So – BAM – yesterday Google Buzz dropped. There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not people like it. I’m still not sure myself. I’m such a huge fan of Twitter. I did just do my first “buzz” though. So, what do you think about it? Will it survive?
This demo of what Sports Illustrated will look like and act on the new Apple iPad leaves me speechless. The future is happening right before our eyes. Check it!
In July of 2008 I was speaking to a group of Church leaders in Santa Cruz, California. I held my phone (this was just before I got my iPhone) up in my hand and I said, “This is the future.”
It’s been a year and a half and mobile technology is the “now”, not the future. My friend, Bobby Gruenwald, Innovation Pastor at LifeChurch.tv, constantly encourages his staff to think global and mobile – global and mobile.
I’m currently working with churches and organizations on helping them to create, dream and plan strategies around mobile technology. Your people are constantly becoming one with their phone (for good or bad) and it’s a reality that we need to be intentional about speaking their language. Again, as I’ve said before: we are digital missionaries.
As you know, I work often as a Secret Shopper/Mystery Worshiper. The first thing I check is the church’s website. The second thing I do is pull up their website on my iPhone. I have recommended several times that church’s follow the lead of Seacoast Church and get a mobile version of their website. I applaud and praise Seacoast for blazing a trail in this area. My hat’s off to my friend Shawn Wood and his team. Well done! If you have your phone handy (and I know you do) – pull up Seacoast’s website on it.
My church (and many others) send out text messages to attenders and members that opt in. My church also encourages you to text in questions and decisions that you may make as a response to the message. Many churches are utilizing text and SMS during services as an interactive piece. As I’ve blogged about before, many churches are using the free service from YouVersion Live.
I’ll be talking more in the near future about other mobile strategies and tools. In the meantime, if you and your church would like to strategize and put together a comprehensive plan that includes Web 2.0 tools, mobile technology, social media and social networking – give me a shout. My only goal is to help and equip you to speak the language of the people you’re trying to reach (digital missionaries).
Since the year 2000 I’ve kept my eye on Granger Community Church – after being introduced to them at the Purpose Driven Conference. I’ve respected their pastor and talented staff for their willingness to do whatever it takes to reach people and do it with a sense of excellence and innovation. I subscribe to their WiredChurches.com newsletter and hope you do, too.
I’ve never blogged about one of their newsletters before, but this one got my attention. As a secret shopper/mystery worshiper, I can’t stress how important what Mark shares is. Read on…
Excerpt from becausepeoplematter.com | by Mark Waltz
Self-disclosure #1: Pretty much any building I enter – restaurant, airport, mall, church, museum, store, your house – I’m looking for a restroom. There aren’t too many homes with signage for bathrooms, but then again, I generally know the host, so I can ask.
When a new guest comes to your church, they’re likely to look for one of three things (maybe all three):
Self-disclosure #2: When we opened our new auditorium at Granger Community a few years ago, we were strategic and careful about where signage was placed and just what it communicated. However, I recently toured our building with my guest services coaches and we made some disappointing discoveries. Some signage is too busy with font that’s too small to read without standing still. Some signage has been added in recent months and secondary bulkhead hides it. Other signage uses our
in-house language that may not be all that helpful to our guests.
So, when hanging signage, ask:
Hang a sign. And hang it effectively.
Learn more from Mark about creating WOW First Impressions and Lasting Impressions at Granger Thursday-Friday, November 12-13. Bring your team for $119/person.
In the last couple of months I’ve talked with several churches that are interested in bringing me in for a secret shopper/mystery worshiper visit, but don’t have it in this year’s budget. They are setting aside money in their 2010 budget to bring me in.
I bring this up for you to consider. Maybe you’d like to arrange a secret shopper visit. I’d encourage you to budget/plan for it now and you’re working on next year’s budget. Plan on $2000 or less for the visit (that includes all my travel expenses).
If you’d like to schedule a 2010 visit, contact me and let’s begin to look at the calendar. It’s a wise investment. You can go here for more information and to read endorsements of my ministry.
In the last 4 visits of doing my secret shopper/mystery worshiper service for churches I’ve done it for:
From 60 people to 13,000, there are similarities and huge differences. One thing remains the same: the people I help care about reaching more people for Christ. They know that you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression and they take action steps to improve their first impression.
People will determine whether or not they will return to your church within the first 10 minutes of arriving. What are you doing to reach them?
As you know, I’m in the air (traveling) a lot. Lately I’ve been bringing some magazines with me to read during the flight. Magazines that I’m reading currently are:
What magazines are you reading?
I go to a lot of Texas Rangers games. I also went to watch the Cowboys practice at their new stadium (which is across the street from Rangers Ballpark). On the interstate drive to the 2 major stadiums there have been put up highly controversial billboards by 5 churches in the DFW area. Below are the 2 billboards that I saw on my drive to the stadium.
These billboards caught my eye and I immediately pulled out my iPhone and looked up the Scripture references. Talk about twisting Scripture! Please hear my heart – I love ALL people. I know gay people. I treat them kindly and with respect. I know every week that I’m at my church that there are gay people in the congregation. They are welcome at our church and we believe in unconditional love and grace and mercy.
BUT to twist Scripture like these billboards do and take advantage of clueless people driving down the road that think their references are true and don’t have the ability or desire to actually look the verses up and read them for themselves is wrong.
Several times in the past I’ve started to blog about the issue of homosexuality and the Church. I’ve written drafts of blogs, but never posted them. You see, I usually err on the side of grace and think there are a lot of cruel and mean people in “the Church” that need to see gay people as Christ sees them.
However, I still believe that homosexuality is a sin (just as I sin all too often myself and have my own struggles). Where I disagree with my homosexual brothers and sisters is when they twist, remove or lie about Scripture. The Bible is very clear on this issue and that’s not going to change – even if it’s the 21st Century.
I would love to meet with these 5 DFW churches and their leadership (this is the website for the campaign). I would like to hear their reasoning and explain how they can take two very well known stories in Scripture and use them for their basis of their campaign. I’m extremely disappointed in their misuse of Scripture and what I believe is a type of deception.
Hear me people of DFW: the characters in the stories listed on the billboards were not gay – it’s simply not true. What are your thoughts?
The following is a great (and informative) video that Maurilio, from The A Group in Nashville, showed at the BUG Conference. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
