Hot Topic: Church and Video

Over the last several years churches have begun what they call Video Venues or Satellite Campuses. A video venue or satellite campus is one where there's not a live preacher but the pastor is on a very high quality video that is shown instead on a very large screen that fills a stage. A basic service at one of these churches is very streamlined and has live worship music, maybe some creative element, and then the sermon on video. I was working at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX when they opened up their first campus like this. I remember it being a back and forth on whether or not this was a good idea. The questions of do we build a bigger auditorium that will seat close to 9,000, redo the current auditorium for more seating, or go to video venues were the questions of the day in staff meetings.

Here is why I remember Fellowship Church went to video instead of the other two options:

1. People would not have to drive as far to new venues.
2. You could reach new people in new areas and have more impact on a different community.
3. The cost for building a new auditorium or redoing the current one would be as much if not more than starting 3 new campuses.
4. Ed is a gifted communicator and would be better on video than most would be live.
5. People who were sitting more than 10 rows back were already watching Ed on the large video screens and not looking at him on stage.
6. LifeChurch.tv was being very succussful in starting and maintaining new places of worship. Therefore we could follow a model of success.

Basically it came down to impact, levels of excellence, cost, and success.

Here is the question of the day, the month, the year, and years to come:

Is it working?

Keith Johnson just wrote a blog post about his experience at one of these services. Read the article and look at the comments. I have known Keith since 1999 when he hired me for a summer to work for the Billy Graham Association. Sometimes in his post and in his comments he comes across harsh, judgemental, or critquing. I know that is not his heart or intent (I just got off the phone with him). He could communicate his questions better. His questions are the same as why Fellowship started doing video venues.

1. Can and is it being impactful?
2. Is the level of excellence greater than a live speaker?
3. Is the cost of watching a video overcoming the building of community?
4. Is it being successful and how do you measure that success?

These questions are not those of critique but of evaluation. These questions are very viable and need to be answered. For many churches they have answered these questions. Take NewSpring Church in South Carolina for example. They are just starting their video venues and must have answered a resounding, "Yes" to the questions above. Why else would you start something if you didn't believe in it.

Here is the problem. This is still a new thing. We don't know the long term answers to the questions. We don't know if video venues cause weird attadance patterns or a lack of passion for attendance. We don't know if video venues cause tithing issues. We don't even know if a gifted communicator on video is more impactful than a gifted communicator live. We don't know if there is longevity in these campuses. We also don't know how this effects the rest of the family.

What we do know is that people are going to these campuses currently. Just look at LifeChurch.tv again. We know that they are hearing the truth about God. Anytime Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church preaches you here the truth about God and they have video venues. We know that they must like a gifted communicator on video more than a sub-par communicator live or they wouldn't be there.

What I hope doesn't happen is this same trend in Children's Ministry. I hope that we are not streamlining Children's Ministry so much that all they get is live worship music and a video. Whether you think adults can handle the difference or not, I think it is much harder for kids. We should not put more emphisis on production to make sure every kid gets the same experience over all the campuses by video. This statement is coming from a guy who loves production at very high qualities. We should instead make sure every kid has the same experience through building relationships. Kids don't get enough relational learning outside of church. They do get enough video and entertainment. Small groups or relationship building is going to be more and more important. I would much rather see a "good" live performance of a drama, Bible story, and games than an incredible, out of this world, great produced video for kids. Please keep as many live elements as possible for kids. It builds their imigination, their understanding, and I believe is just more effective.

2 Minute Tuesday: Celebrating America

It has been a while but 2 Minute Tuesdays are back. Enjoy.

Sign Wednesday: I couldn't believe it!

I walked into the atrium of our church 2 weeks ago and saw this sign:



I truly couldn't believe what I was seeing. If fact there were 2 guys who read my blog who came up to me as I was walking through the atrium to point this sign out to me. They were excited to show me how bad this sign is and that is never a good thing at your own church.

Let's go over why this sign is so bad.

1. Having to put a sign on a sign is rarely a good idea. It is always a bad idea when you have to cover up something printed on the sign. Just print a new sign. The cost of the new sign outweighs the message that you are communicating about your brand.

