Welcome to Washington, D.C., the snow capital of the country. In the past month and a half, we've had two major snowstorms of over 20 inches (affectionately named "Snowpocalypse" and "Snowmageddon," respectively). Plus a smaller storm of about eight inches. For a city where it is unusual to get more than three inches of snow, having three storms of that magnitude has been unprecedented. What's more, they have all happened just in time to wreak havoc with our weekend services here at McLean Bible Church. So since Dec. 19 we've had to cancel our services three times.

However, each time we've had to cancel we've still been able to run our Internet Campus. On a normal weekend we normally have about 3,000 people attend services online, but during each of these three snowed-out weekends we've seen almost double that. We also added the Saturday night service, which we normally do not broadcast.

So how do you best communicate in a mini-crisis, like an enormous snowstorm?

We've learned a few things this winter:

From a communications standpoint, we established a set of procedures and responsibilities for when we are forced to cancel services. Each person also has a backup who can step in and fulfill their duties. So from the time services are canceled we can have all of our communication in motion within a half hour or so. Having these procedures also help us to make sure that no one is repeating work someone has already done.

2. Let your congregation know in advance what the plan is.

After the winter we’ve had, our congregation is getting used to the procedures for announcing closings, but it's still a good idea to let people know in advance how they can find out if church is closed. In our case we've used bulletin announcements, as well as sending out an all-congregation e-mail explaining how and when people would be able to find out if services were canceled, as well as information directing them to the Internet Campus.

3. Have multiple communication methods.

This one goes without saying, but it's especially important when you're trying to get crucial information out as quickly as possible. Here are some of the different mediums we used:

E-mail. We sent an e-mail a day before the storm and then when we found out services were canceled.

Television and Radio. Not just for school closings, TV and radio stations are some of the first places people look for closings, especially if your congregation's demographic is older. These stations will usually put your information on their web sites.

Web Sites. We ran a popup feature on all of our web sites with current closure information. So when people came to check the web site they didn't need to search for it.

Twitter and Facebook. Social networks also helped spread the message. Because let's face it, when there's 30 inches of snow on the ground, you don't have much else to do but check Facebook...

Phones. Don't forget to change the voicemail message of your main phone line to let people know about your closings!

Texting. We use a texting service to alert our staff of closings, and we're likely going to roll out a service for the congregation soon.

It's important to note that in all of our communication we directed people to our Internet Campus. We even got one of the TV stations to put the web address up on their ticker. We've used the storms to promote our Internet Campus as much as possible, and encouraged the congregation to use this opportunity to invite friends.

So those are a few of the lessons we've learned through this winter's snowstorms. We were fortunate enough to have the Internet Campus available so that even though the buildings were closed, thousands of people still got to attend church!

Where the commercials have usually been made up of beer, cavemen and the GoDaddy girls, this year is different. This year one, and maybe two, commercials have connections to the church. And they're a study in opposites. One is a blatant commercial message for a consumer product--but it has subtle spiritual overtones and you wouldn't guess a church is behind it. The other is from a Christian nonprofit and has raised all kinds controversy.

Doritos & Mosaic
The first isn't out to save any souls directly, but it sure is a lot of fun. Erwin McManus and the team at Mosaic entered and are now in the top 6 for Doritos' Crash the Superbowl contest for their commercial "Casket".

While this commercial is certainly not what you'd expect from a church (which is why I love it) and you'll not see any scripture quoted in their spot, I do imagine it has already created quite a buzz around the church and community.

"We're not trying to use Doritos to propagate a message, but I think we want people to know that we have a sense of humor, that it's OK to laugh," McManus said. "So much of what comes out of the faith community seems so dour and somber and we want to say, 'Hey, we're real people. You can be a person of faith and really enjoy life and laugh."

"Nobody's going to fall on their knees and accept Jesus as a result of this spot. But advertisers on Madison Avenue spend millions on a Super Bowl spot because they know it influences people. It might not get someone converted, but I think it will get someone to say, 'Maybe there is something I ought to investigate.'"

