“Does it hurt?,” you ask? “Yes!” they weakly respond. “Then stop slapping yourself!” you quickly say.

It seems crazy. Everyday people do things to themselves that cause pain and discomfort. Yet they continue doing it. Just tune into facebook.

“I can’t believe I’m sick again” — yet you know they live an unhealthy lifestyle of choices. “Had to stay up incredibly late getting all the homework graded” — and you realize for the most part, it’s because of stupid priority imbalances.

But ultimately, people do things because they get something positive from it. A benefit. People like eating like pigs (especially fatty or sugary foods), or they would rather socialize and have fun than doing more important things.

Does that make sense? Perhaps the person slapping themselves gets an emotional boost from all the people who take interest in them and who give them sympathy. The physical pain is WORTH enduring for the psychological bonus.

What are people enduring in your church in order to receive a boost? I hate the incredibly uncomfortable (and too close) chairs our family endures in the service we go to. But I’m willing to endure it (for awhile) for the benefits I recieve.

What is it with your church? It would be eyeopening to find out what it is. So, ask! And you may be in a position that you can say, “stop doing that” and come up with an easy solution that your congregation hasn’t thought about. You won’t know until you ask. I bet if you asked your staff, they could start a list. If you don’t have benefits to overshadow the problems, you have some huge issues.

Ultimately, the benefits have to override the pain, or people will leave. Unless, of course, your church is perfect.

26 years.

Like the days of old (yes, I’m feeling my age lately), I was mentored and apprenticed. I worked virtually every job in this industry. That’s how much I love it.

Times have changed since I cut rubylith film, sketch marker mockups, waxed typesetting, drew bluelines and shot PMTs. I’ve adapted and grown to align myself with this amazing digital online age. My love continues to increase for what I do — and I’m in awe at how it works.

When it’s done right.

Now, more and more, churches are hiring internal Communications Teams. These people are either ministry leaders who love branding/advertising/marketing or they’re graphic designers who are trying to get the best communications developed for the church.

It’s a complex role — and like all “internal” positions, it’s difficult to know if you’re doing the best work. If you’re not getting the results that your Pastoral team would like; you’re feel pressure. Perhaps a lot of pressure.

You need 1 thing. You need a Creative Director.

PinPoint is pleased to announce our Virtual Creative Director program. We work directly with you as a senior branding consultant that can provide (all or some of this):

• Onsite encouragement and learning seminars (in your church).
• Step-by-step analysis of what you’re doing right and what you need to improve.
• Ongoing support, creative direction, and approvals.

We love the Church, and we love branding. Together we’re going to make a great team! Simply contact me to get started. We custom develop a strategic plan that works perfectly with your team. Know that you’re doing it correctly!

But I often get bogged down in getting things done.

When I’m successful; I realize I follow a formula:

• I get a clear overview of all the tasks (problems).
• I remind myself what the benefits of finishing them is.
• I look at how much time it’ll take to complete them.
• I create a priority list from start to finish. Sometimes mentally, sometimes on paper.
• Then I do each step. One at a time.

The key is often the last point. I get overwhelmed when I think about all the tasks/problems at once. But when I have them broken into bite-sized steps, I set mini goals about getting them done.

What are major issues that you need to change/fix/resolve? Are they overwhelming? What’s the first step? Start with it. Shouldn’t take long; then move onto the next step. Repeat.

The age-old “what will you say on your deathbed?” question came up the other day on someone’s status. A nurse who deals daily with dying patients; wrote a poignant blog about the 5 most common things she hears.

Watching my mother die and the professionals that helped had a huge impact on me. The environment that was so foreign to me (it’s burned into my memory) was so “usual” to them. They were amazing walking us through this normal part of life. Dying.

I felt blessed to be present as my Mother left her frail earthly cancer-ridden body and entered heaven’s glory. So many people aren’t there at that moment. But these professionals see it regularly.

So, if you were dying right now, what would you be most happy with? What about disappointments? I realize that it’s somewhat a morbid discussion — but shouldn’t we deal with it now (when we can change) than when we’re taking our last breath?

Here’s the answers that the nurse posted (what she hears most often). Perhaps it’ll get you thinking about some much needed resolutions that we all need to make:

1. I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
3. I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I stayed in touch with friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

That last one bites a bit. I want to be more content. This year I’m going to live my life in the moment. I’m going to be present. And I’m going to be happy knowing that God dealt me these cards and I’m playing them as best as I can.

You know that won’t work. But they REALLY think it will. You know they need to go to a gym 3-4 times a week (with a trainer); and overhaul their horrendous diet. Not as easy sounding; but it’ll work better.

Well, we get calls all the time from churches, ministries and businesses. They’re well-meaning. They have huge communication issues. And they say, “I need a new website”.

They don’t need a new website!

The 3 things they ACTUALLY need:

1. A Strategy – everyone needs a strategy for their communications. What do you want to achieve, what goals do you want met, what is your audience looking for from you? How will you deliver it? A strategy spells it out.
2. Better Content – People come to your website to find content. Not a cool looking design. It can be fun to find that, but ultimately they NEED well-produced content.
3. A Content Management System (CMS) – You need to have the ability to change your content regularly. If you’re not changing it, why would you expect people to come back regularly? This CMS should be easy to use, able to be delegated to many people (with password protection), and not come at a high cost (ours is free).

So, are you ready to do the HARD work? You don’t need a new website; but it may be part of the overall plan. But a new website won’t solve your problems. You need a communications coach. You need PinPoint. Contact us today.

Have you considered why your church is a destination? Each Sunday, it’s a destination for the people who attend. In fact, you could say that each Sunday, you are the top destination for your regular attenders.

Do you know why?

