I’m blessed to be able to sit in strategic meetings with great people who work for several different Christian Publishing Houses. In years’ past I heard comments such as “our competitor is getting heavy into fiction. We need to buy more fiction work and be competitive.” But in time, the publishing house that had been know for its excellence in children’s materials, for example, began publishing too many titles outside its core competency. It couldn’t deliver on its new products and it weakened, as well, the very product line that had made it successful. In marketing circles, we cal this line extension. For example, just because Startbucks is great at making coffee, it does not mean it should become a media company, as it is trying to do by creating its own music label. To me that’s dangerous and has a way to dilute the Starbucks brand. What’s next? Shoes?…

I have found myself complaining that technology makes us so accessible that it’s intrusive and often unnecessary. But after yesterday, I have found a whole new appreciation for the ability to connect with people at an instant. After my youngest son was diagnosed with pneumonia, our pediatrician was concerned about other symptoms Derek displayed. Without alarming us, he let us know that he wanted to test our little boy for juvenile diabetes. Gwen and I began to pray and ask God for healing. After days of waiting, we got a call. The results of the first two tests were not encouraging, but not conclusive. A third and final test would tell us whether or not he would have to begin a life-long battle with a tough condition. Gwen email loved ones all over the globe. I text messaged close friends and family throughout the entire country to pray with us…

We are only three weeks into the New Year and I have seen people toss their new year’s resolutions aside. The signs are all over the place: the couple with the matching warm up suits is gone from the Y, the “salad eaters” have gone back to the Chinese Buffet and,most unfortunately, Bedside Baptist has claimed a large number of would-be worshipers. But not all of us who made resolutions have given up on them. I, for one, am sticking to my guns. I have been physically active for several years and last summer I began training for triathlons, but I had never considered running a full marathon until a friend talked me into joining a running group, Innerstrength, late last fall. This has been a great experience in perseverance. In the past few weeks I have run under unimaginable conditions. I remember in the past driving to the gym…

Historically, the first weekend of the New Year is a great opportunity to reach out to your community with a New Year series. 2008 was no exception. All of our clients who spent the time to plan, design, and promote a new teaching series saw a significant jump in their weekend attendance compared to previous years. Interestingly, those who did not promote their first-of-the year message series had marginal results. Easter is the next natural window for the unchurched to visit your congregation. And since Easter is early this year, March 23, churches should begin their creative planning now. Here are few tips: Create a 6-8 week teaching series that connects with your community’s concerns and issues. Promote it to your own people as a way to reach out to their network of friends and family Be creative. Develop a visually compelling, graphical representation of the teaching series. Make the…

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…

I have been around churches a long time. Unfortunately, I’ve seen the worst in people come out in the name of Christianity. And, sadly, most of this poor behavior I’ve witnessed during church business meetings. Once during a particular quarrelsome evening where two feuding segments went at each other’s throats with wild accusations, I noticed the church secretary taking very few notes for the official minutes. I leaned over and asked her, “How are you going to write this down?” “It’s simple,” she replied, “I usually write, ‘much discussion followed.’” Well, I’ve sat through church business meetings that started at supper time and ended almost in time for breakfast. Those marathon meetings usually have one thing in common: strife. You can tell you’re headed for a church showdown if a bus of inactive members who haven’t been around in years suddenly shows up for the mid-week business meeting. I’ve observed…

I’m often cautious when local media wants to feature one of our church clients because I never know the journalist’s intent and often hidden agenda. Needless to say, I was very concerned when I got a call early this summer from a writer for The New Yorker who was doing a feature story on Faith Church, in New Millford, CT. Local media is scary enough, but this was a whole new league of potential bad press. Faith Church is our oldest client and its Pastor, Frank Santora, has become a close friend over the many years we’ve worked together. I met Frank before he even had turned 30 years old, and have walked with him duringthree different capital campaigns, a church name change, 400% growth in the last 7 years, a relocation project, major stylistic and staff changes: the works. Faith Church is one of a few mega churches in…

I have the best job in the world because I love what I do. I have the privilege to working with people whom I believe in, helping them make a difference in our world. A few months ago I got a call from an old friend who sold his business to start a not-for-profit organization. While watching the heart wrenching footage of the devastating tsunami a couple of years back, Wayne saw a pair of shoes wash ashore. Being in the shoe business, he decided to do something about it and began to put shoes in people’s feet that needed them. In a little over two years, Soles 4 Souls, his ministry, has already given over 2 million pair of shoes worldwide. That’s amazing to me. Wayne Elsey challenged me to help Soles 4 Souls to develop a product that would impact people all over the world even more and…