Big Is The New Small

I remember having a conversation with a pastor friend of mine who happens to be a female.  She was sharing the various unique things that women in the church struggle with and things they have confided in her.  One of the things that she shared made me have one of those “hmm” moments.  She stated that women that she’s talked w/ in various churches struggle with the fact that They Think Their Pastor’s Sexy!  Not to be confused with the popular country music song “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.” Not only do they think their Pastor’s Sexy, but they struggle with their mind and eyes wandering into inappropriate places.  It becomes a challenge because they will have these lustful thoughts as their pastor is speaking. The same can be true for men with a female pastors or lust in general.

Many pastors teach the concept out of the book Every Mans Battle called “Bouncing Your Eyes.” In other words, don’t keep your eyes focused on someone of the opposite sex for too long.   Keeping your eyes moving can keep you out of trouble.  This is something that is stereotypically geared towards guys… but what about the ladies?  There is a book called Every Womans Battle, although I have not heard anything about the content.

After my conversation with my female pastor friend, it’s probably fair for me to make the assumption that there are women sitting in pews and seats of churches all around the country that may be struggling with the inability to “Bounce Their Eyes;”  especially as their eyes are having to be fixated on their “Sexy Pastor,” who happens to be in front of them for relatively lengthy periods of time each and every week.  The fact that their pastor is a man of God, tells great stories and seems to be rather put together only increases the the sexiness factor.

The thoughts running through their head might be something like this: He’s Hot, I like that suit, Are those True Religion Jeans, He’s so spiritual, I wish my husband treated me like that, He’s so Handsome, Nice Hair, He dresses so fly, I can tell he’s been working out, He’s so considerate, I know he’s married but, I would, I wonder if I can share that with him, I bet he… After thinking these thoughts, their mind wanders for a moment or two or three or four and unfortunately, this cycle can repeat itself on a weekly basis.  The Bible says this: ”But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:28  Ladies this passage applies to you as well, so please Stop Lusting After Your Pastor!

God created us with a unique ability to train and control our eyes, actions and mind.  Exercise your ability and gain control.

Do women get a pass? Is this a problem? How does play into the overall adultery scheme of things? Share your thoughts.

Ran across this young lady rocking a guitar solo at Potential Church.  I love seeing girls lead with guitars. It’s a short video, Enjoy!

Is it just me or does anyone else like seeing ladies rockin’ a guitar or leading with an acoustic? Who are some of your favorites?

The World Of Social Media is here to stay and that has major implications for the business sector, organizations and Corporate America.  There are over 220 million bloggers, over 600 million Facebook users, 175 million Twitter users and 34% of these folks post opinions about products and brands.  These shared opinions are a big deal, as research shows 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations and only 14% trust advertisements.

The problem with social media advertising is that many companies don’t have a clear understanding of how to leverage social media for their business.  There are a growing number of businesses whose primary focus and business model is to help organizations leverage social media and they will even do all of the social media work for the companies.

There are a growing number of businesses that seem to have a functional Social Media plan.  If used correctly, Social Media can be an amazing value-add to a company.  There is definitely more than one way to skin the Business Social Media Cat; however it’s important to employ a method that makes sense.

Here are 7 Ways Businesses Should Leverage Social Media

1.  Develop A Plan- The old proverb of those who fail to plan, plans to fail is definitely true when it comes to businesses and social media.  Develop a plan that starts with the end result in mind.  Do you have a desire to promote offers, promotions and coupons?  If so how are you going to do it.  Are you going to make Social Media the main communication hub for your customers, how are you co-branding your social media platform with your existing brand.

Developing a plan takes time, energy and research.  Take your time, develop a plan or hire someone to help you with the plan before you get jump in and get started.  If you have already begun, you should assess your existing plan and re-engage with the new plan.  Abraham Lincoln says it this way, “If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend 6 hours sharpening my ax.”

2. Know Your Voice- This is the golden rule as it pertains to Social Media.  If you are speaking on behalf of John Q Organization, make sure that you speak from that voice.  Businesses tend to confuse or overlap the voice of their personal brand with their business brand.

If you are tweeting or posting Facebook updates for your Coffee Shop, you should not be tweeting about mowing your grass, unless of course you are mentioning that it’s time to have a nice cup of Joe afterwards.  An easy solution to make sure your business voice is the one speaking is to ask this question before posting — If my company could tweet or post, would they share this?

