An online magazine for pastors and church leaders.

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Communication & Marketing

Live Performance

I love this live performance from Elevation Church. Wow. [tentblogger-vimeo 60610455]

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Creative Social Media

Small is the New Big

Growing up, one of my role models was a man named Mr. Joe?GI Joe. He and all his buddies continuously catapulted me into a state of imagination and action for hours on end. By the time I?d acquired five GI Joe figures, I realized that the ?good guy? and ?bad guy? teams were unbalanced. So […]

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Creative

Short Stories

Synedoche, New York is one of those mind-bending Charlie Kaufman films that either makes more sense or less sense upon repeated viewings. It?s the story of a theater director named Caden Cotard who sets out to stage the biggest production imaginable. The cast, story, and rehearsal space are ever-expanding as Caden seeks to pack in […]

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Creative

Why Your Pastor Says No

Those of us who create art and ideas dread the word ?no?. It feels like mapping out a trip. We pack, we buy tickets for excursions; then we?re told we can?t go. Imagine being seven years old, ready to head to Disney, running downstairs and screaming, ?Today is the day, today is the day!?…only to […]

Categories
Creative

No One Notices (Except Visitors)

Visitors to your church are going to notice something, and it would be nice if it were God’s presence rather than that carpet stain. Humans are remarkable creatures. Of all living creatures on this planet, we are probably the most adaptable. At the very least, we tend to put up with the most ? how […]

Categories
Worship

Turning Up Your Volume

Humor me for a moment. Think about a baby chick. God designed it so that, within the confines of a shell, a tiny little speck grows miraculously into a baby chick. It?s protected from harm?s way. For roughly 21 days it?s kept safe and warm allowing it the space to grow into a tiny version […]

Categories
Worship

Dialing Down Your Volume

It?s hard for me to sit still and be quiet. I?m not that good at it. In fact, my whole life has been a bouquet of pushed envelopes and talk-first-think-later situations. I describe myself as a recovering moron… I?m an extrovert. There I said it. And I?m a worship leader. So the temptation when I […]

Categories
Worship

Album Reviews

Fellowship Creative – Always Been About You Fellowship Church has long been hailed as one of the most creative churches in the country, with their annual C3 Conference being one of the top go-to resources for church leaders. Always Been About You is definitely an interesting worship album. It has a mix of familiar sounds […]

Categories
Leadership

Embracing Short Term Problems

If you?ve been a leader for long, you?ve likely encountered a situation where your valiant attempts at delegation backfired on you. As you abandon your priorities in order to clean up the mess that was left behind, you can?t help but wonder, ?Is it worth it?? You?ve heard all the great speeches about empowering others. […]

Categories
Leadership

Being Predictable, Not Boring

Life as a church leader is often filled with the expectations of others ? be it first-time guests, regular attenders, or even your own staff. These expectations, often rooted in experience and personal need, carry a significant amount of weight, and generally speaking are not unreasonable. Yet, while their expectations are important, and perhaps even […]

Categories
Technology

Details that Matter

I have a confession. I?m a complex individual. I love, some would say I obsess over, the details of a weekend service. From creative?elements, to cues, down to how the cables on the stage run to the stage patch. Nothing perks me up in a programming meeting like hearing some crazy element that will require […]

Categories
Technology

Get Out of the Booth

Aside from the fact that we?re all technical artists for the local church, we all come from very different backgrounds and situations. Although they may have different names: a Sanctuary, a Worship Center, a High School Theater, a Cathedral; the list could go on, but we all practice our art in a space of some […]

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Communication & Marketing Social Media

Shrinking Your Web Footprint

What?s the current state of your church?s online presence? Is your strategy executed like a well-oiled machine that you rarely think about? Or rather, does the thought of it cause you to break out in a cold sweat? I?m going to guess that at the very least, thinking about your church?s web presence causes your […]

Categories
Communication & Marketing

Hemingway and Effective Communication

Ernest Hemingway likened writing to an iceberg. The reader sees, of course, only 10 percent of the mass, while 90 percent is found below the surface. And it’s the 90 percent that can (spoiler alert!) sink an enormous cruise ship. The power in storytelling is what you can’t see, that which is under the surface. […]