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Free Lunch & Story Chicago Discount

Here’s an opportunity for you to get a free lunch and save some money at that same time at Story later this fall.

Story is a first-of-its-kind conference for communicators in ministry. It’s happening on October 28 at the beautiful Paramount Theater near Chicago. Hundreds of church leaders, pastors, teachers, artists, and authors are coming to learn from some of the most effective communicators of the Gospel – the greatest story ever told. Check out who’s going to be there – you’re going to love this lineup!

Take a look now and get registered by this Friday, August 14, so you can get the Super Early rate. Additionally, I’ve arranged a special discount with the guys at Purpose Driven. If you use the code PURPOSE, you can get an additional $25 off this rate.

You can also go deeper in Story at a follow-up day of workshops on October 29 with some of the leading filmmakers, scholars, designers and thinkers in ministry. You’ll be guided through a creative journey where you can ask hard questions and learn the latest breakthroughs in communication. You can find out all the details about the workshops on the Story website.

Ok…one more thing. I’ll be hosting a complimentary lunch at Story on Wednesday along with Gerald Sharon from Purpose Driven. I’d love for you to be my guest. Lunch is limited to 100 people. So go ahead and register for Story then email Gerald at pastorgerald@saddleback.net to let us know you’re registered and that you’ll be there for lunch.

Looking forward to seeing you in Chicago!

Story Chicago Update

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Earlier this week, I got a box of goodness from Ben promoting Story Chicago. I’m going to be there. Hard to believe it’s only 3 months away. Hope you’ll join me. Check out the details in the promo poster below.

Just out of curiosity, who is your favorite “storyteller” right now? Vote for one of the Story Chicago speakers below, or add your favorite writer or speaker to the list.

Click through to see the plexo

Don’t delay! Register for Story Chicago today.

Not Your Normal Cover Letter

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Take a common message. Present it in a creative way. Get people’s attention.

Bad Web Sites

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We had a great launch to the Killing Cockroaches Tour today in Atlanta at West Ridge Church. And, it was also a great launch to our family vacation. Among other things, we ate at a Japanese grill, played at the pool, cruised the big city of Dallas (Georgia) and ate at The Varsity in downtown Atlanta.

While we’re on the tour/vacation, I’ll be sharing some of the posts that inspired the book…that inspired the tour. Here’s a favorite from the early days of the blog. Here are…

10 Easy Ways to Keep Me from Visiting Your Church Because I Visited Your Website

Avoid telling me what’s going to happen at your church this weekend. I found churches that had weather reports but nothing about their upcoming weekend service. I found two churches that had prominent information about upcoming golf scrambles (which I appreciated as a golfer), but nothing about this weekend’s service. Why would I come if I don’t know what I’m going to experience?
Put a picture of your building on the main page. After all, ministry is all about the buildings.
Use lots of purple and pink and add pictures of flowers. Really. Are you expecting any men to show up? And, for my benefit, please don’t put any doves on your website. Doves scare me. [continue reading>>]

Cockroach Tour Buzz: What, in your opinion, doesn’t belong on the list? And, now that it’s about four years later, what should be added to the list for it to be current?

TonyMorganLive.com Newness Revealed

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In case you missed it, the new and improved TonyMorganLive.com launched this weekend. You may be thinking, “Wow, that actually looks good.” Or, you may find yourself saying, “Wow, that site is really fast now.” If so, it’s because I paid professionals to both design and code the site.

TonyMorganLive.com

You can thank Joshua Blankenship for his design acumen. (Joshua makes everything look prettier.) Nathan Rice was responsible for the coding. (He’s a WordPress aficionado.) And, though I’m actually paying them to say this, I think you should hire them to do spiffy up your site. (I say that because I’ve seen your site.)

So, what do you think? I say Joshua and Nathan hit a home run. Aren’t you jealous?

Spreading the Greatest Story

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I’ve come to the conclusion in recent weeks that part of my mission in life is to spread great stories. That’s why I’m really excited about participating in Ben’s new adventure.

I just confirmed last week that I’ll be experiencing Story Chicago at the Paramount Theater in October. I’ll be joining about 1,500 of my closest friends to hear some of the top communicators of the Gospel share how they spread the greatest story.

Among others, I’m really looking forward to meeting Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing, in person. Michael and I know each other through blogging and Twitter, but we’ve never met face-to-face. He was just confirmed last week as a new workshop speaker at the event.

