Lessons In Not Sucking: 9 Must-Read Books

This is part nine in a series on Lessons In Not Sucking. Today I give you nine books that are must-read when it comes to not sucking. I admit, it is not a definitive guide, but you try narrowing down a list of nine. If you have your favorites--or if you disagree with mine--feel free to tell us in the comments.

1. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
2. Church Marketing 101 by Richard Reising
   Read the CMS review.
3. Purple Cow by Seth Godin
4. Mind Your X's and Y's by Lisa Johnson
   You can read my review over on Personality's site.
5. A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
   Read the CMS review.
6. Getting Real by 37signals
   We've mentioned this book here and here.
7. The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
   Read the CMS review.
8. Good To Great by Jim Collins
   Read the CMS review.
9. Thinking for a Living by Joey Reiman
   You can read my review over on Personality's site.

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August 6, 2007

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More

Wired editor Chris Anderson champions the concept of the long tail in The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More--basically the digital age has ushered in a new economy of incredible choice. Shelf space is no longer limited to the top 1,000 titles, but the top million can easily be sold at a profit. And while individual items at the end of the tail may not make much, the entire tail itself can rival the ultra-popular items at the head of the curve.

This blog is a good example of the long tail. Church marketing is a small market that barely supports its own magazines and books. But the low costs of a blog make it possible to reach that market, discover its potential and ease distribution, making it easier for magazines, books and whatever else to make it. (I'm speaking, of course, of our blog and the many others out there that cover church marketing--I'm not trying to say we defined the marketplace or anything like that)

So what does this have to do with church marketing? Good question.

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June 26, 2007

Now, Discover Your Strengths: Using Your Strengths in a Faults-Oriented World

About six months ago, I started a book with the intention of reviewing it here. Today, I finish that journey. That's not, however, a shot at the quality of the book.

In Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham enumerates his theory that it's better to spend energy maximizing your strengths than to spend energy trying to fix your weaknesses.

The Good:
The theory in and of itself is brilliant. Many of you have probably heard his example that a child comes home with his report card. He has an A in English, a B in math, an A in social studies, and a D in science. What do his parents do? They chastise or make efforts to work on his science grade.

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June 12, 2007

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)

Marketing guru Seth Godin offers a little book (seriously, it's only 76 pages) that tells you when to quit. The Dip is all about quitting what doesn't work and sticking to what does.

The idea is that if you're only mediocre at something and not getting better, spend your time on something you're the best at. Stick to it, and you can outlast the folks who won't stick to it. Thus you've ridden out the dip of the mediocre and you can be the best.

It's an idea we've talked about before of doing what works for your church (though we disagree on it). And that's about it--it's a short book, so it's a short review.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:49 AM
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May 30, 2007

The Blogging Church: Sharing the Story of Your Church Through Blogs

Brian Bailey and Terry Storch have put together a book that's near and dear to our hearts. It lays out the why and the how of church blogging. We're big fans of blogging, in case you couldn't tell (I've been at it personally since 1998). It's a natural tool for a community-based organization like the church, and its tendency for open, honest communication makes it a valuable antidote to the misconception of churches as weird, unfriendly, judgmental, hypocritical, corrupt or whatever negative adjective you've heard.

If you're looking for a new way to communicate about your church--whether you're a pastor, staff member or lay person (OK, it doesn't directly address lay people, but lay people like me can recommend it)--The Blogging Church is for you. It includes helpful interviews with pro bloggers like Robert Scoble (author of another book on blogging), Kathy Sierra and Guy Kawasaki, as well as church bloggers like Mark Batterson, Perry Noble, Craig Groeschel, Mark Driscoll and Tony Morgan--oh yeah, and us. We should probably say up front that we're interviewed in the book (page 75, in case you're wondering) and mentioned a few times as an example.

