Earlier this week, I caught up with Dino Rizzo, the senior pastor of Healing Place Church. Healing Place is a multi-site church based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dino and his church have a rich history of serving people. The impact of that effort is touching lives around the world.

TONY: Give us a taste of the Healing Place Church story.

DINO: My wife DeLynn and I started the church in 1993 with the purpose of being a healing place for a hurting world. Louisiana has more than our share of poor and hurting people, and we just felt like God wanted us to do what we could to show them His love by serving them.  Now 16 years later, God has used the people of HPC to serve in ways we never imagined and a lot of people are going to be in Heaven because of it. That’s what really matters–that God is glorified and people are putting their hope in Jesus.

TONY: Your new book is titled Servolution. What exactly is a “servolution”?

DINO: Servolution is a revolution through serving.  It is not just an event; it is a culture. It means seeing the world from a new perspective.  No longer waking up and thinking, “How can I grow my church today?” or “How can I improve my career today?”  But rather, the first thought in our hearts every morning is, “How can I serve the people in my life today?  How can I reach out and care for those who I live next door to and work in the same office with?” It is actively pursuing the lost, the forgotten, and the poor to show them a God who is passionately in love with them.  We want to unite together to share God’s love through simple acts of kindness all for the glory of God.

TONY: Do you think there’s a connection between serving others and evangelism? If so, how do we fuel that?

DINO: Absolutely.  Serving others is what Jesus did.  It’s how he connected with people.  We have found that when people are hungry they have a hard time listening.  But when you meet their needs–whether that’s a free meal, a free bottle of water, a yard clean-up, or a rose on Valentine’s Day–they want to know what you’ve got to say.  They want to know what kind of love cares enough to give.  I like to call it the Gospel in jeans.  It isn’t enough to just preach sermons and pray for people. Sometimes you’ve just gotta get out and work hard.

It’s important to remember that you don’t always get to be the one to see the direct fruit of the serving you do.  But when you do, it is a great reminder–like just a couple weeks ago we had an outreach where we gave out Tootsie Pops at LSU.  A student got the candy with a note about a college service we were having that night.  He came to the meeting, heard about a men’s conference we were hosting, and ended up giving his life to Christ at the Men’s Conference.  That opportunity was created all because he was handed a free Tootsie pop.  It was never about the Tootsie Pop, but was always about the opportunity.

TONY: What is the “7 Days of Servolution” event, and how does it connect with the message of your book?

DINO: 7 Days of Servolution was birthed out of our desire for churches and ministries to be united for the cause of Christ and reach out with Jesus-style ministry.  We don’t believe that serving should something to be saved for just one week each year, but it can be a great catalyst week for churches to infuse serving into their DNA. It is simply churches serving their local communities in some way during the week leading up to Easter (April 3-9).  There are over 220 churches currently signed up, just indicating that they’re in–serving their community, sharing ideas, partnering with other churches and organizations in their area to make a difference.

It’s crazy to see some of the ideas that are coming out of this.  There are great churches all over the world with some great ideas to serve their communities and that’s what the book is about, really.  It’s about serving others, about partnering with others along the way, about the heart Jesus has for the poor and hurting, the lost and forgotten, wherever they are, whatever it takes.  We want to partner together because we believe that together we can do more than we ever could alone.

TONY: Finally, I heard you’re a Tigers fan. Is that true? (Because I’m a Tigers fan too.)

DINO: I am a Tiger fan (the LSU form of Tiger that is, not some orange wanna-be tiger). However, when it comes to basketball I’m all ACC, specifically the North Carolina Tar Heels. So while I see where you’re trying to lead me–down some Clemson path–I was born in Myrtle Beach and I know better.  :-)  I will concede that Clemson is my second favorite Tiger team but that’s all you’ll get.

Even thought Dino doesn’t cheer for the right team, he’s still a good guy. I hope you’ll learn more about 7 Days of Servolution and check out Dino’s new book.

Gavin DeGraw is one of my favorite musical artists. If you like piano-driven tunes like I like piano-driven tunes, this will make your ears happy.

His new album, FREE, released today. You can listen to it for free one time below:

On the topic of FREE, you can also download this remake of Gavin’s song, “Young Love,” for free!

Last week, I started a conversation about brand names. I tried to make the case (you can judge how successfully) that a name does very little, if anything, to sell a product or service or experience. The value added matters. The quality matters. Whether or not it’s addressing a perceived need matters. The name doesn’t matter…not at least until the brand is established.

On the other hand, I do think that a name can limit the sales of a product or service or experience. Let’s look at some obvious examples. If I’m shopping for food, I’m unlikely to go to a Starbucks Coffeehouse. I’ll go to a Starbucks Coffeehouse if I’m looking for coffee, but the name has limited the potential market. Starbucks sells coffee.

Taco Bell sells tacos and other Mexican food. If I’m hungry for a hamburger, I don’t go to Taco Bell. By putting “taco” in the name, they’ve already decided they’re probably not going to sell food to hamburger shoppers.

