If your pastor is new to Twitter or hasn’t found a good rhythm of how to use it, try my 30/50/20 rule for Pastors on Twitter:

30% message application: drop hints in your weekend message that you’ll be tweeting life application from the sermon topic every day for the upcoming week.

50% family/personal life: people want to feel like they know their pastors. Since you live in a glass-house anyway, offer them the view you want to share as you live life transparently.

20% inspiration/information (including ReTweets): You don’t have all the answers, and you’re learning, too. Be human and share what’s inspiring/challenging you and who you’re learning from.

More data continues to add to the pile of information that’s showing how mobile connections are shaping the lives and habits of Americans. According to the Performics 2011 Mobile Search Insights Study, conducted by ROI Research,  57% of us use the mobile Web more than once every day, with a whopping 77% of us using mobile search more than five times in the last month.

Overwhelmingly, satisfaction and adoption of mobile search holds true throughout the study:

• 75% said mobile search makes their lives easier
• 63% said access to mobile search has changed the way they gather information
• 32% said they use mobile search more than search engines on their computers

81% of respondents reported evening use of mobile search at home, 80% reported weekend use, and 59% reported use before work while 61% reported using mobile search at work.

Churches, the future is now and it’s on the mobile. I just can’t say this enough: rethink how people are finding your church, activities and resources and make it easy for them to do it while on-the-go. Chances are, you’ll need to do at least a few of the following:

• Build out a mobile version of your church website
• Integrate your Small Group finder tool (a part of your church management software) for mobile browsing
  
• Conduct a poll and find out how many of your attendees use smart phones
• Use mass email tools that have a mobile version output
• Have people “check-in” to your church via Facebook or Foursquare when they arrive. Sharing this information creates free visibility to their friends who may not have a church home.

The future of mobile is wide open for churches. Think through how the life of your church can (and should) be anytime, anywhere for ministry.

Sometimes, I wonder how what I’ve said can be misunderstood until I get a fresh perspective from someone else to re-read what I’ve said. And then it hits me: “Ooooh. What I meant was…”

I’ve learned that email is a poor communication medium for conveying emotion, sarcasm or subtlety. What I’m continuing to learn is that with social media – and the 140 characters of Twitter, in particular – it’s important to re-read what we say before we have it hit the web.

This happened to me tonight, and it took me a while to understand what the hub-bub was all about. Here’s what I tweeted:

“PASTORS: Please use Twitter & Facebook to share your life instead of spamming scripture. We’ve already got YouVersion.com.”

What I Meant Was…

I intended to help pastors understand that while tweeting scripture is OK, you’ve gotta do a lot more than send lots of verses our way if we are to get to know you. So, my intention was to help them think about sharing more personal stuff and less about multiple verses a day making up the bulk of their tweet stream. So, I used some humor (or, attempted to) to say that we’ve got lots of scripture opportunities online already with YouVersion.com (online Bible tool).

What Happened Was…

I had some people read what I wrote as making scripture look unimportant, or, worse, less important than sharing their personal insights. So, as a way to set the record straight, I then sent a second tweet out on the heels of the brewing controversial tweet:

“REVISED 4 clarification: Instead of spamming scripture, share life application & revelation, not recitation. Share the impact of the verse!”

From my perspective, one of the best benefits of Twitter/Facebook is the ability to gain insight into what you think and how you receive revelation. To me, a tweet that illustrates the application, truth and real-life moments of scripture are – usually – more insightful to me than seeing a litany of verses tweeted ad nauseum. Sure, the Word never returns void, so tweeting scripture is good, but it’s not the only thing you should tweet.

Step out from behind the pulpit and show me your sermon illustrated in how you live life. Help us understand how scripture comes alive in your life, your actions and your thinking!

So, we good? I hope so!

The lines between our ‘work lives’ and our ‘personal lives’ have been blurred due to the interchange of social media and technology. Though not anonymous, there is a certain sense that because we’re not looking directly at someone when we share something electronically, our status update is somehow still limited to a semi-private audience.

What we say is both a reflection of who we are and what we represent. Beyond a personal sphere of influence, church staff and lay leaders are physical representatives of the character, culture and convictions of the church they serve. Therefore, what is shared or made available through status updates, pictures and blogs needs to be filtered through the lens of the church ethos.