While I'm certain some pro-choice groups are upset that Tebow and the message are getting air time, not everyone in that camp agrees. Pro-choice advocate Sally Jenkins gives a tremendous response, even to the point of joining team Tebow:

"I'm pro-choice, and Tebow clearly is not. But based on what I've heard in the past week, I'll take his side against the group-think, elitism and condescension of the 'National Organization of Fewer and Fewer Women All The Time'."

Even Planned Parenthood's response was pretty low key.

Jesus Is Going to the Super Bowl
While not exactly church advertising nor the gospel story, these ads do shine light in their own unique ways into the biggest television spectacle of the year. It's encouraging to see Christians not sitting on the sidelines but taking risks and putting the message out there.

Go team!

Us? We were beaming with pride. And dreaming of a future where the church is known for responding this way, even when there is no natural disaster to be found.

Here's just a shade of what we were reading:

• Amid Rubble, Seeking a Refuge in Faith
• In Haiti's 'new era' Episcopalians around the world offer help
• Religious Groups Fill Haiti Government Gaps
• Haitians everywhere united by faith
• Churches Respond

Grass-roots efforts were springing up everywhere. Nearly every Christian organization was offering some sort of plan to give to Haiti. And despite a few folks trying to steal some children, things were positive.

It's moving to see churches in the news for this sort of thing instead of pickets, protests and silly billboards. News organizations are ready and willing to chronicle our generosity, love and hope. But we have to tell the stories first.

[A particular martial arts ministry] is one of a small but growing number of evangelical churches that have embraced mixed martial arts — a sport with a reputation for violence and blood that combines kickboxing, wrestling and other fighting styles — to reach and convert young men, whose church attendance has been persistently low.

The article continues to discuss some of the logic and justifications behind these types of offerings. Essentially, churches are seeing young men disinterested in church participation. What better way to bring in young men and communicate the gospel than by leveraging the popularity of hand-to-hand combat?

"What I have a problem is when we have Christians, churches, and pastors who now begin to blur the line in the equating of MMA [mixed martial arts] to Jesus; That we somehow speak with great conviction that Jesus would have endorsed MMA or other forms and expressions of the growing hyper machismo culture."

His whole post is worth a read, then a re-read. But the entire discussion certainly brings up questions of just what we're communicating.

When you feature a mixed martial arts ministry at your church, what are you communicating that you value? (Please note, a separate issue from what you actually value, which is likely the hearts of young men.) Do you communicate that you are a safe place for people to visit? Do you subtly tell young men that physical violence is acceptable? Do you focus so headily on bodily disciplines that you lose sight of spiritual values?

And by extension, are you communicating that Christ is violent and hyper-macho?

Perhaps, after examining all of these questions, you come away that what you're communicating is only that you care for young men and want them to know the gospel. But they're certainly questions you should be wrestling with.

83% of you are making sermons available online. Whether you're a house church, a megachurch or anything between, this seems like a good move. It gives your folks more access to the things you believe and preach, and it allows them to stay more connected with your message.

Equally pleasing? None of you are putting your sermons behind a pay-wall. You're making these resources available for free, so there are fewer barriers to possible listeners trying to get to your material. Kudos to you for finding other ways to fund your church and making your message available.

17% of you still aren't putting your sermons online, and we'd love to know what's keeping you back. Principle? Effort? Cost?

This week, it's time for the you-know-what that we've covered before. And we want to know, will your church be throwing a party for the big-game-that-shall-not-be-named on February 7th?

But don't just believe me, look at our listing in the Freelance Lab.

And not just redesigning, but growing up. We'll be able to feature wider content and all-in-all provide you with more information to help your church communicate the gospel with clarity and passion.

We're excited about the new energy and opportunities that will come with our first refresh in four years.

If you're a designer or developer interested, this is a last call for proposals. Check out the listing and let us know what you're thinking.

Only 3% of you found yourselves disappointed at the response of churches. And just a few more, 9%, would say you were underwhelmed by support from local churches. These numbers are encouragingly small.

Still in the minority, 12% of our readers felt indifferent about the support from local churches. It was about what you expected, and you saw no reason for pride or shame. It was what it was. Meh.

The biggest chunk were the 48% of you who were pleased with churches' responses. They went above and beyond in your opinion, and you saw it as a great example of the church acting the way Christ charged us to. Kudos, churches.