3.  Be Social- The most important thing about social media is the social part and not the media.  If you look @Starbucks and @Southwestair Twitter streams, they are always interacting with customers and people.   One of the best organizations in the country that appropriately leverages the aspect of being social is @KCIAirport.  These guys are brilliant, if you want to see how you can be social, handle customer concerns and build a social media brand by doing the basics.  Check them out!  Be Social, Be Accessible, Be Social, Be Relevant, Be Social, Be Authentic, Be Social, Be Real, Be Social, Be about Your Brand, Be Social, Be Entertaining, Be Social and did I mention BE SOCIAL!

The statistics that I shared in the beginning of this post about 78% of customers trust peer recommendations drives home the importance of being social.  I think that research could be extended to say that people are more likely to trust and promote brands they feel connected to.  Be Social!

4.  Make A Name For Yourself- This is a two-part solution.  1.) Make sure that your Twitter and Facebook names are simple, easy to remember and relevant to your company.  2.) Make a name for your company by being active in the world of social media.  Have tweet-ups at your place, provide social-media only specials, have promotions that demand viral interaction and be creative.  @dealsplus has done a great job of demanding online viral interaction.  It does not matter if your company is large, small, on-line, or has a physical location, you can Make A Name For Yourself. Familiarizing yourself with the 111 Twitter Tools will help you to become efficient at making a name for yourself.

5.  Make Your Profile Work- Make sure your Twitter and Facebook profile represent your company.  If your business is a coffee shop be sure to have your logo as your profile pic. and not your personal glamour shot.  Check out my 6 Ways To Make Your Twitter Profile Work.

6.  Have a Primary Social Media Application- The cool thing about the success of Twitter is that Facebook and Twitter have become kissing cousins.   There are many applications that automate the connection of the two platforms.  Although I encourage the multi-updates in both spaces, it is helpful to focus on one platform as your primary.  For me personally, my primary is Twitter, although every single tweet goes to my Facebook community.

It is great for a business to encourage their customers to connect with them on multiple Social Media medians; however having one or the other as a primary helps with clarity.  Imagine your company as bi-lingual.  The question is: Is your company’s native language Twitterese or Facebookese etc.?  Answer that question and speak that language to your customers.

7. Make It Fun- No matter the strategy you choose, make it fun for your customers.  Fun, engaging, enlightening… should be the words your customers use to describe your social media presence.  This isn’t necesarrily “crack jokes” fun, but it’s definitely not blah blah blah boring.

The bottom line is that Social Media can definitely be a benefit to every business and business owner.  Use It, Try It, Be It, Become A Fan Of It, Study It, Know It, Become Good At Leveraging It.  In the future, “It” Can Make or Break Your Company.

“It” Is Social Media!

What do you think?  What companies do a great job of leveraging Social Media?  Share your thoughts.

It wasn’t long ago that I was having a conversation with a leader of a major Christian organization. Somewhere in our conversation the statement was made about a particular pastor truly being a “Good Guy.” We both kind of paused for a minute and I had this moment of realization that there seems to be this presupposition that maybe most are not “Good Guys.” This doesn’t only apply to pastors, but Christians in general.

I will hear people describe certain pastors, Christians, leaders etc. as seriously one of the “Good Guys.”  This doesn’t imply that everyone else is bad; however there is something to the pre-determined distinction of being one of the “Good Guys.”

Maybe you have never thought about it, but you have probably found yourself in a conversation or thought process of referring to some as: “A really good dude,” “The Real Deal,” “Seriously a good guy,” or “One of the good guys in ministry.”

Am I reading too much into this, or is there something a little off base when the assumption would be that christian leaders, leaders who are Christians and pastors are not the “Good Guys?” Or the fact that only a small percent seem to get the “Good Guy” disclaimer?

What happened to the Good Guys?

Have you ever thought about this?  Do you have an opinion as to why?  Share your thoughts.

• 1. Saddleback is developing ministry leaders. You don’t have to be seminary grads- people from all majors, all schools, and careers are key to building a pool large enough to plant the number of churches the world needs. They aren’t limiting the pool of leaders to only seminary grads.
• 2. Saddleback prepares leaders by letting them lead.
• 3. Saddleback is preparing Church planters, multi-site campus pastors, and ministry leaders through 1yr programs.
• 4. Academy participants learn from Saddleback pastors, staff and learn in the following areas: Adult Ministry, Children’s Ministry, Student Ministry, Student Ministry Worship, Adult Worship Arts & Church Administration.
• 5. There is always the intangibles of Southern California and Orange County.
• 6. The resources, scale, pace, credibility, culture, methods, strategies, and effectiveness of Saddleback Church
• 7. An awesome place to live – “The Ranch.”

