Posts Tagged ‘negative impression’

@maurilio:

17

The Trap of the Critic

It’s easy for me to be a critic.  I grew up in a family that prided itself in finding what’s wrong with the world and each other. It was sort of a sport around the dinner table to see who would outwit the rest and deliver the best put down. We all laughed, but someone always got hurt. Now I’m a professional critic whose livelihood is partially funded by my ability to discern what’s wrong or what’s not working and help organizations move to the next level. This is a dangerous profession, and I’m very aware of the insidious negativity that can creep in and suck the life out of every experience. I have to work hard on being positive because cynicism and negativity are the first ones at the gate. When the critic in me starts to take over my heart, I go back to the words of Henri…

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14

My Bad Parking Lot Experience: Why First Impressions Matter

It’s hard to overcome a negative first impression. Your first gut reaction about a church, a business or even a person,  will determine how you feel about that institution or individual for a long time.  A while back I visited a well-known, fast growing congregation in Florida. I was not doing a secret shopper visit or a communication audit (some might find it shocking that I attend church without getting paid for), but I felt compelled to share with a staff member some of my impressions, specifically my run in with a parking lot attendant. I was cutting it close to get to the church by 8:30 for their first Sunday morning service. As I tried to follow the serpentine of cones that led me around the back of the property and again back to the front, I realized that the cones were not there for the sake of the…

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3

Beyond Jesus Junk

I’m often embarrassed walking around Christian bookstores and seeing isles filled with Christian “tchatchkes” (Yiddish for trinket) that add little or no value to the lives of believers. Most of them just get thrown into the already cluttered world we live filled with more stuff than we could ever use or need. After all, who really needs another velvet painting of the King, and, no, I’m not talking about Elvis here.But once in a while something comes along that blows away the chattel people consume.Such is The Word of Promise: a fully dramatized audio New Testament featuring JimCaviezel and a host of great actors. These are not just good reads of the New Testament books, but a fully engaging, theatrical rendition faithfully taken from the New King James Version. What a great product–visit their site and listen to a few samples and you’ll see what I mean. I remember getting…

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