Finally, 28% of you were blown away. Beyond pleased, you found yourself amazed at the way local churches allowed God to use them during this tragedy. Coupled with the last group, that makes 76% of you beaming with pride at the way churches have helped in Haiti.

Now, let's remember that the tragedy isn't over, and as donations slow, we have a great chance to continue ministering to Haiti. This is a time, as Haiti fades from our nation's spotlight, that churches can continue showing extraordinary love and care for those in need.

This week, our question is simple: Is your church putting its sermons online?

Their conversation turned to church marketing, and Jeff was kind enough to allow us to reprint that portion of their interview. These two questions contain ample material for us to read, digest and discuss.

Without further ado, here is a portion of their conversation:

Jeff: In Tribes, you wrote about faith versus religion. You spoke at a Catalyst conference awhile back. You even endorsed Anne Jackson's book Mad Church Disease. It seems that you've made intentional efforts to participate in the Christian conversation recently. Can you explain why or what brought that about? How has faith framed your own worldview?

Seth: I have a huge problem with large bureaucracies, including organized religions. I think they stomp on humanity and kindness and connection. On the other hand, faith is so important. Faith in your future, in other people, in your ability to make a difference. What Anne showed me is that there are many people who are starting to distinguish between the status quo of religion and the essential humanity of faith, and I endorsed her book because she did such a good job of leading a conversation about faith. Faith is largely personal, and if you talk about it too much or proselytize, it can start to fade on you. Just do it.

Seth: Lots of terms here, so let's try to sort it out:
Religions do marketing. They always have. Big religions tell stories that spread, stories that resonate and stories that people are attracted to.

There's nothing wrong with this. The job of marketing is to make connections with people at a level they wish to be connected.

Faith is not religion. Faith would exist even without a particular book or dogma. Faith makes religion work better, and sometimes religion makes faith work better. I don't think there are particular "faiths". I think there are lots of religions, but at their core, there's pretty much one faith. How can one possibly tell someone that they have the wrong faith?

If your religion gets in the way of your faith, or in the way of sharing the way your faith makes you feel, that's possibly because it's become a stuck system, one that accrues power, not a lever to make it easier to be faithful.

Proselytizing, in my view, is like spam. Ringing a doorbell, standing at a bus stop, buying a billboard... those are not permission-based activities. On the other hand, delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who want to get them... that works, and it always has, and it's working better than ever. I think that sharing ideas with people who want to hear them is the essence of what it means to be a marketer, and being a good person makes this a lot easier.

Let me begin with a confession. I'm a pastor, I am not a designer. In fact, I have to admit that I actually suck at design. But, my saving grace is that I have a huge amount of respect for people with God-given gifts in graphic design. I recognize the blessings to have been privileged to work with some of best designers in the context of the local church.

Recently, a comment made by a designer friend prompted me to seriously consider many of the issues that seem to face designers in the church. She said the worst part about being a designer is when people don't like your work.

That got me reflecting about how often the designers in the churches that I have known talk about the issues they have dealing with church leadership and senior pastors. I wonder if this is simply an issue of communication glitches, because we have more in common than we realize. These are, I believe, three big issues we have in common:

It sucks when people don't like your work.

Designer: You put your heart and soul into a design, and it hurts when people don't “get” it.

Pastor: You pour yourself into your sermons, and sometimes people just don't get it. It hurts for you, too.

Designer: You can't do your best work because everything is a rush job.

Pastor: Crisis management comes with the suit/robes/fancy shirt. Also: Funerals are almost always unexpected (and they seem to come in sets of three)!

Everyone else "knows" how to do your job.

Designer: Every person in the church gets to tell you about the colors they would have picked, or how it could be better. None of these people have a background in design beyond “clipart.”

Pastor: Everyone in the church is a theologian. They also know how to administrate everything, plan the event better and, in general, have a solution for everything.

The things we have in common are greater than the things that separate us. Pastors, remember that your designer has a ministry that is just as significant as yours. They deserve respect because of that. Don't second guess them the same way that people do you.

Designers, love your pastors. They are on the front lines and taking hits all the time. Pray for them, and make them funny shirts and birthday cards. We love that stuff.