A couple of years ago pastor Tom Lane of Gateway Church in Southlake, TX, asked me to write up a social media policy for his review. In the end, I created a framework instead of a policy since I’m only a volunteer at the church and am not privy to the entire staff culture or administrative oversight and boundaries over staff. Tom took this framework and modified it to fit the ethos of Gateway and infused his own gentle yet firm wisdom into what is now the Gateway social media policy. I’m thankful that Tom shared with me the final version, as it gave me insight into what he and the leadership believe and expect. The result of the combined effort sent me back to the drawing board to rethink the framework I originally wrote.

I won’t share Gateway’s policy because I fear many churches would simply use it as-is, when what they need to do is think through how their own ethos should modify the policy. Instead, taking cues from the venerable and wise pastor Tom Lane, I’ve copied and pasted the text from my new “Church Social Media Framework”, with HTML formatting, for use in your churches.

NOTE: This document (content) is made to be changed. It’s a framework, not a policy, and has obvious places where churches will need to add, modify or take away. I’ve intentionally not made it copy-and-paste “instantly use-able” because I really want you to think through what you believe, why you believe it and how it will impact your church staff. Simply copy and paste the content below and modify it for your church. This is provided free to all Christian churches.

Church Social Media Framework

CHURCH NAME HERE

Social Media Communications FRAMEWORK

DATE HERE

Introduction and Purpose

Many individuals and departments are interested in using digital communication services beyond email, such as text messaging, Facebook, Twitter, etc to maintain contact and to send important, but unsolicited, messages to members and contacts of theirs and of CHURCH NAME HERE: for example, to all members, all staff, department leaders, or to some combination of these large segments of our data file.

Email systems and email addresses, cell phones, and computers are provided to the employee to be used primarily for ministry purposes.  We believe that ministry by its very nature is relational so use of digital communication to expand and develop a sense of community is a valuable tool for reaching people but needs appropriate guidelines.

The goals of all CHURCH NAME HERE communication are these:

1. To promote member and community awareness of ministry initiatives and opportunities.
2. To support ministry efforts by targeted promotion and timely interactive feedback.
3. To provide relational points of connection and response through blogs, social networking software, church ministry websites, email and text messaging.

This policy sets forth boundaries for using these digital forms of communication by employees and leaders of CHURCH NAME HERE.

Electronic Communications Policy

When sending a mass email to members of segmented groups of the congregation the email should be run through the DEPARTMENT NAME HERE for timing and coordination.  For further details, reference the CHURCH NAME HERE Email Policy.

All communication through any electronic form is subject to public scrutiny and can represent a reputation risk to the individual as well as to CHURCH NAME HERE.  Therefore, it is important for each person to consider carefully the information shared through these mediums.

• Opinions expressed could be unintentionally interpreted as representing the position of CHURCH NAME HERE although they are communicated through a non-CHURCH NAME HERE source like Facebook or Twitter.

• Personal information that is shared through these mediums can present yourself, someone else, or the church in a bad or compromised light. Most often when it comes to images and words of communication, perception becomes reality. Therefore, we must be careful with both what and how we communicate so that our motive is not misunderstood.

• Pictures and information posted on personal sites are public with world-wide exposure and therefore can have work implications related to reputation risk.  For further details reference the CHURCH NAME HERE Outside Interest Policy.

Philosophies to Consider when Communicating

• CHURCH NAME HERE’S Social Covenant declares INSERT HOW THE CHURCH VIEWS THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF RELATONSHIPS AND WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE SOCIAL COVENANT WITH THE CONGREGATION, therefore communication should be positive and honoring so as to not violate the Social Covenant.

• We believe that integrity is necessary for ministry therefore we cannot communicate confidential personal or sensitive information about people through these public digital sources.  Reference the CHURCH NAME HERE Privacy Policy for further guidelines.

• When using text messaging, Facebook, Twitter, and other similar digital forms of communication to contact CHURCH NAME HERE members preference should be given to “OPT IN” opportunities for members to participate rather than assuming that since we have the capability to communicate with the individual that they will want every bit of communication we can give them. Over-communication or communication to the wrong target audience is viewed as “spam”.

• Each employee must realize their responsibility for appropriate online communication behavior both with content and contact. It is our responsibility to maintain boundaries for our communications that are appropriate and righteous as they reflect CHURCH NAME HERE and, more importantly, the Lord.

