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:

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.'"

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.