Everyone: Remember, it's not about us and it's all about Jesus.

The biggest chunk of you resigned yourself to, "You've gotta do what you've gotta do." That's 31% of you who think you should throw caution to the wind and do what it takes to make the budget.

Next up, a similar 26% of you who are all for it. You think God works at the beginning of the year, the end of the year and everywhere in between. And you're excited about him working through an end-of-the-year offering.

Just a shade less of our respondents, 23%, were feeling just a tinge skeptical. You'd like to know some of the backstory where these missing dollars fall out of the budget during the year before you pass judgment.

Only 20% of you blatantly disapprove. Of those, 13% of you think it's probably not worth the public relations hit. And another 7% of you think the same thing, but in stronger words. Unfortunately, a few bad apples have given the church a reputation for being a get-rich-quick scheme, and you want to avoid this association at all times.

This week, like much of the country, we turn our focus to Haiti: How do you feel about the way local churches have responded to the crisis in Haiti?

Each week pastors across the world are creating valuable content. They work hard studying, praying and seeking the wisdom of others. They then polish of this all into a sermon that's (typically) delivered on Sunday morning. For years churches have been recording these sermons to CDs or tapes for those who are unable to attend the service. More recently though, some have been publishing their messages online. So is it time for your pastor to go digital?

Let's start by taking a look at the potential benefits posting your sermons online can have:

• For members who missed the service. Each week there is a percentage of your congregation that will be unable to attend the service for various reasons. For those people, providing easy access to the sermon online is a great service. This is especially important if your pastor teaches in series.
• Spreading the word. Beyond your own congregation, there are people who will benefit from hearing these messages. Posting your sermons online lets people easily share sermons with friends through e-mail, Facebook or Twitter. A timely message may speak to a non-Christian's heart in ways nothing else has.
• Easy distribution. Once you put the pieces in place, people can subscribe to your sermons. Each time a new message goes online, they can be notified and in some cases the sermons will automatically be loaded onto their portable players or phones.
• Listen again. There are some sermons that are just so rich and deep that it's hard to take it all in Sunday morning. Being able to listen to the sermon again at home, work or in the car can be invaluable.
• Promotional purposes. More and more people are searching online to find new churches. Letting people listen to sermons right from your web site gives them get a taste of the church culture, teaching style and the personality of the pastor.
• Historical archiving. Remember that sermon from last year's Christmas Eve service? Posting your sermons online gives your members, and your pastor, easy access to all past sermons; just a few clicks away.

Typically I hear two reasons: a false perception that it is cost prohibitive and/or a general lack of technical know-how.

The truth is that publishing your sermons online does not need to be expensive at all. There is no need to invest in expensive recording equipment, streaming audio servers, high end microphones or pay a team of experts to show up every week to check audio levels. Think simple and start simple.

Getting the audio into a digital format
Most churches already run their audio through some sort of sound board. In this case a $2.00 adapter from RadioShack will allow you to plug directly into a digital voice recorder. A little tweaking and you'll have great sounding audio in no time. Alternatively you could plug in a laptop and record using free software like Audacity.

If your church is already recording the audio to CD, you can pop the CD into your computer and use iTunes to import the digital file.

If you don't run a sound board, stick the voice recorder on the pulpit and record from there. iPhones are great for this.

A note about audio quality: You may find yourself tempted to get caught up in perfecting the quality of the recording. Remember that it's the content that's important, not the fidelity of the recording. As long as you can clearly hear the message and there are no ear piercing hums, hisses, or pops, let it go for now. You can always improve the quality down the road.

Publishing the audio online
The technical term for taking audio files and publishing them online is "podcasting." Don't let the name scare you though, there are some great online services that can get your podcast up and running in minutes, with no technical experience needed. These podcasting services allow you to upload your audio files and then host them for you online. They also create your RSS feeds and a few other things, but it's not necessary to dig into all of that at this time.

Below is a short list of online, full service, podcasting applications. You can search Google for "podcast hosting" and you'll see there are plenty of others to choose from. Each service is a little different, but the better ones are extremely simple to use and require nothing more from you than an audio file and filling out a little information about each sermon.