Content Topics

Appropriate text and posting topics include, but are not limited to:

• Timely departmental and ministry updates.

• Specific information to parents or family members related to completion time of ministry events, arrival time from trips, and prayer/ministry updates from events.

• Administrative announcements that are specific and time-critical.

• Personal information that enables individuals to feel connected with you as a leader of an area of ministry or the church and which enables them to get to know you at an appropriate social level.

• Invitation for participation or involvement in departmental ministry.

Inappropriate topics include, but are not limited to:

• Any message whose content goes beyond your departmental mission or your appropriate personal data.

• Any discussion or presentation of sensitive CHURCH NAME HERE organizational or ministry information that has not already been made public.

• Any solicitation for personal benefit.

• Any message that includes improper or discourteous content or abusive language (including sexually-suggestive content, profanity, racial or sexual slurs) or that is otherwise not consistent with CHURCH NAME HERE’S core teachings and beliefs.

Communication with Minors

Based upon applicable law, the church considers anyone under eighteen (18) years of age to be a minor.  Great care should be exercised when communicating with a minor. As an employee you should avoid any communication which:

• Would potentially allow the minor’s personal information, address, phone number, picture or similar personal information to be available over the Internet or to third-parties not having a proper church-related purpose.

• Violates the church’s children/youth policies or would violate the policies if communicated in person rather than in a virtual or digital format.

• Requests the minor to agree to or participate in an activity or undertaking which requires parental consent or that would customarily be understood to require parental consent. All contact and communication must respect the parents authority with their children.

• Suggests the minor meet with you for any kind of activity not part of regular church events or a church-related purpose.

• Would be considered as child abuse or neglect as described by the church’s policies and applicable law.

If your ministry lay leadership is in contact with minors as part of their duties, the DEPARTMENT NAME will provide a non-staff email address (FIRSTNAMELASTNAME@CHURCHNAMEVOLUNTEER.ORG) and the necessary steps to set this up with a free email service such as Gmail or Yahoo Mail. The purpose of this email address is to provide a non-private email for lay leadership to connect with minors that is filtered through the CHURCH NAME HERE email servers for oversight and accountability. See DEPARTMENT NAME for further details.

Online Communication Methodologies

The term “online” is continually being updated because of new technologies. Therefore, the following is representative of the current technologies available today.

Email

The policy of the church requires the employees to respond to emails in a timely way. A timely response is defined as taking place within a 24-hour period. For other details related to emails, refer to the CHURCH NAME HERE Email Policy.

Text Messaging

Text messaging is one of the fastest ways to connect with the cell phones of our congregation. We are responsible for our own text activities and the amount of text information we send out.

It is recommended that text messages are sent only to those who request to be updated via SMS text. Not everyone has a text messaging plan, so we do not want to force our members to incur charges for texts if they do not have a text message plan.

Minors use text messaging on cell phones far more than they use cell minutes to talk on their phones. Though this is an obvious means of communication with minors, great care must be taken to establish specific boundaries and guidelines for texting with minors that relate to both content and time of day the texting takes place. All lay leaders that text with minors must agree to and sign our Texting Policy document that allows CHURCH NAME HERE the right to request and view all text messages with minors.

Ministry Group SMS Text Messaging

Reaching the cell phones of our members, volunteers and lay leaders is one of the best ways to share urgent information and event reminders. Unlike email, text messaging requires short, concise messages with actionable items. We encourage our staff to find ways to leverage text messaging to specific people-groups as an effective means of communication.

Various tools exist for text messaging and need to be evaluated for consistency with the existing privacy policy and for opt-in availability. There are to be no private departmental tools for group communication or data base management.  The tools for text messaging communications are to reviewed and approved by the IT Department. All data entered about members and attendees of the church and are to be entered into the CHURCH MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE NAME HERE or other software approved through IT. Therefore, use wise judgment about which text messages need to be copied and into the member record for unique or urgent issues.

Personal Social Networks

Some of the newest and least understood tools are online social networks. Ranging from simple, personal connection points such as MySpace and Facebook to group-wide, affinity-based social groups such as Ning, to the text message based service, Twitter, it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each tool in the context of sharing information. Most important is remembering that all of these mediums are public to one extent or another. Therefore, staff is cautioned to be very careful when updating private information with these tools.