2. Seriously, do I have to go over the whole hand written sign thing again. Hand written signs are bad. Period. I don't care how nice your handwriting is or that you are being artistic with the letters. Hand written signs are bad.

3. As you can tell the sign is old, look at the curve in the right and left sides. Once again, I am for reusing good signs if they look good. Your brand means more than the $17 that it would have cost to reprint this sign.


There you have it. I even have a hard time at my church keeping the signs looking good. Don't worry though, I will keep trying to make our world a better looking place.

Ministry Monday: 5 Themes

I am currently working on a scope and sequence (not real high on that term but it is the best I have) for birth-high school. Yes I know, it is a task and a half. You think I am crazy and you want to know why I am doing this thing because I am not a publishing company. Well, let me just say that I think we need to be more strategic and intentional in our approach of leading kids and students.

Right now I can't say that we are doing a great job at being either strategic or intentional in the ministries that I over see in this area of cohesion for kids. Don't get me wrong, I think that we are doing very well in our series that we do for each group but it is not a cohesive unit by any means. As the Pastor of Students and Children it is my job to get us there.

You may or may not know but Reggie Joiner and the people over at the ReThink Group are doing this as well. Reggie has his 3 dials of Wonder, Discovery, and Passion that he talks about when examining this topic. Those are very good and the way that he presents them is great. The only problem is when I tell parents that I am going to teach their kid about Wonder, Discovery, and Passion then they look at me funny. Believe me, I have tried this and the looks are great. I guess I didn't do as well as Reggie at presenting the concepts.

What did I do in return? I have come up with 5 themes that we are going to focus on from birth-high school. Now don't get me wrong, these are not earth shattering by any means but it does give us a stick to measure with and to communicate to parents.

When a parent comes to me now and asked what we are going to teach their child from birth-high school I will say, "There are 5 key themes or areas that your child will learn while in our program. We will make sure your child is taught about:

God (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit)
The Church
The Bible
Self Disciplines
and Relationships

I told you that it wasn't earth shattering.

This gives us a foundation of what we are going to teach. It also helps us plan the teaching series or look for curriculum. I can now honestly look at each series and say that we are to heavy on the relationship piece and not enough on the Bible or the Holy Spirit or whatever happens to be the case. It is a start but not even close to being finished. More will come in the future about what our scope and sequence really looks like. It will be broken down for each area to give us a nice picture of where a kid should be in 5th grade, 8th grade, and 12th grade. Like I said before this is a task and a half.

By the way, why is it so hard to find this topic of an over arching theme for birth-high school? Is Reggie really one of the few people out there doing this? There has to be more. If you know of any could you leave a comment and let the rest of us know about it.

Free Thought Friday: Weird News Story of the Day

I was searching the web for some good news to blog about today. I came across this story:

Report: Ohio teacher burned cross on kids' arms

View smaller image

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (AP) - A public school teacher preached his Christian beliefs despite complaints by other teachers and administrators and used a device to burn the image of a cross on students' arms, according to a report by independent investigators. Mount Vernon Middle School teacher John Freshwater also taught creationism in his science class and was insubordinate in failing to remove a Bible and other religious materials from his classroom, the report said. School board members were scheduled to meet Friday afternoon to discuss the findings by consulting firm H.R. On Call Inc., hired by the district to investigate. The report was released Thursday. School Superintendent Stephen Short wouldn't comment on the report before Friday's meeting, his office said. A message seeking comment was left for Freshwater's attorney, Roger Weaver. The report comes one week after a family filed a federal lawsuit in Columbus against Freshwater and the school district, saying Freshwater burned a cross on their child's arm that remained for three or four weeks. Freshwater's friend Dave Daubenmire defended him. "With the exception of the cross-burning episode ... I believe John Freshwater is teaching the values of the parents in the Mount Vernon school district," he told The Columbus Dispatch in a story published Friday. Several students interviewed by investigators described Freshwater, who has been employed by the school district for 21 years, as a great guy. But Lynda Weston, the district's director of teaching and learning, told investigators that she has dealt with complaints about Freshwater for much of her 11-year term at the district, the report said. A former superintendent, Jeff Maley, said he tried to find another position for Freshwater but couldn't because Freshwater was certified only in science, the report said. Freshwater used a science tool known as a high-frequency generator to burn images of a cross on students' arms in December, the report said. Freshwater told investigators he simply was trying to demonstrate the device on several students and described the images as an "X," not a cross. But pictures show the images depict a cross, the report said. Other findings show that Freshwater taught that carbon dating was unreliable to argue against evolution.

