Thoughts on leadership, Creativity & communications
My articles have been featured on Outreach Magazine, Unseminary, The Church Digital, Twelve:Thirty Media, Sunday Mag, Church Facilities Conference, Church Production, Biblical Leadership, Tithely, XPastor, and Salt Community. If you would like my content featured on your site then shoot me an email.
God Is With You
Ministry can feel lonely but it isn’t lonely. There will come seasons in which it can feel like you are going at it alone. And there will be seasons in which you will be indeed going at it alone at a human level. But take heart even during those bleak times because God is always with you…
Trusting Your Team During Vacations
Taking time to unplug during vacations is vital for the success of yourself and your team. When you unplug it refills your tank. It also gives your team a chance to dip into their reserves and showcase abilities you are unaware of…
Visualizing Leadership
I am a visual learner and communicator. When there are pictures involved it sticks with me longer. And when I share with others I always leverage them…
Church Rescue
What a Christian version of this show would look like? Would there be common themes you see in those episodes? From the leadership perspective, would there be a similar type of dysfunction across churches? And would that dysfunction manifest itself in a consistent way across the staff…
Communication Values
I love communicating to a crowd. I aim to make it clear, concise, creative and compelling. Below are some questions I ask to that end…
Maximizing Your Service Content
Churches put a lot of resources into crafting weekly services. But that effort often isn’t utilized beyond Sunday morning. Let’s explore why you should maximize your content, what content to maximize and how to go about doing it. Let’s maximize our service content for maximum kingdom impact…
Publicly Reading Scripture Well
Many churches read passages of scripture during their services. That could be the psalm which a song was based on or the passage the message will focus on. Regardless of when scripture is read, or who is performing the reading, it should always be done well…
Free Christmas Resources 2023
Here are free Christmas resources from incredible sites. Resources about creating services, maximizing marketing and avoiding burn out. Resources for kids, small groups and the community at large….
Measuring Stick
Everyone uses a different measuring stick or evaluation process to determine if a job is good. Three things I use are the where, the what and the who…
Leveraging Social Media For Your Church Part 3: Photos
Posed photos focus on how the individual looks. Candid photos focus on what the individual is doing. We want more photos of what God is doing than how we are looking. So stop taking posed photos…
Leveraging Social Media For Your Church Part 2: Videos
We have the best message to communicate. That we are unfathomably loved by God. Therefore we should use the best tools we have - like video - to communicate that message…
Leveraging Social Media For Your Church Part 1: Overview
There are currently over four billion social media users which is almost 60% of the world's population. These platforms are incredible opportunities for churches to make a kingdom impact. But unless we are inspired and educated that isn’t going to happen…
10 Secrets To A Successful Social Media Presence
Social media has become an invaluable tool for churches to connect with their congregation, engage with the wider community and spread their message of faith. So here are ten secrets to overseeing a successful social media presence.
Build Your Live Stream Audience
Churches have an incredible opportunity to grow their reach through live streams. But some of our streams have become trickles. We will identify why there has been a decrease and give you best practices to open up the faucet to help those streams become floods again..
What To Look For In A Church
Instead of looking for temporal internal needs when evaluating a church, look for eternal external needs. Look for a church that is focused on reaching the community with the gospel of Christ…
Designing Incredible Events
Every event should be awesome. Be it a conference, religious experience or even a birthday party. But that takes work. So I want to give you ten best practices on designing events…
Presenting As A Pair
Most presenting, be it a sales pitch or church announcement, works best as a pair. This is because two presenters decreases the workload and increases the engagement….
10 Dynamic Church Vimeo Accounts
Most churches just use Vimeo simply to post their messages. But it is a great platform to find inspiration from others as well. Here are the top ten accounts I suggest you follow…
10 Church Instagram Accounts Focusing On The Experience
Here are a bunch of church Instagram accounts that focus on the experience including creativity, production and worship. Hope these accounts help inspire you.