Facebook

Facebook allows both individuals and organizations to create profiles for sharing information, pictures, experiences and even videos on a large platform. Though some levels of security exist, the church Privacy Policy and Communications Policy guidelines need to be adhered to as boundaries for online community tools.

Each ministry may want to create a specific “Group” on Facebook as a way to share pictures, calendar updates, event details and unique, ministry-specific information. All church-sponsored Facebook groups should include links back to the church website and/or church website ministry pages.

Twitter

Twitter is unique in both its ability to allow each person to learn and share with others (those they ‘follow’) and to share and update information with those interested in you or your ministry (‘followers’).

Twitter is considered a valuable tool that can be used for staying connected to church members. As such, personal interaction and sharing certain aspects of your personal life are encouraged as a part of building community. However, never forget that even your personal Twitter accounts are representing the church and your actions are reflections of the church as a whole.

For the development of community, if a ministry staff person is on Twitter the IT department will put links to Twitter accounts on the church website as an additional method for people to connect and get to know the leaders of the church and be able to follow a particular ministry or ministry team member.

MySpace

Each department must decide if a church-sponsored MySpace page is warranted due to the fact that the advertising displayed on MySpace cannot be controlled.  Individual MySpace accounts for ministry staff are discouraged.

Church Website

The church website is created, maintained, and serviced by the CHURCH NAME HERE (DEPARTMENT NAME HERE). Departmental and individual websites created by staff should be reviewed and approved by the DEPARTMENT NAME HERE.  For further details reference the Church Website Policy.

Blogs

Blogs (also called Weblogs) are a popular way of sharing resources, thoughts, links, and stories in a format that can vary from paragraphs of text to audio recordings (podcasts), and video recordings (vidcasts). Overall, blogs are an incredibly helpful way to share “beyond the website” in a format that’s typically casual, personable and freely accessible. Blogs should be presented to the DEPARTMENT NAME HERE for approval and inclusion on the main CHURCH NAME HERE website.

The church policy on confidentiality applies to blogs. Personal information shared can present yourself, someone else, or the church in a bad or compromised light. Most often when it comes to image and words of communication, perception becomes reality, so we must be careful in regards to what and how we communicate so that our intention is not misunderstood. An abundance of caution and common sense is required.

Church Blogs

It is expected that churches sponsor blogs be on the church website as micro-sites (i.e. pastorsblog.churchname.com). This allows for greater search optimization and easier navigation for site visitors.  When these blogs are presented to the DEPARTMENT NAME HERE, they will, as a part of the approval process, be included on the main church website.

Personal Blogs

Privacy concerns for sharing confidential information must be maintained. Each department and individual must operate within the guidelines of this policy regarding the content of their personal blog. When a ministry staff person has a personal blog it needs to be declared on the Outside Interest Declaration form to their Executive overseer.  For further details reference the CHURCH NAME HERE Outside Interest Policy.

There will undoubtedly be technological advances in the future that are not specifically described under this policy. Each employee should use their best judgment to assume that the overriding concerns for security and privacy expressed throughout this policy apply to such new technology and the employee’s adopting and using new technology are expected to bring such advances to the attention of the church’s DEPARTMENT NAME HERE for evaluation and the Human Resources Department for consideration related to updating this policy.

Church Oversight

As a staff member of the church, your online activities are a reflection of the church and represent your ministry. Therefore, your opinions expressed can be taken as representing the position of the church, although it is communicated on your own personal communications tools online.

Account Access

The IT Department will determine which accounts have a master password and email address associated with the church. In this way, accountability and protection of church communications, even those shared through “personal” accounts, will be monitored by the IT Department and reported to church leadership.

Privacy Expectations

All church communication equipment (computers, telephones, network, servers, etc.) belong to the church and are ultimately subject to being inspected or reviewed by appropriate church personnel.

Utmost care should be taken not to publish or make publicly available, directly, or by virtue of links, passwords or employee personal information such as social security numbers, drivers license numbers, home address or other information that should reasonably be held confidential.

For further information on privacy issues reference the CHURCH NAME HERE Privacy Policy.