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Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:03 AM
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March 16, 2007

Design Matters: Creating Powerful Imagery for Worship

by Greg Atkinson, Guest Blogger

For anyone involved in the world of church design, marketing and branding (whether new or a seasoned pro), I'd like to recommend a book for you to check out called Design Matters: Creating Powerful Imagery for Worship by Len Wilson and Jason Moore of Midnight Oil Productions. In my class at MinistryCOM last year, I talked about "leading up" and being proactive to pass on good reads to your pastors so they can better appreciate what you do. This book is well written resource for designers, but also great for a pastor to more fully understand and appreciate design, designers and the work that goes into what you do.

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November 3, 2006

Look Mom, I’m Chasing Lions

I just finished reading one of the most refreshing books I've read in awhile. It was also one of the easiest books I've read lately. These two reasons alone should make you want to grab a copy of Mark Batterson's new gem, In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day.

Using 2 Samuel 23:20-21 as a backdrop, Batterson tells the story of an obscure guy named Benaiah, and the time he chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day. The book is so easy and exhilarating to read, I’m keeping this review brief. By the time you're done reading this you could be on page 30.

Continue reading "Look Mom, I’m Chasing Lions"

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August 30, 2006

Good to Great

Can a good company become a great company? And if so, how? That's the premise of Jim Collins' Good to Great, and he answers that question with five years worth of research. He looked at companies that were doing good for a while (at least 15 years) and then something changed and they did great for a while (at least 15 more years). He rigorously studied those companies and distilled a few common lessons that can be applied to any organization.

And if it all sounds a little too business oriented, then you should check out the mini-sequel, Good to Great and the Social Sectors. The lesson there is that all the same lessons apply to non-profits (including churches) because they are lessons in how to be great, not lessons in how to do business.

Continue reading "Good to Great"

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July 8, 2006

On Earth As It Is In Advertising

Sam Van Eman reminds us why so many people agree that church marketing sucks in his book On Earth As It Is In Advertising: Moving from Commercial Hype to Gospel Hope. Namely that advertising specifically and marketing in general have so often been used to twist and distort reality and pull us farther away from the Gospel. Of course on this site we make the claim that what sucks is bad marketing, which is what Van Eman describes, but that there is room and much need for authentic marketing. Van Eman is a little more ambiguous on that point.

Most of the book is spent convincing the reader that advertising is all about promoting what the author calls the Sim Gospel. It's essentially a cheap, watered down, distorted version of the true Gospel. It's the feeling that we need a new car and new clothes and whatever else they're hocking to make us complete. It's the consumer mindset gone overboard.

And to a point Van Eman is right. We are assaulted with so many messages and sales pitches that we need to step back and filter out the messages. But he doesn't take the application far enough or deep enough.

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Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:23 AM
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June 13, 2006

The Purpose-Driven Church

I've had The Purpose-Driven Church sitting on my shelf for almost two years. It's one of those books that you should eventually read for a site like this, but I never had the motivation. I mean, it's Rick Warren. It's a bestseller. It's the forerunner to an even bigger bestseller. I could just see myself groaning at the lowest common denominator approach.

But that's a rather pessimistic view, so I decided I better read the book. After all, despite the critics, Saddleback has to be doing something right. What I found is some interesting Saddleback history:

• They've met in 79 different facilities in the first 15 years.
• Their massive size didn't come by leaching from other churches. 80% of their members came to Christ and were baptized at Saddleback. (Admittedly the book was written in 1995, so who knows how that number has changed)
• They used a lot of advertising at first, but now with thousands of members and word of mouth, advertising is unnecessary.

Rick Warren has some interesting ideas and approaches, and while it's not perfect, it's worth taking a look at.

Continue reading "The Purpose-Driven Church"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:41 PM
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June 5, 2006

Stories of Emergence

You've probably heard about the emergent church movement. It's a collective of ideas that loosely fall under the postmodern label and draw nods or scowls, depending on the crowd (Brian McLaren? nod. Chuck Colson? Scowl.) Stories of Emergence is a collection of first-person accounts of exploring postmodernism and new ways of doing church.

