evan mcbroom THE OTHER SIDE of the boat

Basics of Church Communication - Webcast preview

 Thursday, August 19 (Noon - 1pm CDT) I'll be leading a MinistryCOM webcast: Basics of Church Communication.  

The webcast is aimed at those who are "new to church communications and overwhelmed by the job."  To give a heads up, I'll be covering

• Basic Challenges (why is the job so challenging? hint=it has to do with people)
• Responsibilities (and my thoughts on the specific skills, gifts & talents needed)
• Resources (we'll look at some of the basic ones and I have a new assessment tool to help you map out plans for improvement for yourself and your team...if you have one)

Hope you'll join in. Hope it is a help.

Video scriptwriting advice

I don't wanna brag, but in college I was a Telecom major with an emphasis on Video Production. (I chose this because it did not require any accounting classes). Much of my career has included loads of video scriptwriting. A friend asked me for my advice as she was charged with writing her first video script. Here was my quickly composed email to her:

Here you go...as a writer, you need to write first with image and words together.  For each moment that someone is hearing or reading your copy, you need to think of the image they are seeing/sound they are hearing.  

You sort of have to have audio and video running in you head at the same time.  AND - you have to think what can be realistically produced in the time/budget we have.  For example,
if you're talking about the concept of "flight" do we see a bird? plane? feather? sky? if a plane is it moving? do we have a narrator...is the narrator seen, unseen?  So many questions.  Not unlike a print piece...but each answer impacts the produce-ability of the video.

I would say a tip I would offer is, start writing by closing your eyes and see the video in your mind.  Hear the video in your mind.  Feel the pace.  Then capture that.  Also, the same way you would allow white space in a print design, in video you control the pace of the viewers experience.  So, think timing.

Sorta lame advice...but that how I do it.  

Does this help at all?

Staff Changes - what to say when you can't say anything yet

Recently, we were asked by a church client to help them with some delicate communication planning.  They are working through a major staff reorganization.  For a number of reasons, at this point the staff knows the details of each of their own situations and they have a clear picture of the new staff structure, but all of the changes will not be public for a period of time.  Knowing the dynamics of any workplace (and especially a church), church leaders and staff are anticipating that they will get questions from people in the congregation.  The reality is, questions are coming and rumors are already afoot. As these questions come, Church leaders and staff are asking a big question of their own:

"If we can't talk openly for a while, what can we say about the staff changes when people ask?"

Everyone involved wants to maintain truthful communication, but leaders are stressing to the staff that there are important reasons why the full picture of changes should not be made known right away. 

Here is Fishhook's recommended outline/talking points for communication for every staff member and elder as they respond to questions from the congregation:

1. Acknowledge and Affirm

• As a member of the church staff/elder, I'm aware of some upcoming staff changes as our church leaders work to make us the best church we can be.
• I appreciate your interest/concern/question. And here's what I can share with you at this time.

2. Convey Trust

• First, let me say that I trust God is sovereign – and I trust He's in control.
• Second, I trust our church leaders – and I trust they are praying through the changes and they are seeking God's will for our church.
• Third, I trust that I can ask you to be patient until more information can be shared because these changes involve real people, real families and real work and ministry assignments.

3. Outline Next Steps

• You may hear accurate information and inaccurate information circulating in the weeks to come. Please be patient until you hear more information directly from our church leaders. Soon, more details about our vision and future plans will be shared with the entire congregation.
• Staff: you can share broad personal feelings: I'm excited, It's hard, I'm praying, etc.  
• Staff: If you sense someone needs/wants to know or discuss more, suggest they contact (specific church leaders by name).

While this language is geared to staff changes, the basic outline could be applied to many types of changes within a congregation.  The staff received this information well and knowing what to say gave them greater confidence.  

How would it work for you?  Does it feel authentic and complete enough for your world?

Power of a funny word

Sometimes you just gotta shake the word box a little to grab attention.  Here is a Facebook post of mine from earlier this week:

Me: Jumped back on #LoseIt bandwagon. 14lbs to drop before @IndyMonumental half marathon. LoseIt makes it simple, but never easy.

My friend Kathi Moore commented: What is that? I'd run the @IndyMonumental nikked if I could lose 14 lbs first! hahahahaha

"Nikked!"  Oh, I loved it.  It was so very unexpected and funny, and goofing up the spelling made it even better.  The word totally grabbed my attention.  It reminded me of the power of words and the exceptional power of funny words.  What are you writing today and that can you funny up to gain more attention.

PS: you can follow Kathi at http://twitter.com/mediakath

Facts & Figures are Boring

Here is some guidance I gave to church leaders this morning.  They are preparing to cast vision for their people and complied a list of "good things" going on around their church.  They want to share this list as positive examples of what's going on around their church. 

The message they sent to me and their team: 

Here are some more ideas for positive bullet points:

• Broadway style Christmas play that is done every year is a big deal and always generates new commitments for Christ from the message and invitation that is presented.

• New roof paid for in cash.

• Grenada and Kenya. Need to hit on how many trips and what has been accomplished.

• Food pantry - should be easy to calculate approximate pounds of food given away every year.

• # people attended Church 101 - and explain what Church 101 is.

• Partnering with Habitat and what has been accomplished.

• New back building paid for.