Online Public Statements

Care must be taken to not speak on behalf of the church. All public statements and interactions on behalf of the church or its ministries will be coordinated through the DEPARTMENT NAME HERE to the press, both offline and online. An employee is not authorized to make any public statement regarding: church policy organizational structure, management, governance issues, or regarding any alleged liability of the church to any third-party that has not already been communicate through the DEPARTMENT NAME HERE or from the pulpit in a worship service.  Employees are instructed to direct all questions on these issues to the DEPARTMENT NAME HERE.

Digital Communication for Commercial and political activities

CHURCH NAME HERE is a nonprofit entity. If it engages in commercial or political activities, that nonprofit status can be threatened or expose the church to tax liabilities. Employees should avoid or limit any situation in which commercial or political links are established between the church’s communications and third-parties. If there are such links, the church could be considered to be a sponsor of those advertised commercial activities or an endorser of a political candidate could lead to liability for the church. The church can take positions regarding matters of public policy or regarding social issues so long as it meets the following criteria:

(a) It does not become an endorsement of a particular political candidate or party.

(b) It does not advocate specific legislative change such that the church is viewed as being involved in lobbying.

Any issues not declared above need to be brought to the attention of your direct supervisor for review with the church leadership. This policy exists to provide accountability and security for staff and lay leadership.

A reasonable expectation to privacy. With the online world intersecting more of our lives on a nearly daily basis, do we have really have a reasonable expectation to privacy?

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures. That’s one type of privacy that, at least here in America, we can expect. But beyond denying someone access to things in our homes, cars on wallets, are our lives really private?

I submit that we’ve willingly sacrificed privacy for immediacy.

We share our lives out loud. From GoWalla or FourSquare telling me exactly where you are, to Twitter and Facebook telling me what you’re up to, and blogs telling me what you think, to out of office email messages, we’re providing an unprecedented level of access into our daily lives.

It used to be we had work lives and personal lives. No longer. The lines between our work life and personal life have been blurred due to our propensity to share. Though not anonymous, there is a certain sense that because we’re not looking directly at someone when we share something, our status update is somehow still limited to a semi-private audience.

Though it is possible to use multiple accounts and limit networks to only a few followers – I do this myself with a ‘family-only’ Twitter account – the reality is that anyone can choose to re-post anything I say in a very public fashion. You see, privacy today is limited only to the extent that I control what I share and when I share it.

We seem to have forgotten that what we share, say, post and do online is stored, forever accessible, cross-indexed, referenced and cached. I wonder how many young people looking to advance in a career 10 or 20 years from now will have what they’ve shared today come back to haunt them? And here’s another thought: our kids and our kids’ kids will have more than a photo album and grandma’s memories to find out about good ‘ol granddad.

Do we have a reasonable expectation to privacy? I think we have a very limited expectation to privacy when we share so freely. What say you?

I’m amazed at the sheer number of church conferences in a single year. Catalyst. Orange. Story. Unleash. Uprising. Exponential. WFX. C3. Innovate. The list goes on and on.

There’s a reason that there are so many offerings for church pastors, leaders and volunteers: there’s an undercurrent of need for the local church to be more effective and less stagnant. More often than not, the guys and gals up on the stage speaking to these crowds are people who experiment often and fail quickly.

I’ve visited hundreds of churches and seen just about every variety of style and format of church. An interesting thing that I’ve noticed at the most dynamic and healthy churches that I’ve visited: they don’t look or feel like every other church. They’re distinctly unique and passionately focused on their vision. Moreover, the staff shares the vision of the house.

Where there is an unrelenting focus on vision and unity of purpose, there is freedom. Freedom to try. Freedom to fail. Freedom to succeed. Freedom to do it all over again.

I wonder how many ministry opportunities are not merely missed but altogether avoided because we’re afraid to experiment with a new idea, a new model or a different way of doing something? I wonder how many church leaders are really willing to lead and not just sit at the helm of low-risk management? How many will truly evaluate their current teams, processes and results and be willing to cut things – even good things – to make way for the possibility for great things that resonate with the harmonics of a God-sized vision?

Then again, are church leaders listening to the plurality of influencers instead of the singular voice of the One?

This session from the Dirt Conference was another that I had the chance to help lead along with panelists Anne Jackson, Kristen Becnel & Charlie Loften. The wisdom these three shared was eye-opening and extremely transparent. In particular, Anne Jackson really knocked it out of the ballpark with her insight. Of course, the IS the author of “Mad Church Disease” – a book about ministry burn-out – so she had a lot to say that was very helpful and insightful.