5 Elements Every Sermon Needs Blog
Every sermon needs five elements to succeed. These elements help you communicate for life change and challenge people to take their next step in following Jesus. They are scripture, skin, symbol, story and step…
15 Ways To Improve Your Worship Photography
A large portion of our services are dedicated to worship. So we should learn how to capture it well through photography to showcase it well…
Awesome Message Series Bumpers
Bumper videos are great promotional and inspirational content a church can create. But they are also a great financial investment. So here are some best practices to help ensure you get the most bang for your buck…
Healthy Venting As A Staff
Sweeping emotions under the carpet is not healthy in our personal or professional lives. But neither is the opposite extreme of oversharing. So here are six guardrails to help you, your team and your organization express themselves in a healthy manner…
Transitioning Jobs Well
Most of us only transition jobs once every five years. Because of how infrequent it happens, we aren’t the best at it. So I want to pass along what I’ve learned about transitioning jobs well to help you during your next career change…
Leading & Participating In Meaningful Meetings
Meaningful meetings require prepared leaders and engaged participants. But those two elements take intentionality. So here are seventeen ways to lead, and six ways to participate in, impactful meetings…
20 Ways To Infuse Creativity Into Your Services
Creating 52 stunning services year after year can be tough. So here are 20 ways to infuse them with creativity. Hopefully these help you get through any slump you face this year…
HOW TO REVIEW YOUR SERMON
Reviewing your sermon affirms what is working, tweaks what is broken and makes the content more engaging. In the end, this review will give your guests better experiences…
SWOT For Organizations With A Large % of Post COVID Staff
TLCC has operated as an organization for thirty years but the vast majority of staff have only been with us for less than three years. Two thirds of our staff only know our post COVID reality. This is shocking…
Leading Creatives
There are tensions between leaders and creatives within any organization because of how these two types are naturally wired. So I want to outline ten tactics for a leader to help minimize these tensions with their creatives to increase efficiency and effectiveness…
Transitioning Staff Well
Staffing turnover dramatically increased during the global pandemic. So organizations have needed to become better at transitioning staff well for the sake of the supervisor, organization and departing staff…
Creating Exciting VOD Content
Exciting video on demand content keeps your church connected to your mission. And it is possible for any church, regardless of your size, to create…
Giving Clear Feedback
Developing clear and consistent feedback language gets everybody on the same page which allows your organization to solve problems faster…
Church Online Flowchart
I've coached a number of churches through their online model. I always start with the same question and then lead them through a basic flowchart.
Insights After Six Months Of Being Reopened
The past six months of being reopened has given us seven insights into where our people are at and how we need to continue pivoting...
Our Leadership Got COVID...This Is What We Learned
The leadership at my church got COVID during the same week. This is what we learned through the experience…
Free Mother’s Day Resources
Here is a list of incredible free Mother’s Day resources from incredible church leaders to help you prepare for this big day. Praying these resources help more people find and follow Jesus at your church during this holiday…
Enhance Your Networking Skills
Networking can be viewed as negative and even sinful in ministry. But it should be the opposite. Because it can be a positive tool to develop yourself and grow your ministry…
Directing For IMAG
IMAG uses cameras, projectors and screens to enlarge an image of the stage at a live show to give the audience a better view. I’ll tell you why you should do IMAG, when you should do it and then how to direct it…
Changes To Church Onsite Because Of Church Online
Church leaders thought long and hard about how church online should change in light of COVID-19. But we haven’t invested as much thought into how church onsite should change…
Communicating To A Wide Audience
Every organization should craft their communication to those who are mildly aware of them. This will help you communicate to the widest audience possible…
What Churches Can Learn From WandaVision
Disney took some surprisingly unique steps with their content and delivery to better connect with their audience. There are some learnings about content and delivery, or at least re-learnings, that the church can take away from this great show…
Easter Coaching
I would love to coach you to maximize Easter. This is your largest attended service and my desire is to help more people come to your church and come to Christ. We will plan, promote and pray to make this your best Easter yet….
Reducing Safe, Spacious & Sanitized Protocols
Now that national and local infection rates are reducing and the vaccine is rolling out we are looking to systematically reduce our protocols in waves. Our desire is to give our guests greeter freedom while still staying safe. Sharing our past, current and future plans in case they help you develop plans at your church.