I am all for living out your faith. I am even for people getting tattoos. My uncle is a tattoo artist. The thing that is the most weird for me in this story is the last paragraph. When Freshwater told investigators that it was an X and not a cross. If you are going to be bold enough to break a bunch of rules and not own up for this one then there is something wrong. I do appreciate Mr. Freshwater's passion. His technique maybe a little off.

Sign Wednesday: The Tombstone

Did you ever think about your tombstone as a sign? In many ways it is the ultimate sign. The last sign that you will probably ever get to post will be one that you decide for your remains. I am not trying to be morbid here but I do think that it is important for you to think about.

I like cemeteries for some reason. I think they are really intriguing and interesting. I participated in a funeral today at Spring Grove Cemetery here in Cincinnati. Believe it or not it is a beautiful place. Incredible trees and landscaping but more importantly incredible tombstones or should I say signs. I was blown away by the number of tombstones that were just huge. There were more ornate and intricate than any I have every seen in one cemetery. I can't believe I am going to write this but if you get a chance to go to Spring Grove to drive around I think you should. It really is a site to see.

Here are some of the pictures that I took while I was there.



There were many of these there and this one was not the biggest by any means and it stood about 30 feet tall.



I found this very interesting. It is quite tombish. Again not the biggest one but is a good representation.



Look at the huge piece of petrified wood on top of the tombstone. I couldn't figure out why but thought it was really cool.



This picture doesn't give it justice but believe me when I say that this was awe inspiring.

When I die I don't think I want an actual sign as my tombstone but I would like to have a really cool unique one that stands out. No neon or anything but I do think that my last sign should be at least interesting. I might be putting more pressure on myself than I need.

The World is Flatter for Children's Ministry

Did you know that I have a Posse'? That's right, I'm cool enough to have a gang of Children's Pastors that I hang out with. Hang out with might be a stretch. I mean we communicate all of the time. We pray for each other like crazy. We let each other know what's really going on in our ministries. We encourage each other and push each other. I can't think of a better group of guys to prod me along.

So how has the world of Children's Ministry become flat? I have actually never met any of them in person. Jonathan Cliff, aka Little Pastor, lives in Lubbock, TX. He just had a rough 10 year anniversary because his kids aren't feeling well. Kenny Conley is in Austin, TX. He just became the Family Pastor of a church there and is dealing with a lot of leadership growth in his life. Sam Luce is in Utica, NY and has been the Children's Pastor of his church for 10 years. He is extremely passionate about ministry, Macs, and media. All three of these guys are leaders beyond belief. Their visions are incredible.

How do I know all this stuff? How do we communicate? How did we become friends?
It is quite simple. We all blog (Jonathan's blog, Kenny's blog, Sam's blog). We all Twitter (Johanthan's feed, Kenny's feed, Sam's feed). We even use the old school e-mail. We all have the common interest in seeing people get God's love. Someday we are all going to be at the same conference and be able to make fun of each other in person but until that day I am extremely excited that God has brought us together for this season in this way. You could call us all nerds or geeks. You could call us a nice team assembled all over the country. You could call us crazy.

By the way there is one more guy who all 4 of us look to that is also making the world of Children's Ministry flatter. His name is Pudge Huckaby. I have had the priveledge of meeting Pudge at his church in South Carolina. He to has incredible insight and passion for kids and the ministry to kids. I don't know if I would call him apart of the Posse', but I think he will be soon. His blog is here and his twitter feed is here.