Here are the notes I took while trying to hold my laptop, a microphone & my Bible while sitting on a stool (in other words, not as many typed in as I’d like to have done):

1.  How can I say no? (or how do “you” say no)

In terms of serving your Pastor: There are three answers for your pastor – “Yes”, “Yes, but” or “No”; but “no” is reserved only for that which is unethical, immoral or un-Biblical.

By having a strong relationship with your church leadership, you can share openly & honestly about your workload. As leaders, there job is to lead you and protect you.

Anne Jackson talked about how in Luke chapter 4 Jesus pulled away from the non-stop ministry. He set a precedent for us to retreat away to spend time refreshing.

Charlie & Kristen spoke of putting boundaries on your time commitment.

I implored people to track their time via projects. By first understanding how & where you spend your time, you can begin to make changes in prioritization and in making important cuts to buy margin in our time.

2.  What do I do if my family is missing me and I have a deadline?

“An inconsistent schedule has to be the exception, not the norm.” – Charlie Loften

Go home. Work will be there tomorrow. Your family needs you more than yet another project.
3.  How do you teach the concept that this job isn’t 9-5?

Respect the seasons of ministry. Know that extra time is required during Christmas & Easter. Balance that time with rest afterward.

“We need time to dream & rest.” – Kristen Becnel

Manage people well. Help protect your staff’s time and ensure you’re “selling what you’re smoking”.

4.  How do you protect yourself from becoming burned out?

Spend time with the Lord daily.

Protect YOUR Sabbath (for most church staff, that’s not Sunday).

Be part of a group that holds each other accountable.

Read Anne Jacksons’ book “Mad Church Disease”.

5.  Can you have a successful family life and work life?

The quote of the day was a stunner: “We like to let productivity define our spiritual maturity” – Anne Jackson. Smack, that’s good!

The answer is “Yes”, but it requires intentionality.

At this inaugural year of the Dirt Conference, I’ve been impressed with the caliber of panelists leaders and the vibe that’s evidenced from churches hungry to learn how to “make something from nothing”. I’m blogging the sessions I’ve helped lead and attend to share the wisdom I’m soaking up here in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The first Lab was one that I helped lead, along with Kristen Becnel, Michael Buckingham & Neil Greathouse (the inventor of Dirt and Tech Director here at the church). We interacted with the audience around the subject of “Series Development”. Here’s my notes from the session:
1.  How far out do you plan a series?

Ideally – Vision for the idea, rough plan for the series length… 90 days.

Reality - Following the vision of the pastor defines the planning options for series development

2.  When it feels like it’s all been done before, what then?

“History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.” – Ecclesiastes 1:9

innovation |ˌinəˈvā sh ən| – noun
the action or process of innovating.
• a new method, idea, product, etc.

“How do we say an old thing in a new way?”

3.  What elements should be included in a series?

If by elements you mean “essentials” then the list includes:

• Scripture & Worship

If by elements you mean “aspects of” then the list can include, but is not limited to:

• Take Aways
• Give Aways

“Creative elements come when you have worked as a creative team in a creative way to accomplish a creative experience.”
4.  What does the creative process look like for brainstorming ideas?

3 – 6 people were recommended for creative teams; more if you can manage large groups.

I led a discussion around Creative Planning Teams and referenced Edward DeBono’s Six Thinking Hats.

FEAR = Failure to Equip, Authorize and Release. Pastors need to have the self-confidence in themselves to share the responsibility to their team members without hesitation.

Here are additional thoughts specific to this subject. I’ve also included a few blog posts from my old blog (my archives) that speak into this as well.

There are some basic “true-isms” that come along with working or volunteering at a church.

• Sunday comes every seven days.
• Yet being predictable (boring) is being irrelevant to your audience.
• And creativity doesn’t come quick or easy by yourself.

In a sense, each Monday starts with a blank slate. Or, in vernacular that I grew up with, a clean chalkboard. Today, that might be a clean document or MindMap on your computer. Whatever the metaphor you choose to best represent your generational style, the reality is that we have to come ready to be creative and willing to work together and listen for the Spirit’s guidance.