Now let me shoot closer to home. How about Anytown Baptist Church? As long as you’re trying to reach baptists, that’s a great name. Just so you know, though, most people that don’t consider themselves baptists (which is more and more people) will assume Anytown Baptist Church is only for baptists.

Here’s the reality, if Taco Bell started selling hamburgers and they were really good hamburgers, ultimately someone might buy their burger. One happy Taco Bell burger-eater might tell their friend to try one out. When that happens, the friend’s first reaction will be “Taco Bell sells tacos.” Taco Bell could dip into their deep marketing pockets and launch a huge campaign to tell people they now sell burgers. If it’s an effective campaign, it might convince more people to try their burgers. But, for a long, long time, people will likely first think of Taco Bell as a taco restaurant and not a hamburger joint.

The problem is that churches rarely, if ever, have that kind of bank. We can’t afford the type of marketing campaign it would take to try to convince people that Anytown Baptist Church isn’t just for baptists. For a long, long time baptist churches will be for baptists. And, whether you like it or not, people who aren’t baptists, have preconceived notions about what baptists are like and what happens at their churches.

So, when I’m asked whether or not a church should change it’s name, my initial response isn’t: “What’s the new name you’re considering?” My first response is: “What’s your mission?”

If your mission is to minister to the families that are currently attending your church, you shouldn’t change your name. If your mission is to reach people who have a proclivity to a specific denomination, then you probably don’t need to change your name. If you believe that God has predestined some people to attend your church and others not to, there’s really no need to change your name. (Which makes me wonder why God let you read this post…but that’s a topic for another day.)

If, on the other hand, the mission of your church is to reach people who are currently unchurched, then you need to ask the name question. If your primary mission is to reach people in our post-denominational culture, then you need to ask the name question.

Names don’t sell a new product. Names do sell an established product. Names also have the potential of limiting your market.

Does the name matter? It depends on your mission…and it depends on your name. Your first job, though, is to agree on the mission.

Just wanted to remind you that we’re still on the lookout for ugly church websites. I’m partnering with Collision Media to do something about it.

For a couple more weeks, you’ll have the opportunity to submit your ugly church website and tell us about your church. On April 7 we’ll announce the winner with the ugliest website and most compelling story, and Collision Media will begin the design of a custom website…for FREE!

If you’re interested in participating, submit your ugly church website. Then stay tuned for updates.

Time is running out so act like it’s urgent and submit your site today.

Remember the line from Romeo and Juliet:

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

So what’s in a name? It’s an interesting question. For those of us responsible for branding, we take names seriously. Honestly, though, I’m more and more of the opinion that names mean very little. In other words, a brand by any other name would smell as sweet.

For example, do people buy Apple computers because they’re made by a company called Apple or because people know they’re going to get a quality computer from Apple? Do people go to Cirque du Soleil because the performance is presented by an organization called Cirque du Soleil or because people know they’re going to experience a phenomenal performance from Cirque du Soleil? Do people use Google search because the application is offered by a company called Google or because people know they’re going to get accurate search results from Google? Do you see my point?

It’s not the name. It’s the quality of the product or service or the experience that matters.

So, in our case, I don’t think people attend NewSpring Church because we’re called NewSpring Church. But, because people expect something unique on Sundays and know the impact of that experience, they attend NewSpring Church. Same principle holds for every other ministry or environment within our church. People don’t connect or participate or invite their friends because of the name of the ministry. Those results happen because of the experience and the life change those ministries and environments produce.

In other words, the name doesn’t matter until the brand is established. If the product or service generates positive results over a period of time, people will begin to associate the name with a perceived expectation of results. When that happens, the name matters. That’s the “Kool Aid” moment.

When people love the product or service enough based on previous experiences to “drink the Kool Aid,” the name matters. That’s when someone buys a computer just because Apple made the computer. But, even in this case, people didn’t arrive at the Kool Aid moment because of the name. They got there because of the quality of the product or service or experience.

Though names don’t generate new customers, they can filter out prospective customers. I’ll share more on that in a future post.

So, what do you think? Would that which we call a rose by any other name smell as sweet?

I loved the opening of Sunday’s service. Since I rarely get to show off Tom, check out his cover of Kristian Stanfill’s “Faithful.” Love the the arrangement, the lights and the excitement this created leading off the service. Good stuff.

Tom is our regular worship leader from the Greenville Campus. He led worship in Anderson on Sunday, while RoseAngela led in Greenville. Too much talent. We don’t deserve it. (But we’re glad we have it.)

Unfortunately, I’m hearing more and more stories of folks who find themselves in transition between ministry roles. If that’s you, I wanted to create a platform for you to share your resume for free.

Using Scribd, I started a new group called: “Looking for a Ministry Position?” Obviously, the more folks that start to upload their resumes, the better this resource will be for churches looking for people who might fill open positions. Know someone looking for a new role, encourage them to post their resume here.