This is one of those events I believe in. I’m so committed to the importance of this gathering that I’m giving Ben the promotional space on my website and I’m paying my own way to get there.

Are you in? And, if so, who are you most looking forward to seeing and meeting?

The Ugliest Church Website

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Last month, Collision Media and I teamed up to host the “Battle Ugly Church Website Giveaway”. Good Shepherd Church of Huntington, Indiana won a free custom website. Here’s their current ugly website. (Yep, that’s ugly.)

About a year ago, Molly and Josh Kesler were called to pastor a small church in Indiana. However, life was good in Minnesota where Molly had landed her dream job and Josh was a pastor at a healthy church with over 12,000 in attendance. Leaving these great jobs and relationships to “breathe life” into a dying church was not on their list of desires.

Out of obedience to Christ, they moved to the city of Huntington, Indiana, where they currently pastor a small, older church in need of change. Good Shepherd has lost several key staff leaders in recent years through difficult circumstances. Stepping into a hurting church and trying to restore it has been challenging for the Kesler’s.

The church website was the last of their worries, yet they knew the importance of a web strategy. They tried to remove their current website simply because it is horrible, but they were unable to do even that. Good Shepherd Church is looking forward to starting fresh as they change locations, change their name, and change their website.

For those of you who submitted your church into the “Battle”, thanks. We have been encouraged by your stories and do agree that your websites are ugly.

I’ll keep you posted on Good Shepherd’s new site. Until then, be grateful that your website is not as ugly as theirs.

Are You Trying to Sell the Liver Meal?

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As I was driving out of town recently, I noticed this sign out in front of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. The sign has been out front of the restaurant for quite some time. As you can see, they’re advertising a liver meal for $2.99. Fortunately for all of us, it’s an “everyday special.”

It seemed odd to me that Kentucky Fried Chicken would be promoting a special on liver. I thought Kentucky Fried Chicken sold chicken. Apparently there’s a high demand for liver in this area of the country. I can’t imagine any other reason why, among everything else on their menu, they’d choose to promote their liver special.

If I had to list some of the things the church “does right,” I’d suggest our “chicken” might include being:

a place to find new life
a place to find your purpose
a place to receive unconditional love
a place to find forgiveness
a place to heal
a place to find community
a place to help others
a place to change the world

I think our chicken can be pretty tasty. But, to be honest, I sometimes get a little fed up with churches that promote the “liver” instead of the chicken. For example, I’ve seen too many churches promoting things like car washes (saw another one this weekend), bake sales, political agendas (in today’s news), theological agendas, boycotts and business meetings. And then there are the more subtle dishes of liver that sometimes get disguised as ministry programs. They may start on target, but they end up just being a drain on people’s time and energy and not really encouraging people to eat chicken.

That’s just my opinion. You don’t have to agree with it. I would suggest, however, that you need to identify what your “chicken” is and make that your everyday special. Instead of promoting the liver special, “do something right” that’s going to help people meet Jesus and experience a new life in Christ. People don’t need our liver–they just need to see life change.

Take a look at your weekly bulletins and platform announcements and newsletters. Study your programs and events on the ministry calendar. Are you really pointing folks to Jesus and helping people take their next steps toward Christ? Or…

Are you trying to sell the liver meal?

Less Clutter. Less Noise.

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Look what arrived in the mail today! It’s my very own autographed copy of Less Clutter. Less Noise.by Kem Meyer.

Here are four reasons why this book makes me smile:

I’m really proud of Kem. Not only because she’s written this book, but because she’s shaping how we communicate the Gospel more clearly in churches throughout the country.
I’ve watched Kem live out and lead through all the principles she writes about. She doesn’t want you to change your message, but she will challenge you to deliver it differently.
Most churches are about more clutter and more noise especially when it comes to communications. I know churches of all shapes and sizes are going to benefit from this book.
It reminds me that Kem has my old snowblower. When I left Indiana for South Carolina, I walked my snowblower down the street to Kem’s house. Now I have less clutter and less noise in my garage.

What if I told you there’s a way to get more people to hear and respond to your message, and you can do it by spending less money? What if it created more time for you to focus on ministry? What if it made life easier for you and your team?

I know you. I’ve seen your church. I’ve seen your life. You need Less Clutter. Less Noise.

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