I could go on and on with a lengthy post about the Academy; however Saddleback has put together a very detailed and descriptive program for you to read through.  I encourage you to take a look at all of the different areas, it might be an excellent opportunity for you, your friends or family.  Be sure to check out the different type of program areas: LAUNCH, ELEVATE, ACCELERATE, & DISCOVER.

It’s been nothing less than amazing to see, hear and feel the response to God’s message of seeing His church more unified.  As I travel around the country and hear stories from around the globe about what God is doing as it relates to diversity in His church, I get really excited for the future of the church.  I truly believe that this a move of God that leaders and the Body of Christ are responding to.  In recent times, it seems to be more prevalent to see stories of “Church Diversity” in the headlines.  Here are some examples of the stories: Southern Baptist Eyes On Black New Orleans Pastor, Assemblies Of God Growing Faster Than U.S. Population (attributes increase to ethnic diversity), Time Magazine: Can Mega Churches Bridge The Racial Divide?, Am I Too White To Be Your Pastor…

Over 45 years ago Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We must face the sad fact that at the eleven o’ clock hour on Sunday morning when we stand to sing, we stand in the most segregated hour in America.” My prayer has been that we don’t look up 45 years from mow and find Dr. King’s quote to still remaining true.

I receive e-mails, notes and calls on a regular basis from either ChurchDiversity.com or through social media about what God is doing in their church and personally in the Spirit Of Diversity. Below is a simple message that a pastor sent me yesterday.  I love the heart of this message: God Is Moving… Leaders Are Responding!

A few months ago I blogged a post titled, The Largest Church Management System Is Now Bigger & Better. This was in reference to Fellowship Technologies, known to most as Fellowship One, was acquired by Active Network.  It’s seems to become a great partnership to help better serve the local church.  One thing about active Network, is they are a giant in the industry and they don’t mess around when it comes to positioning themselves to do great things.

Active Network has now acquired ConnectionPower, a web-based church management software solution. This acquisition, along with the acquisition that I just mentioned of Fellowship Technologies, the developers of Fellowship One, reinforces Active Network’s industry position as the largest provider of cloud-based solutions for the local church.

I don’t know all of the details, but one thing seems certain…  Active Network is serious about being the leader at providing the best web based management systems for the local church.

Here is a letter from ConnectionPower’s CEO.

Here is a press release about the acquisition.

I love to see the local church leverage technology and this provides more tools and more technology under one roof.  How is your church leveraging technology?

Scott Williams TBN Interview – Church Diversity from Church Diversity on Vimeo.

Here is an interview that I did on TBN’s Praise The Lord program with Pastor Scott Thomas.  We had a great time on the show and have really been able to make some great connections for the Church Diversity movement, both within the United States and abroad.

I have always had a passion to unite people across racial, socio-economic, political, denominational and whatever other lines seem to divide us.  I am blessed that God has given me a platform to help unite the body of Christ and the local church across racial lines, for the sake of the Gospel.

At ChurchDiversity.com we have over churches represented from over 23 states in the U.S. alone.  If your church is not a part of the ChurchDiversity movement, get them added to the list here.

As I have been traveling around the country, the response has been amazing. I have been humbled by the response; however my heart really beats for the local community that God has allowed me to be a part of.  I want to see Oklahoma City united.  Fortunately, there are like minded individuals that have the same passion.

A few months ago “The Bearded One,” not OKC Thunder’s James Harden, the other one – christian music leader Charlie Hall had a vision to connect the city through worship and prayer.  The only agenda, was to pray for and connect the city of Oklahoma City.  From that vision, “The Sing” was birthed.  The Sing is a night of worship and prayer that happens in the heart of downtown OKC.  The event is free, no hidden agendas and the initial event was only promoted through word of mouth.  The first event had 1,500 people and ran out of room for people to get in.  The Spero Project, a local ministry that serves refugees was blessed by an offering at the end of the event.

“The Sing” is happening again, this Sunday June 5th from 6:00-8:00 pm at First Church in downtown OKC.  I am honored to be a part of “The Sing” this time around, as we pray for and unite the city of Oklahoma City.  The Sing is not about singing worship tunes, it’s about singing God’s praises for what He has done and what He will do through a united city.  There will be worship, prayer, spoken word, community and opportunity for action. Invite a friend and share information about “The Sing” with your friends. I’ll see you at “The Sing.”

For more information, you can check out TheSingOKC.com.

What efforts are happening in your local community to unite the Body of Christ and to unite your city?   Will you be at “The Sing?”