The Why of Church Social Media – Why you need to work harder to connect people to your church: "Back in the day, back in the 60's, 70's, 80's, whatever, you would have multiple touch points each week with the people from your church. They'd come on Sunday morning, they would possibly come on Sunday night, they would come on Wednesday, and then there might be one more event during the week that they would come to. So you would have four touch points to get information to them, to announce things to them. Whereas now, if they're in the demographic where I am here in Phoenix, we're lucky to get families to show up to a Sunday morning twice a month. And so we look at social to make up the difference." A 48-min podcast that's worth the time investment.
On Having Teacher's Pets – Jesus built into a select group of twelve, and of those, gave extra attention to three key team members. Most of us have an ideal of being open to everyone. "The most effective leaders play favorites. They don’t treat everyone the same; won’t give access to everybody; spend very little time with low performers or problem people. Most of us want to do the opposite. We long to treat everyone the same; give access to everyone who asks; spend much of our time trying to help problem people or low performers because, well, it’s the right thing to do." Three ways to play favorites effectively.
Preaching Your Way Through 2015 – What does the new year look like in terms of sermon series? Maybe facing a new calendar year leaves you wishing your church used the Common Lectionary. Here's one perspective: "To be honest, I’ve never thought about my process. Since this is another area about which the Bible is quiet, there is room for many different approaches. What I realized in thinking through my process is that my preaching calendar is the result of answering five questions."
Word-for-Word Narrated Gospels on Netflix – Unlike The Visual Bible which only covered Matthew and John, the creators of The Lumo Project are promoting the availability of all four gospels in different translations and languages, as well as distribution of all four feature-length films through Netflix. But one reviewer notes, "The entire film is simply narrated. Yes. The actors are "playing out" the scenes being described but they are not the ones speaking the dialogue. And maybe it's just me, but I find that an incredibly dull way to present the dynamic and rich story which is found in scripture. I'm going to assume the decision to have a narrator read the entire thing is down to offering three available "versions" of the movie. Personally, I'd have rather they pick one and allow the actors to bring these words to life. Basically, The Lumo Project: Gospel of John is a really expensive version of a passion play."
Reinventing Christian Television – You know the drill: You buy time on Christian networks or you buy time on local stations on Sunday mornings. For Andy Stanley, a lot depends on what you mean by Sunday morning, as they are on in 13 NBC selected markets after Saturday Night Live. This past weekend, instead of sermon material, they broadcast a live interview with Tindell Baldwin, author of Popular (Tyndale). In her words, "I wrote a goodbye letter to God letting him know I wouldn't be needing his services anymore." As Andy explains, "Rather than bury her embarrassing past, she would leverage it for the next generation." Watch the Dec. 7th episode, a perfect use of an ideal time slot.
What's in a Name? – A complaint to the city of Piedmont, Alabama sent by the Freedom From Religion Foundation meant the end of the 'Keep Christ in Christmas Parade,' but only insofar as it was the parade's name. "The title of the parade was changed back to the City of Piedmont Christmas Parade by city officials. Residents of the city decided to exercise their freedom of religion and speech Thursday night during the parade with their signs that read 'Keep Christ in Christmas'. 'This anti-religious group that started all this stuff, I really believe this has backfired on them,' [Piedmont Mayor] Baker told WJSU. 'What has happened now is the city of Piedmont … has rallied. They have caused our parade to be bigger and better with more emphasis placed on Christianity.'"
The Miracle Crusade Continues – I didn't realize people were still tracking with Benny Hinn. One writer decided to check out his New York event. "From the musician to his audience to the very God he claims to represent, Hinn exerts control over it all. He orders his pianist to play a certain way, and tells him to stop and switch it up when he wants a different mood. He tells his audience how to worship and how much money to give him." On the other hand, "But, as you look around the room and see men and women worshiping God with abandon, you realize something. Maybe these people, who trust and believe Hinn, are actually having authentic experiences with Jesus, despite the man guiding them. Maybe these people are actually finding genuine faith in a place that is otherwise tinged by deceit."
Repent! The End is Near! – What was once the domain of fear-mongerers born out of religious zeal, is now the province of secularists. "Today, it’s secularists who predict the end of the world with absolute certainty. If we don’t turn from our environmental sins, global warming will consume the earth in a fiery apocalypse. Just as the priests of old laid out their scrolls, today’s prophets of doom point to their computer models and tell us with absolute certainty that our planet is toast unless we turn aside from our pleasures (i.e. driving, affordable electricity, economical foods) and live an austere life of sacrifice." Author David Murrow on the works-based religion of secularism.
Article With Home Field Advantage – Are Nativity images depicting Jesus not a violation of the second commandment? "I am compelled to avoid all images of Christ. From the statues of Jesus on people's vehicle dashboards to illustrations on covers of theological books (which I wrap in brown paper), images of Jesus are embedded in even our culture at large … Because what I want is not less Jesus in my life, but more … I am not taking Christ out of my life. Instead, I am making room for more of him." Reading this article may be the end of every Bible story book in your home.
Shameless Promotion of Personal Friends – David Wesley's album Basement Praise is an a cappella collection of multi-track, layered vocals known to his 21,000 YouTube followers, and makes a great cross-generational gift.
Paul Wilkinson's small, cultic band of Twitter followers track him at @PaulW1lk1nson