Now, here is my response:  

Team - as you think about these kind of good things to celebrate, try the best as you can to put a "face" to each one.  Make as many of these as possible about the story of how people are involved, how lives are changed, etc.  You will find that the more you focus on people stories the more your message will get through.  Projects = boring.  People = God at work!

As an example - I'm making these up...

• Broadway style Christmas play that is done every year is a big deal and always generates new commitments for Christ from the message and invitation that is presented. 

Try to find the story of a person who was IN the play this past year, but came to the church (or perhaps even came to Christ) as a result of attending the play in the past as a guest.  Tell THAT story.

• New roof paid for in cash.

Find someone who gave to the project and for them, this was a big first step of generosity.  Perhaps they went through Crown or Financial Peace and as a result gave in way they had not before.

• Grenada and Kenya. Need to hit on how many trips and what has been accomplished.

Yes, focus on how many trips...but don't just give a list of "we built 5 houses" or we "saw 200 people in our clinic" - instead tell the story of one of the new homeowners, or tell the story of a woman who put her sick child on a donkey and walked 12 hours to come to the clinic (this is a story from another church...it's real and moving)  

• Food pantry - should be easy to calculate approximate pounds of food given away every year.

Yes, it should be easy to calculate the number of pounds of food...but that in itself is INFORMATION and it is not a MESSAGE.  The message would be a story about a widowed young mother who needed to visit the food pantry to feed her 3 children and how not only did she get food, but someone from the church went to her house to fix her broken window...etc., etc., 

• # people attended  Church 101 - and explain what Church 101 is.

And tell the story of one of those people and how Church 101 FINALLY helped them open their eyes to truly understand the Christian life and what it meant to be loved by a church....

• Partnering with Habitat and what has been accomplished.

Again...tell the story about people.  There's the story of your people and what they felt God do in their lives as they served and the story of the person who is now in a home and what it means to them to be part of the community...and what it means to their children...

• New back building paid for.

Story of an older person in your church who was resistant to change...but saw the vision for this space and gave to the space, and what it means to them to be part of a church that values being free of debt.

OK - get the idea? You must get away from facts and figures and tell stories.  I promise if you do, you will touch a variety of people in a variety of ways...God is at work in all of these "good things" but the better thing is the work he's doing in peoples lives. Focus on those stories.  

Church Branding - eternal, worldly & local

The Short Story: heard a great sermon this weekend.  Rev. Chris Chase from Good Samaritan Episcopal Church in San Diego taught on Church Branding.  His lesson

• In Revelation we learn that there will be those who will be marked/sealed as belonging to God -eternal.
• Jesus teaches us to "love one another" as a sign to the - world.
• The local church needs to identify itself uniquely in it's community - local - and Good Sam is in that process.

The Longer Story: This past weekend I traveled to San Diego to lead a branding discovery session with church leaders from Good Samaritan Episcopal Church - or "Good Sam" as they are know to friends and family.  Good Sam is a beautiful place filled with people who are easy to be around. They describe the worship service as a "lighter and relaxed interpretation and presentation of the Episcopal tradition."  It was that. Liturgy, robes, communion and an altar girl wearing orange canvas shoes. They are warm and welcoming bunch and they quietly pour themselves into the lives of each other andhurting people - locally and beyond.  Over and over they described their experience at Good Sam as one of "healing."  One member of the discovery team, Julia, a bright young woman in her Junior year in high school, described Good Sam as "Mrs. Weasley's house from the Harry Potter series." She said, "it's a little clunky, and the people are sorta quirky, but it's a place you can totally just come be yourself."  Every head around the table nodded in agreement.  

 This was an interesting day because, in addition to attending worship services and leading the discovery session, I was also invited to teach a Sunday school class, Church Branding: What Story are we Telling?  Communication Director Leanne Shawler invited me to lead this session, helping the congregation toward better understanding and fostering discussion on the topic.  Often, the work of church branding is done behind the scenes and then revealed to the congregation.  At Good Sam, it's a collective experience.  While a team will lead the effort its the congregation is well aware of what's underway.  Not only was there a class on church branding, but Rector Chris Chase's message presented a fascinating perspective as well.  The entire branding team and process was lifted up for prayer.  

Chris outlined three distinct and powerful perspectives on church branding - eternal, worldly and local. The highlights:

1. In Revelation we learn that there will be those who will be marked/sealed as belonging to God - eternal.
2. Jesus teaches us to "love one another" as a sign to the - world.
3. The local church needs to identify itself uniquely in it's community - local - and Good Sam is in that process.

  The message is about 20 minutes long.  It's worth a listen.  

North American Conference on Christian Philanthropy

I had a great time presenting today at the NACCP in Indy today.  It's seems more challenging to present at a conference in my own hometown.  Seems like it would be easier, but I don't normally start my day in a hotel stepping in cat puke like I did today.  Anyway.  A great group of people and really strong discussion.  Here, as promised are slides.  Download Communicating the Next Big Thing NACCP Blog

Church Communicators Coloring Book - Page 5

Page 3 leads to page 4...and 4 pays off with 5.

 

Church Communicators Coloring Book - Page 4

I've always said, "Stereotypes are well founded."  Don't blame me if this hits close to home.

 

Church Communicators Coloring Book - Page 3

I'm sure this could never describe YOUR senior pastor...I'm sure we're talking about someone else. Right ;)