In order to be a great church in 2012, you HAVE to identify and/or do these 3 key things. The sooner you do, the better you’ll become.

1. Know Who You Are. There has to be key reasons why you have a local church. Why don’t you meet with the church down the street? God chose you to have a segment of His larger Church for a reason. Can you describe it? If you can’t, then your congregation can’t. And it’s hard to get people to invite others (the #1 way to grow your ministry) unless they know.
2. Have a Plan. If you don’t have goals for the next year, you will wander. You’ll leave your congregation behind. They’ll die without a vision. They need leadership. And leaders create plans (with motivation and steps necessary to carry out the plan).
3. Communicate the Plan. Some Churches have plans. The leadership gets together as a group and creates them. But the congregation doesn’t know or understand why they’re enduring change because they don’t know the ultimate goal. You have to communicate your vision (from the pulpit, in newsletters, small groups, website, etc). There’s nothing more aggravating than being in a vehicle, and not knowing where you’re going.

Are you ready to get started? If you don’t know how to get started, contact us. We can coach you through the process and/or help you with the communication materials. 2012 is going to be a great year!

1. Hosting has become a commodity. So you should be paying about $10/month. Ensure the host allows you to change things easily and cancel (while you maintain ownership) at anytime. Also, check with your programmers to make sure they are familiar with the host before you sign a contract. They should offer unlimited emails and a large amount of storage space. And make sure that you don’t use a host known for pornography; ie. GoDaddy
2. You don’t have to pay for a content management system. WordPress (or similar open source engine) is the most popular website cms’s for churches today. They’re free. NO MONTHLY fees!
3. Don’t settle for “one of their” templates. Your website should look like your church (designed custom) — and what your print materials look like. This helps develop a brand for your church. And brands bring more people into a church. 85% of people visit a website before visiting a church. If your church doesn’t “feel” like your web; most of them will never return.
4. Spend time on content. It’s all about what you’re saying, not about the tool. Edit. Edit. Edit. The average person only reads 50 words on a page. Writing more ensures no one will read it.

We write lots of tips/tricks/hints here on our blog for Churches, but if you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly (I love the Lord and want to help the church!)

Multi-site churches are here for awhile.

I continually hear Pastors say they’re “1 church, many locations”. But in actuality, it’s far from the truth. When you set up a church in a different location and allow different people to attend it for many reasons, why would you think your locations would feel the same? What’s the glue to make it happen?

In order to create unity, and to ensure that everyone (staff and congregation) are on the same page, you need to take these 3 steps:

1. Know who you are. Some people call it your DNA. It’s the main benefits that your current congregation have chosen you specifically for. It’s what you do best. Most times, your congregation is similar in demographic and psycho-graphic (birds of a feather, tend to flock together). You need to identify who that audience is; and what most of them perceive as the benefit of attending.
2. Control your perceived benefits. Once you have the “many” (I hope) benefits in mind; consider which fits with the vision, direction and mission of your local church. Then claim it! Develop a short tagline (positioning statement) that describe that key benefit. If you keep reminding your congregation of this benefit over and over, they’ll use it to attract others who also need it.
3. Communicate. In Unison. Make sure as you create more venues; you communicate that key benefit over and over. Be consistent and you’ll actually achieve what you want. Unity of who you are. Make sure you preach it regularly, have it in every print piece and as a golden thread throughout your website.

The sooner you do this the better (and more unified) you’ll become!

We’re busy people. I don’t have much extra time. And I’m sure you concur.

So why do we do things that don’t return the results we’re looking for? We seem to decide to do things; but rarely ever to stop doing.

PLEASE STOP doing these 3 things!

1. Websites. Stop creating websites that have far too much content. Long paragraphs and more words than 50/page. Most people don’t stay much more than 10 seconds/page; and they don’t read any “dense” paragraphs. Why produce websites with these pages if no one’s reading them?
2. Social Media. Everyone thinks they need to be on social media. If you don’t enjoy it, stop doing it. But get someone else to do it. Someone who’ll love it, make it interesting and entertain your followers. Why produce boring status updates and tweets when most people ignore them anyway?
3. Blogs. A lot of people read blogs. But make sure they’re reading yours. If the analytics say that just a few people are ever going to the pages, consider stopping — or changing your content. And always keep your blogs to about 300 words. Why write blogs that no one are reading?

Of course, you can continue if someone is “forcing” you. Or if your counsellor recommends you vent somewhere. Other than that, I’d stop it. And change what you’re doing to get more time.

Maybe after a couple years of lamenting the economy and cut conference/travel budgets, Ministry Leaders realized that they’ve “paused” their lives long enough. They’re ready to move forward.

Almost everyone I talked to, wanted to know how they could improve and communicate more effectively. I was willing to provide the information (of course). I spoke twice and each time God favored me with amazing crowds and the words to speak (can I blame Him for my jokes?).

After speaking, I often have regrets. Like, “should I have said that” or “should I have said more”. But overall; I ended this amazing conference with 3 regrets:

1. Never enough Time. I brought “extra” work with me. Even a list of clients to call. But I didn’t have time. Quite frankly, I couldn’t accomplish most of what I wanted. I’m not sure how to fix this in the future.
2. Not setting up more meetings. Before the conference, I set up several meetings and was included in others. Wow. I wish I could have done more. I learned so much from others and it completed the show’s impact.
3. The Hot Dog. Yes. Thursday wake-up: 5:45am. Checked out, drove to the conference. Set up PepsiMax display and presentation. Shared. Answered questions for an hour. Then expo hall to talked to dozens who had questions. Then 1:43pm; I broke away and had a $4 hot dog. It was still heavy on my breath and my stomach when I “went live” for my social media talk at 4.

I learned a lot at WFX Dallas. And I certainly will learn from my regrets. I may never have a hot dog again.