If you’re a church leader and want to stay updated on new resumes posted, you can subscribe to this RSS feed. A link to the resumes is also included on the right sidebar of my site.

In the mean time, here are some current church jobs (student ministry, kid’s ministry, multimedia, etc.)  that are open. Maybe you would be a fit with one of these positions?

I’ll provide the platform and get the word out. All you need to do is post your resumes.

Here’s the revised list of various free Web applications that I’m using. I tried to rank these in order of perceived value they add to my life.

1. Gmail – I’ve been using it for years for personal/blog email. Last year I ditched Outlook and am also using it for all work email. Try Gmail Labs for fun beta options.
2. Google Calendar – We’ve been using it for family calendar for several years. Last year I also shifted my work calendar. Now my wife, my assistant and I are all on the same page.
3. WordPress – It’s how I share daily insights about ministry, leadership and life from my blog.
4. Twitter – It’s how I share mini-insights throughout my day.
5. Google Reader – I made the switch from Bloglines to Google Reader within the last year. I use it to track about 100 blogs each day.
6. PeopleBrowsr – I loved TweetDeck, but I made the switch recently to PeopleBrowsr (no “e”) because it provides a browser-based option for following friends on Twitter.
7. YouVersion – I love being able to read, search and study the Bible online. It also adds an entirely new dimension when you can do that in community with others.
8. Mint.com – I quit Quicken cold turkey in January, and I’ve started using this app for tracking all my personal finances.
9. Google Documents – Whenever possible, I’m trying to shift all my word processing and spreadsheets to the online option because it makes sharing and collaboration a lot easier. This is especially helpful when working with teammates in other cities.
10. Lala.com – This music site lets you listen to a stream of a full song before you commit to purchasing it. You can also sync your iTunes library to the site.
11. Google Analytics – I use it to track stats for my blog.
12. FeedBurner – This is the service I use to track subscribers to my blog.
13. ChurchMetrics – This free service offered by LifeChurch.tv is what we use to track stats across all our NewSpring campuses.
14. Delicious – I use Delicious to track cool churches and tag websites for future blog posts.
15. ScribbleLive – This website allows me to live blog events. One click allows full integration with my WordPress blog.
16. Facebook – Okay, I don’t really use it. “Fake Tony” uses it. I’m on it, though, because it’s how the world is connected through social networking.
17. YouTube – There are other (maybe better) websites for sharing video, but everyone is using YouTube.
18. Hulu.com – It’s my preferred site for watching television shows online.
19. Skype – Anything that allows me to make video calls to my sister in Cambodia for free is a pretty cool service.
20. Mogulus – This is my current favorite app for broadcasting live video from my webcam.
21. Google Groups – When I need a private method of communicating and sharing information and files with others, I use this site to bring people together.
22. Pandora – This is a site that you can use to create your own Internet radio station that plays your favorite genre of music.
23. Woopra – This site is amazing. I use it to periodically monitor live traffic on my blog…though I’ve been afraid to try the instant chat with current visitors on my blog.
24. YouSendIt – It’s a great tool for sending big files to other people.
25. Bringo – This site places the telephone call and navigates the phone trees so that you can talk directly to a human.

That’s my current list. What am I missing?

Last week I shared the first part of a podcast interview I did with Troy Gramling. Here’s the second part. Among other things, we chat about:

• My transition from Granger Community Church to NewSpring
• My previous bosses: Mark Beeson and Tim Stevens
• NewSpring’s new Web Campus
• Alden Ellis and the new Columbia Campus

My friends at the Potential Podcast also offer an opportunity to win a free copy of Killing Cockroaches at the end of the podcast.

I just received an unsolicited email message from Yamaha. They’re trying to sell me a new product. It looks fancy. As a blogger, I was tempted to share it with you…only I can’t. You’d think they’d want me to share the news about their new, fancy product with you, but I’m not allowed to. It’s right there in the fine print at the bottom of their email message. Check it out:

“This e-mail message and its contents are copyrighted and are proprietary products of Yamaha Electronics Corporation. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or transfer of this message or its contents, in any medium, is strictly prohibited.”

In fact, I’m probably treading on thin ice by copying and reproducing their legalese on my blog. It’s been a few years since I’ve received a cease and desist letter, though, so I’m willing to take that risk.

Here’s a case when the people who embrace the rules are louder than the people who are trying to share the message. When the rule enforcers get their way, fewer people hear the message.

Sometimes we also forget that messages should not be and really can’t be protected. That’s old school marketing. Messages are created to be shared. As soon as we focus on protecting the message rather than encouraging people to spread the message, fewer people hear it and therefore fewer people respond.

Yamaha should have spent more time generating a story that could be shared than perfecting their fine print. If they did, they’d probably sell more fancy gadgets.

How about you? Are you more concerned about sharing the story or protecting the fine print?