Category: Uncategorized

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Rethinking the Role of a Communications Director

I’m sharing a post I wrote for Phil Cooke’s blog about how the role of your organization’s Communications Director needs to be more intentional now than ever.

https://www.philcooke.com/is-it-time-to-re-think-the-role-of-communications-director-at-your-church/

A few key characteristics to consider moving forward include:

• Strategic thinker—Able to see the big picture, this person typically is on the executive team or working closely with senior leadership

• Team builder— Even if your church is in a hiring freeze, these skills are invaluable as it includes building teams of volunteers. You’ll only grow as far as the person leading your efforts, so aim high.

• Collaborator — This person needs to work with various ministry leaders as well as creative types. So knowing how to understand WHAT needs to be communicated and HOW to translate that creatively takes spirit of collaboration (and the ability to speak fluently in the languages of both strategic thinkers and creatives)

And this is very important to understand: creative technical skills like graphic design or video are helpful, but much lower on the priority list since these can be outsourced if needed.

Communicating the vision of where your organization is headed is critical right now. This is actually more important than this weekend’s message or your service offerings. People want to know where you’re going and why this matters to them.

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Do Women Have Something of Value to Say?

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I’ll have to admit I was a bit shocked with the social circus that erupted yesterday surrounding The Nines. Comments were taken out of context, included in a snapshot & spread like wildfire from there.

I know Todd Rhoades, others in senior leadership with The Leadership Network and have spoken at The Nines myself. To say they are biased in any capacity or don’t value the opinions of women is just ridiculous. Christianity Today added more context to what was going on for those interested in the whole story.

Quite frankly, I want to just shake my head in disappointment whenever someone asks me about “gender equality” or why more women aren’t represented on the stage of leadership issues in the church. I recognize there are some very real challenges with how some interpret who can and cannot teach others in a biblical setting that are several pay grades above my ability to weigh in.

But this isn’t about that.

My hope is that when I’m asked to speak at an event, it’s because the organizers believe it’s because I have something of value to offer participants and it fits their programming goals. Not because they need X number of females or Y% of ethnic representation and I fit the bill. Anything less would just be a slap in the face.

If we need to bring awareness to those who are doing great things but may be under the radar, then let’s do that… regardless of what flavor or gender they may be. But let’s not pretend it should be expected just because we’re female. Or black. Or white. Or (fill in the blank).

A platform is earned because of what we have to offer.

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Echo ’13 :: Telling Your Story [notes & goodies]

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Thanks again for everyone who came yesterday. As promised, here are the key slides, video links & notes from people who did a fantastic job of making me sound smarter than I actually am. 

Video Links

Live Notes

  • Josh Burns [@jburno] 
  • Adam Legg [@AdamLegg]
  • And an insanely cool artistic notes version by Candace Payne [above]Image

Charts & Slides

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Leading Well

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If you are a leader, I want you to know about a recently released book that will help you in your leadership journey. Many of you are familiar with Catalyst, the innovative and experiential leadership movement that has been going on for now almost 14 years, and now one of America’s most influential leadership organizations, with conferences and leadership gatherings all around the US. 

Well, recently Catalyst released a game changing book entitled The Catalyst Leader. My good friend, Brad Lomenick authors this leadership book, based on his 20 years of leadership experience, as well as the last 10 years experience as the president and lead visionary of Catalyst. In it Brad identifies and captures what he calls the 8 Essentials for Becoming a Change Maker. Ultimately identifying the essentials of a Catalyst Leader needed for leading well, and leading now. 

You can purchase the book wherever books are sold or head to http://catalystleader.com to learn more. I can’t recommend this book enough, whether you are a young leader or seasoned sage. It’s filled with practical leadership advice and application. 

The best leaders are the ones that are always learning. This is a resource worth checking out. 

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Burned

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I’m amazed at the number of senior pastors that are stepping down—not only from leading their churches, but ministry in general—because they’re worn down physically, emotionally & spiritually by the labor of ministry.

Time after time I hear senior leaders tell me they are simply exhausted. And if you peek behind the curtain, more often than not it’s the ‘churched’ people in the congregation doing the damage through constant political battles, derailing vision and bickering over petty issues. If more people had the greater good in mind instead of focusing on their own agendas, one can only wonder what might happen to advance the Kingdom.

We have boards, elders and deacons to keep senior leaders accountable, but who is holding the congregation in check and to the same standards? Who is refueling the pastor?

It’s not only disheartening but alarming. Leaders once on fire with a vision to make a difference are leaving ministry. Not because of moral failures or scandal but because the daily grind of people and politics eventually took everything they had and left them with nothing more to offer.

Thoughts?