This Posse' is not closed. We are not exclusive except for the fact that you have to be really good at what you do. You have to be passionate about ministry, people, and God's love. You have to be somewhat of a tech geek, if not we might bore you. You have to be willing to share your thoughts and to be pushed. Other than that let us know who you are. We would love to have you as apart of the conversation.

Doing anything together is much better than doing something by yourself.

Sign Wednesday: Hell's Most Wanted

If you don't know by now that I am a Christ-follower then you haven't read my blog very closely at all. After reading this sign above though it looks like I am still going to Hell. It looks like we are all going to Hell. I wonder if the person who put this sign up thinks that they are going to heaven? I hope not. I hope that they are a sports fan, gambler, lier, and hypocrite just like me. That way they to can come to realize that Jesus is about grace and that is the only reason they can repent and turn to Him.

I don't know what makes this sign worse, the overall judgment that is on the sign or the graphical design. Either way it maybe one of the worst signs I have every seen.

If this sign is right then I will see you in Hell. If the Bible is right then I will see you in Heaven.

(hat tip to Kenny for sending me the sign)

Update: I took out fornicator to my list above. I really thought fornicator meant something else. Sorry for the confusion.

Ministry Monday: The 4 Minute Rule

Do you know the 4 Minute Rule? If you don't you should. Fairly or unfairly you, your ministry, your events, and even your success is judged, measured, and defined by the 4 Minute Rule. Am I talking about the amount of time that you teach a point and move on to something else? No. Am I talking about the amount of time you can spend on Facebook before being invited to another application or group? No, that would be the 2 minute rule. So, what is the is the 4 Minute Rule and why is it so important?

The 4 Minute Rule is simple and if used effectively will increase your ministry leaps and bounds. If the 4 Minute Rule is used poorly then it will create headaches of migraine proportions. The 4 Minute Rule says that you have 4 Minutes with each set of parents or guardians of each kid. The 2 Minutes that they drop them off and the 2 Minutes that they pick them up and that is it. Most parents don't know anything more about you, your ministry, or your responsibility than those crucial 4 Minutes. I mean think about it. Parents really don't know what happens while they are gone. Sometimes that is a good thing but most of the time that is not the goal but it remains to be the truth. Seriously though, how would they know what happened? They ask their child and the child mutters something about candy, not winning, and that someone was smelling really bad. Parents look at the parent page long enough to see that you taught their child something and are happy that they didn't have to teach that lesson. Parents though in those 4 Minutes judge everything by all 5 senses. How does your space smell? How does your ministry look? How friendly are your volunteers? How much do you care about my child? Can I trust you with my child? Does it look like you know what you are doing? How does your space and ministry make them feel?

Now you see how important the 4 Minute Rule is to you and your ministry. You really only have a brief amount of time to impress and communicate to families. This is why environment is so important. This is why smiling faces at the room is so important. This is why the check in process is one of the most important things that you will do in the eyes of the family. Remember you only have the 2 minutes that parents drop off and the 2 minutes that parents pick up. If it takes more than those 2 minutes then families are not going to be happy and if it takes a lot less time than that then they don't feel like you care about their child. Nobody likes to wait in line to drop off their kids. Nobody likes it when you can't find their kid's bag or toy when they come pick up their child. Believe me when I say that I know that your ministry, job, livelihood is so much more than those 4 Minutes but I don't know when it comes to ministering to the family if you can find a more crucial 4 Minutes.

If you don't believe that these 4 Minutes are crucial then let them go by the wayside and see what happens. You will get more complaints and families leaving because they remember the first and last things that they experience and that experience was not good.

Live by the 4 Minute rule or spend the rest of your time making up for those 4 bad Minutes.

Listen to my Post with Jott

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Jott.com. Well they just came out with a new feature that will let you listen to my post on your cell phone while you are away from your computer. I don't know about you but I think this is really cool. I talked to my wife today and she didn't see the coolness but that is okay. If you want to listen to my post click on the button below.



You do have to have a Jott account and from there it is easy to set up. If you don't have a Jott account, then what are you waiting for? It really is an incredible piece of technology for use on the go.