Archive for September 2004

church-business Article
September 30, 2004

I Can’t Afford Marketing That Doesn’t Suck

Working with hundreds of churches over the years, I get so frustrated with the “we don’t have any money” excuse so prevalent with today’s pastors and church councils. I understand ...

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off-the-wall Article
September 27, 2004

Jamming Cell Phones in Church

Churches in Mexico are using high-tech jammers to keep cell phones from ringing in the midst of services. It’s illegal, but no one seems to care. As interesting as that ...

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promotion Article
September 27, 2004

Subway in the House of God

Speaking of business ventures as church advertising, how about opening a Subway in the house of God? Seems a bit more commercial than many of us prefer, though it also sounds ...

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philosophy Article
September 24, 2004

They Should Lash Us To Our Pews

Some thoughts on the ridiculousness of our efforts in church from the Annie Dillard essay “An Expedition to the Pole,” which can be found in the book Teaching a Stone ...

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first-impressions-beyond Article
September 24, 2004

Sunday Morning Dress Code

The Ann Arbor News has a balanced article about the casual trend in church attire. The piece includes both the pragmatic and anti-legalism pro that God cares more about the ...

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church-business Article
September 24, 2004

If You Don’t Build It, They Will Come

Isaiah Church has no building, but that’s okay. Rev. Troy Benton plans to build his church by forming a congregation first, and worrying about a building later. It’s a common ...

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church-business Article
September 24, 2004

Money Grubbing

Stewardship has to be one of the touchiest subjects in the church. Until churches start charging a cover and collecting it at the door, offerings and pledge drives are a ...

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demographicsresearch Article
September 23, 2004

It’s the End of the Church As We Know It

A couple interesting tidbits from Will Samson, who just spent two days hanging out with George Barna and Leonard Sweet talking about the future of the church: “Currently only 65% of ...

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reviews Article
September 23, 2004

Making Sense of Church

Spencer Burke, creator of the TheOoze.com, wrote Making Sense of Church, a book that dives into a lot of the post-modern/emergent conversations about the church. While the book is more ...

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first-impressions-beyond Article
September 22, 2004

Church Shopping

Fall is back to school time, but it’s also back to church time, according to an article in The Christian Science Monitor, as more people tend to return to church ...

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advertising Article
September 20, 2004

Business Ventures as Church Advertising

Starting businesses, providing jobs, and generating an economic turn around for a depressed area of Portland: It’s advertising without advertising. “People have lost faith in the church because the church isn’t ...

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technology Article
September 20, 2004

E-mail and the Youth Pastor

Youth Specialties offers some advice for how youth workers can make the most of e-mail. The basic lesson is e-mail won’t replace mailings or phone calls as the communication vehicle ...

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philosophy Article
September 16, 2004

Old and Boring with a Big Future

I just spent the last hour on a conference call with a development team I am a part of for a ministry organization that has been around over 125 ...

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advertising Article
September 15, 2004

One Church – One Commercial

Texas blogger Rob Stewart writes: “The McDonald’s at 50th St. and Quaker Ave. doesn’t have its own commercial separate from commercials for the McDonald’s at 19th and University. There’s an ad ...

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philosophy Article
September 15, 2004

Unmarketing the Church

Texas blogger Rob Stewart mentioned us in a recent post, noting that we take issue with marketing the church. While I love the post, I did want to point out ...

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