So what does your blank slate look like?

• Are you a Pastor stuck in the mire of week-to-week planning on your own?
• Are you in a church where creativity takes a back seat to more pressing day-to-day needs of shepherding and leading because it’s hard to be creative under pressure?
• Are you a worship leader that doesn’t get sermon concepts until Wednesday or Thursday before a service?
• Or are you a tech person who doesn’t get notes until the last minute, leaving any creative juices mere minutes to “work their magic” or else it’s time to open up that PowerPoint Template Wizard?

Starting with a blank slate is either a great thing or a potentially horrible thing. If you have the margin to think, collaborate, plan and execute, then that blank slate is welcomed as the canvas for creating a work of art with a team of committed, enterprising and creative individuals. But if you’re in the get-it-done-now-or-else situation, that blank slate is like being in solitary confinement.

If you’re in the latter type of situation, spend time praying that God will give you the opportunity to speak to the leadership of your church about changing the paradigm of last minute mayhem to blank slate bliss.

I’ve written about how to start and utilize Creative Planning Teams at churches. With so many new people reading my blog and listening to my podcasts, I wanted to bring up this series of blog posts (mini articles) to open up your eyes to just how awesome a blank slate can be when you’re not the spiritual lone ranger forced to make it or break it week in and week out.

Creative Meetings: Overcoming the Fears

Creative Meetings: When and Where

Creative Meetings: Picking the Team

Creative Meetings: Expanding “Go-To” Resources

Creative Meetings: Controlling the Meeting

The Chaos of Creative Meetings Comes to Order!

I recently heard the phrase “finding signal in the noise”. I don’t recall where I heard it, but it stuck with me because in a day and time when we have massive amounts of information assaulting us 24/7, finding the stuff that matters is becoming increasingly difficult.

For example, searching (or “Google-ing”) has become the automatic response when we need to find information. Yet my experience has been that finding specific information on Google can be difficult if I don’t know the exact search words to narrow down the results. Therefore, I’ve started asking specific questions to my community on Twitter and Facebook. More often than not I’ll receive the exact answer I needed in a matter of minutes from people responding on Twitter. Compared to searching through 482,931 results, I’ll take the accurate answer from people I know before searching in vain. That’s finding signal in the noise.

The “noise” can be anything that’s overwhelming or poorly organized. Whether it’s e-newsletters, e-blasts, websites, blogs, videos or anything else we use to communicate with others, as communicators we’ve got to help simplify and qualify the information and decrease the signal-to-noise ratio.

Review the mediums and methods you use to communicate. Look at your website. Check out your e-newsletter. Review your announcement slides & videos. Evaluate your group e-mail blasts. How much of it would benefit from “less is more”? What are you going to do about it?

Here’s a satirical (but honest) look at why Apple & Google continue to understand this concept:

When Steve Jobs introduced the Apple iPod almost 8 years ago, the product embodied far more than an elegant design, cool features and some great benefits: it personified the culture of Apple. As he gave his Keynote speech in 2001 at the Apple developer conference, Jobs’ explained that the decision to build the iPod was because “music is a part of everyone’s life”. He then spent the next two and a half minutes extolling the virtues of music, how people feel about music and their experience with music.

Apple understands UX (User Experience) and UI (User Interface). They infuse their products with the innovative, fun environment that exists in their corporate culture.

At Fellowship Technologies, the culture is also a big part of what we believe, what we create and how we work. Since taking on the role of leading the Communications for the company, I’ve been impressed with and infused into the culture. So, when it was time to promote a huge re-design on the interface and experience of using our web-enabled church management software, Fellowship One, I wanted to capture some of this culture, specifically focusing on the software development team.

We captured the video on the new Canon 5D Mark II camera, with a variety of lenses, which I shot in full 1080i HD. I’m thankful that Kevin Dooley, a video director at a local church, was able to handle the role of DP for the shoot as we followed our storyboard and script of capturing the culture here at Fellowship Technologies. Here’s the satirical video we created:

Culture matters. For churches, this culture starts with the staff and extends into the leadership, worship services, ministry areas and community projects. How are you presenting the unique culture of your church to your community? What methods can you utilize to give people a peek into the very essence and DNA that exists exclusively in your church? You need to capture that culture. As my friend Allan Kelsey says: “Culture always wins.”