Utilize Church Online
Churches have an incredible opportunity to grow their reach through church online. It allows you to reach a wider audience, be financially effective and position yourself for the future…
Church Photo Team - Why & How
Let’s talk about building a church photography team. I’ll give four reasons to build one and ten tips on how to build one…
12 Ways To Create An Awesome Easter Online Experience
Last year many churches did Easter online for the first time. Since it was new and rushed we didn’t put our best foot forward. But it’s now a year later and we still have two months, so there's no reason why your online experience can’t be awesome in 2021…
Fun 404 Pages
A lot of employers describe themselves as a fun place to work. Some organizations even list it as one of their values. But sometimes organizations don’t reflect this in their communication. One quick and easy way to remedy that is through the 404 webpage…
360 Review
Traditional reviews are performed just by your manager. A 360 review includes your manager, your peers, and your direct reports. That’s why its called 360, because feedback comes from all directions in the organization. Today I’ll give you four solid reasons why you should consider implementing 360 reviews for yourself and your organization…
Getting The Best Ideas From Your Team
Organizations rise and fall based upon the quality of their ideas. This is why I put some much merit in generating the best ideas. But getting awesome ideas from people around you doesn’t come naturally or easy. So below are eleven ways to get the best ideas from your team. Hopefully these tips help bring out the best from your people and help your organization succeed…
Top 25 Leadership Books
Here are my top 25 leadership books over the past 25 years. Sharing in case you are looking for some holiday reading. What are some books that have formed your leadership…
Free Easter Resources
I put together a list of free Easter resources from incredible leaders. None of these resources require you to sign up for a mailing list. They are all readily available. Praying these resources help more people find and follow Jesus at your church this year…
FREE CHURCH ONLINE RESOURCES
I put together a list of free church online resources from incredible leaders like Jay Kranda, Carey Nieuwhof and Jeff Reed who pour themselves into the larger church. Hope these help you succeed next year…
Year End Service - Exclusively Online
I want to give you five compelling reasons to consider doing this next year at your church. I’ll also give you four best practices to execute with excellence. And lastly I’ll suggest three additional services you should consider going exclusively online…
Unique Christmas Invite
Here is a free & last minute idea to share Christmas cheer with delivery folks. People working in the delivery sector have been doing double duty so it’s a great chance to say thanks. Just encourage your congregation to provide snacks & beverages on their front porch with Christmas invite cards attached…
Free Christmas Resources
I put together a list of free Christmas resources from incredible leaders like Rich Birch, Kenny Jahng, Carey Nieuwhof and Jeff Reed who pour themselves into the larger church. Hope these help you prepare for the holiday season…
Kill The Cows & Burn The Plows
Here is a devotional based off 1 Kings 19:21 that applies to any church leaders as they look towards 2021. It helps them release the past so they can grab hold of the future. This truth gives me hope as I travers uncharted waters. I hope it does the same for you...
6 Things I Learned About Church Online This Year
The church has learned more about its mission and ministry this past year than it did the past decade. Church leaders have been on an incredible growth journey. The need to pivot was most intensely felt within church online. So below are six things I learned about church online this past year…
Visual Communication Conversation
A conversation with Chad Hovind about visual ways to make experiences more dynamic and better engage people online…
FREE UBER VOUCHERS
Here is a fresh promotional idea for holiday services and campus launches - offering free Uber vouchers to anybody that needs a ride. This is incredible ROI because greater usage guarantees greater attendance. We executed this promotional idea at Christ Fellowship Miami for our Doral campus grand opening. Not only did it get additional guests out, it also demonstrated God’s generosity to skeptical outsiders…
Video Storytelling
Communicators and video producers…here is a way to make your video storytelling a lot more dynamic in from of a live audience.
CREATING SAFE, SPACIOUS & SANITIZED SERVICES
Welcoming back your folks is not going to be easy. Some have likened it to launching a campus or even planting a church. I don’t think it is gonna be that difficult, but I do acknowledge it’s not gonna be easy. That being said, with some focused coaching and increased effort, you will be able to welcome your people back to safe, spacious and sanitized services…
4 Tips To Record From Home
Here are four additional tips to make sure you look and sound great from home during this season of sheltering at home.