Whether or not you jump on the emergent train and no matter how you feel about postmodernism, this book offers ideas and perspectives worth considering.

I love hearing church stories. I like hearing about how church works and the different ways it happens. Sometimes church doesn't work, but grace pervades. That's what Stories of Emergence offers.

Continue reading "Stories of Emergence"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:08 AM
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May 29, 2006

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith

"The thought of the word church and the word marketing in the same sentence makes me sick."

That's from page 99 of Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith. So you can see why I had to finally read the book. Of course the last time we talked about Rob Bell and Velvet Elvis we got 26 heated comments, mostly either attacking or defending Rob Bell and his church. Let's be a little more civil this time around, eh?

Rob Bell founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Mich. while in his 20s and the church exploded, bringing in over 1,000 people the first day. All of that without any "marketing" as Bell would say, because it makes him sick. But we'll get to the marketing. Bell also teaches in the Nooma series of short films that can be used in church services or small groups. You could also describe Bell with that hard to define, catch-all emergent label—so you can take that however you like.

Continue reading "Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:07 AM
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May 22, 2006

The Multi-Site Church Revolution

The brick and mortar church building on the corner is not a concept you'll find in the Bible—and the concept's days may be numbered. Or at least no longer ubiquitous. The physical church building has more than a few limitations, including interior space, room for exterior expansion, financial burdens, and the backwards idea of church as a physical building instead of a spiritual community.

Enter the multi-site revolution, which threatens to redefine how we think about church and church buildings. The Multi-Site Church Revolution: Being One Church... In Many Locations by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon and Warren Bird lays out the vision for multi-site churches and the practical reality of how to make them happen.

Continue reading "The Multi-Site Church Revolution"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:52 AM
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May 16, 2006

A Whole New Mind

by Mike Atkinson, Guest Blogger

If you're reading CMS, you're proving your interest in how your church can impact your community--and probably also how culture is impacting your church.

With that in mind, I highly recommend reading a book that made waves across the business, sociological, and Internet spheres last year. A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age by Daniel Pink (that's the hardcover, the paperback has a new subtitle, Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, and some new material). No other business book has had a more intense impact on me since Good to Great.

I found out about this book from one of the tech blogs I read. When I looked into it, I saw high praise for it from the likes of Tom Peters and Seth Godin and immediately went to Amazon and picked it up. It's also received rave reviews since its release.

So, you may ask, "Mike, why are you recommending this book here at CMS, since it looks like just another business book?"

Glad you asked.

It is more than a business book. It unveils a significant shift happening in business--and society as a whole--that will affect you and your ministry in the near future. I bet it already has.

Continue reading "A Whole New Mind"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 5:48 PM
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May 12, 2006

Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell

Does your church hug your visitors? Well, not actually physically hug your visitors—that's fraught with touch-feely vibes and is going way too far over that safe church line—but does your church do the equivalent of hugging a visitor by making their day? Jack Mitchell, CEO of the high-end clothing retailer Mitchells/Richards, pushes this customer-first philosophy in his book Hug Your Customers.

For Mitchell it's all about giving his customers the equivalent of a hug by going out of his way to serve them. It's not about good customer service—it's about amazing customer service. The standard faire doesn't cut it. The standard customer service doesn't get talked about and won't bring people back.

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Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:00 AM
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February 25, 2006

Naked Conversations

When Robert Scoble and Shel Israel sat down to write a book on blogging, they started with a blog. They posted chapters of the book online as they wrote them in order to get feedback and refine their work. They had a continuing conversation with the blogosphere about the blogosphere, and the results are a pretty well rounded book on blogging, Naked Conversations: How blogs are Changing the way Businesses Talk with Customers.

'Well rounded' meaning they cover lots of different perspectives on blogging and have lots of real world examples. They're basically in love with blogging. It's not until page 133 when they say something negative about blogging, and then it's three pages of talking about how mobsters, FBI agents and Enron executives probably shouldn't blog. You think?