• AltarCast
• Blubrry
• Buzzsprout*
• PodcastMachine
• Libsyn

(* Author's note: I own and operate Buzzsprout, one of the podcast hosting services listed above. While I do think it's an excellent service, each church has unique needs and no one service is going to be a perfect fit for all. My encouragement to you would be to click around and see how each service aligns with your needs.)

Promoting / Embedding / iTunes
So your sermons are recorded digitally and are hosted online. What now? Most of the podcasting services will provide you a few options for letting people access the audio files. Some may provide you with a podcast web site that you can link to from your own web site and some may provide you with code that will allow you to embed the podcast within your own site. At this point it really depends what you want and what the service you're using provides. In any case I would recommend you submit your podcast to the iTunes podcast directory. iTunes provides the most popular podcast directory by far, and every podcast hosting service should provide clear instructions on how to get listed.

If your web site utilizes a blogging platform like WordPress or ExpressionEngine, ask your developer or search for podcast plug-ins for help integrating your sermons right into your existing site.

So is it time for your pastor to go digital?
Of course it is. These are valuable messages that the world needs to hear. Next time your pastor knocks one out of the park on Sunday morning, don't just tell me how great it was...send me a link so I can listen for myself.

As a church marketer, I often read articles questioning whether or not the church is relevant, a copycat or not original. I read these because it's my job to represent my local church body with excellence and originality, but, more importantly, I have a responsibility as a Christian to represent Christ with the utmost integrity because I am fully aware that a jaded world is watching.

What I've discovered this past week is that even though relevance in the form of communications, art and presentation of the gospel are all important, the truest form of relevance is expressed when the spirit of God within us is compelled to help others who are hurting.

In the past few days, we've all witnessed one of the greatest natural disasters in our lifetimes. An entire country ripped apart by a massive earthquake, thousands dead and millions without basic communications, food, medical attention and water. However, we've also witnessed an outpouring of response through aide, prayer and awareness from the church that the jaded world is also watching.

I looked up the definition of relevant and this is what I found, "bearing upon or connected with the matter in hand; pertinent." Personally, I think as Christians and as church bodies we've more than lived up to the truest definition of being relevant in the past few days. And, even though we can't forget our responsibility on the communications side of relevance, we must give credit where credit is due and, when it comes to helping those in need, Christian organizations and the church deserve an A+.

Post examples of what your church is doing or what you've heard other churches doing in the comments or over at the Church Marketing Lab where a discussion is already going.

This week, Pat Robertson provided further fodder for the already fearsome fire he is known for fueling. In case you missed it, Robertson implied that the January 12 earthquake in Haiti was tied to an 18th century pact with the devil. During the slave rebellion of 1791, Vodou priest Dutty Boukman performed a ceremony at Bois Caïman, apparently making a pact with the devil in exchange for victory over the French. According to Robertson, "the Devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.'"

To be fair, although Robertson did cross the line in his implication, he seemed to exit that part of the conversation and move on toward rallying people to pray for and give to the people of Haiti. A spokesman for CBN later said that "Dr. Robertson never stated that the earthquake was God’s wrath."

I'm not here to beat-up on Pat Robertson. He does a pretty good job of that himself.

The main reason to bring this up is to remind ourselves yet again how nutso we look when we say things that have no place in the public conversation. It's one thing for Robertson to wrestle with the sovereignty of God. It's quite another to suggest he knows specifics about how the devil or God operates when it comes to natural disasters.

I also witnessed the love of Jesus Christ at work in the lives of hundreds of Haitian people. I got a picture of what "church" can really be. I saw people unconstrained by the reality of poverty, living lives of radical generosity.

To suggest that Haiti's extreme poverty or epic tragedy is a result of God or the devil is not for you or me to say. It is our responsibility to communicate the character of a loving God who calls us to care for orphans and widows, to feed the hungry, to welcome the stranger, clothe the naked and look after the sick.

That's a story worth telling.

The board members include Brad Abare, Dawn Nicole Baldwin, Phil Cooke, Drew Goodmanson, Scott McClellan, Kem Meyer and Kent Shaffer. We also have a new executive director and fearless leader, Cynthia Ware.

We're pretty excited and it means new projects are already underway. But it does sound like insider bureaucracy, so we'll now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.