Reopening Survey
At Christ Fellowship Miami we want to reopen our campuses in a safe, spacious & sanitized way. We also want the congregation's feedback to this end. So we sent them the survey below. We kept the survey anonymous to allow for greater levels of honesty. We also incentivized participation by allowing people to provide their email address to be entered into a draw for a $100 Amazon gift card…
10 Tips To Record From Home
Here are my top ten tips to make great videos while recording yourself on a phone during this crisis. Spending a little effort with these tips will avoid making bad home recordings while we are social distancing.
Recording From Home Gear
Here is some gear I recommend if you are trying to record yourself on a phone during this season of sheltering from home. Also check out this video with ten tips on recording yourself during this crisis. Spending a little effort and money will avoid making bad videos while we are social distancing…
Increasing Online Engagement
Had a chance to talk with 100 pastors in Southern Ontario (my original stomping ground) about increasing online engagement.
CHURCH ONLINE CHAT HOST BEST PRACTICES
Here are 10 general best practices for chat hosts across all platforms along with 4 particular tips for Facebook and CHoP from Life.Church. Utilizing these practices will make the experience engaging for your guests...
Soul Care & Burnout
Looking with my friend Greg Atkinson, the founder of the First Impressions Conference about how church leaders can take care of their soul and avoid burnout during this pandemic.
HOW GROWING MULTISITE CHURCHES ALLOCATE SERVICE TIME
The majority of churches have three elements in a service with worship, hosting & message. These three elements go by different names like singing, announcements and preaching. And sometimes there are additional unique elements like baptism, communion and budget votes in a service…
Exclusively Online Services
Our services at Christ Fellowship Miami just went exclusively online. And here is one of the ways in which we are pivoting with the experience. How are you pivoting?
INTERNSHIP BEST PRACTICES
Internships are great ways to find and develop your future church staff. When done right, you can have a lasting impact on the kingdom by the way you develop and mentor the up-and-coming church leaders of tomorrow. Let’s learn some best practices and how your church can train up the next generation of leaders...
CREATIVE CHURCH INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS
Here are a bunch of creative church Instagram accounts that I follow for inspiration. These accounts cover tons of creativity content. Lots of content to keep your creative juices flowing. What are some accounts that you follow…
On Camera Best Practices
Here are three basic tips to help you communicate on camera during COVID-19.
Make Eye Contact
Keep Framing Tight
Gesture To Gain Attention
BRAINSTORMING MEETINGS THAT POUR DOWN IDEAS
The creative process can feel like capturing lightning in a bottle. Below are some steps to ensure you release the creative talent on your team and leverage your brainstorming meetings to the max…
Avoiding Predictable Services
It’s easy for church services to get into a rut with Sunday coming every 7 days. Over 52 weeks a year and creative teams can start to rely on past successes instead of crafting dynamic new ones. Whether your services are timed to the minute or open ended, below are a number of approaches to develop dynamic church services…
Interviewing For Video Testimonies
Many churches use video testimonies in their services to tell powerful stories of redemption and restoration. Stories of God at work. Here are a number of helpful suggestions to help train and prepare unseasoned interviewers…
Publicly Reading the bible Well
Many churches read a passage of scripture during their services. That could be the psalm which a song was based on, the passage the message will focus on or a benediction to conclude the service. Regardless of when scripture is read, or who is doing the reading, it should always be done well…
HOW TO DELIVER LIVE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announcements can be the lamest time during the service. But they don’t have to be. If you have great content and a great communicator, then the announcements can be a lively, worshipful and engaging element…
Storytelling Through Photography
The church has the most important message to communicate – that everyone is unfathomably loved by God. The church needs the best communication tools to convey that message. Capturing great photos is one way to do that…
10 Tips To Record From Home
Here are my top ten tips to make great videos while recording yourself on a phone during this crisis. Spending a little effort with these tips will avoid making bad home recordings while we are social distancing…
Church Online Can Grow Your Impact
Churches have an incredible opportunity to grow their reach through church online. This model of ministry allows you to reach a wider audience, become a welcome mat for people far from God, be financially effective as possible and position yourself for the future…