But their basic premise that in today's Web 2.0, content-by-the-people world, marketing has to be an authentic conversation and blogs are the best way to do that is right on. And this is where the church needs to pay attention. A spiritual journey is all about conversations, so what better marketing tool could the church turn to then one that promotes conversation?

Continue reading "Naked Conversations"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:25 AM
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January 27, 2006

Church Marketing 101

OK, let's get it out of the way:

Worst. Title. Ever.

But we'll forgive Richard Reising for calling his book Church Marketing 101: Preparing Your Church for Greater Growth, because despite the name, it is doing foundational work. The book covers the basics of marketing and why churches should care. It's the handbook many of us will want to give as gifts to less-than-eager pastors.

Reising, the founder and president of church marketing firm Artistry Marketing, lays a good foundation. Let's take a look at some of the lessons:

Continue reading "Church Marketing 101"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 1:31 PM
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The Big Moo

So what's the big fuss with The Big Moo? It's the marketing strategy of being remarkable. Come up with something so great that it does the work for you. The book is edited by marketing guru Seth Godin, so it's in the cast of similar books like Purple Cow, though this one is written by 33 different business experts.

As a cool aside, those experts did something remarkable of their own. All the royalties for the book go to charity, so nobody's getting rich. But more than that, none of the chapters are credited, so nobody's getting a big head. The writing style is consistent chapter to chapter, to the point that you'd never guess a different person wrote each chapter (with a few exceptions: no editor can hide Tom Peters' signature style).

So what's in it for the church? Being remarkable. We have a remarkable message, but that doesn't mean it always comes across as remarkable. This book offers some outside the box methods to present the message of the church in more remarkable terms.

Continue reading "The Big Moo"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:32 PM
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January 12, 2006

Simply Strategic Growth

Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan are on staff at Granger Community Church in Granger, Ind. Neither of them are nationally known, top 10 writers or speakers (yet)—they're just two guys who work at a church and have learned what works and what doesn't. It's simple, it's strategic and it will help your church grow.

Simply Strategic Growth: Attracting a Crowd to Your Church is comprised of 99 short chapters (2-3 pages) each focused on one simple idea. That means it's a breeze to read through, is packed with ideas, and is very approachable for the ADD crowd (and with the proliferation of blogs and short content I think we're all joining that club).

Continue reading "Simply Strategic Growth"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:33 AM
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March 29, 2005

Blue Like Jazz: Inadvertent Lessons for Church Marketing

I read Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz this week and a few things stuck out at me. It's not a marketing book, but it does have a perspective that can teach us a few things about marketing. The most important is how we as the church should be loving people.

Miller has two examples that really spell this out:

1) What's Not Working
Miller spends a chapter talking about what he doesn't like about church and why he loves his current church.

Here are the things I didn't like about the churches I went to. First: I felt like people were trying to sell me Jesus. I was a salesman for a while, and we were taught that you are supposed to point out all the benefits of a product when you are selling it. That is how I felt about some of the preachers I heard speak. They were always pointing out the benefits of Christian faith. That rubbed me wrong. It's not that there aren't benefits, there are, but did they have to talk about spirituality like it's a vacuum cleaner. I never felt like Jesus was a product. I wanted Him to be a person. Not only that, but they were always pointing out how great the specific church was. The bulletin read like a brochure for Amway. They were always saying how life-changing some conference was going to be. Life-changing? What does that mean? It sounded very suspicious. I wish they would just tell it to me straight rather than trying to sell me on everything. I felt like I got bombarded with commercials all week and then went to church and got even more. (page 131)

He goes on to talk about churches that tow a political party line and the ever-present war metaphor that lets us forget about loving people. The important thing here is that the Christian message is about love. If people aren't getting that in our churches, if they're distracted by our language or our politics, then something's not working.

Continue reading "Blue Like Jazz: Inadvertent Lessons for Church Marketing"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:26 PM
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March 23, 2005

Blog by Hugh Hewitt