I’m really excited about today’s announcement. As a follow up to John Saddington’s post on ChurchCrunch last week, I just wanted to let you know about my involvement with SoChurch. In my work with churches, I come across many pastors and leaders trying to figure out how to navigate all the available channels of online communication. That results in less time to focus on forming depth of relationship with the very people they’re trying to reach and lead.

That’s what appealed to me about SoChurch. The team behind SoChurch wants to remove the friction that has unfortunately become such a part of church leadership today. With their aim to truly serve the needs of the local church, I am pleased to join this experienced team of visionaries as an advisory board member. There will be more team announcements very soon. In this role, I will be helping their team fulfill their vision of serving the Church. I’ll be sharing perspectives regarding the needs of churches and their leaders, particularly in this area of communication.

Here are some teaser “wireframes” of what SoChurch is to become.

You can follow SoChurch on Twitter, Facebook, and watch for forthcoming team announcements on their intermediary website at SoChurch.com. In the meantime, tell me what you’re looking for to help with church communication. Where does your church have need? What are you bogged down by on a daily basis? How can SoChurch help you?

After several years of being a Blackberry guy, I recently switched from the AT&T network back to Sprint and picked up an HTC Hero using the Android operating system. It’s been fun discovering new Android apps over the last few weeks. Here’s my current list of favorites:

• Amazon – It allows me to scan barcodes on books in Barnes & Noble and see what the comparable price is on Amazon.
• Barcode Scanner – I can scan anything with a barcode and shop online using Google Shopper.
• Evernote – It’s the primary way I document everything I do in meetings including capturing pictures of whiteboard sessions.
• Expensify – When I travel, this app let’s me track expenses, upload receipts, track mileage and request reimbursements.
• Fandango – I can browse movies, find theaters and purchase tickets from my phone.
• Golf Channel Mobile – This app is going to come in handing this week as I follow the Masters coverage.
• Google Voice – It’s one of the key reasons I never switched to an iPhone. I use Google Voice for all my calls.
• Live Scores – Provides updates on NCAA, NFL, MLB, etc. scores.
• NewsRob – This is an app that allows me to read Google Reader content offline.
• Pandora – It’s still my favorite mobile app for streaming music. (My favorite is the Justin Timberlake channel.)
• PDAnet – The app provides the ability to tether for Internet access.
• Redbox Codes – Allows me to get free DVD rentals from Redbox kiosks.
• Seesmic – Even though I still use Tweetdeck on my laptop, I’m using Seesmic for Twitter on my mobile.
• Shazam – A nifty tool that listens to music on the radio and then identifies the track, album and artist.
• Sprint Navigation – Powered by telenav, this has been a huge time saver now that we’re trying to get our way around Atlanta traffic.
• SprintTV – My favorite channel is the new live streaming of ESPN. Love it!
• TripIt – I’m able to forward confirmations for flights, hotels and cars and this app tracks my itineraries.
• TV.com – I can watch clips and full episodes of CBS programming.
• WordPress – The app allows me to manage TonyMorganLive.com on the fly.
• YouVersion – This let’s me connect to the online Bible reading site including over 40 translations and 20 reading plans.
• Zillow Real Estate – Helps us find homes for sale and home values as we’re trying to hunt down our next home.

Those are my favorites. What am I missing?

YAALASHTOTIIYOU = Your acronyms are like a secret handshake that only the insiders in your organization understand.

I was driving behind a minivan heading to the mall today and I saw a vehicle with an “NCC” sticker on the back. It was the only sticker on the back of the minivan, so it grabbed my attention. In that respect, the marketing worked. The only problem is that I have no idea what NCC stands for. I’m guessing it’s “Northland Chiropractic Center.” Or maybe it’s “New Covenant Church.” Or maybe its “Norfolk Community College.”

Acronyms make sense to everyone inside your organization. In fact, it’s just easier to say “NCC” rather than “Northland Chiropractic Center.” The problem is everyone outside your organization has no idea what the initials stand for.

Some organizations incorporate their initials into their logo. If that’s you, you’ll just need to remember to always include the name of your organization everywhere you use your logo. We can Google the name of your organization and find you. It’s not going to do us any good to Google your initials.

It’s just a great reminder that we need to be careful that we’re not using insider language when we’re trying to communicate with people outside our organizations.

By the way, if someone doesn’t agree with this advice, just tell them that APM said it was so.

A couple of months ago, I posted something on Twitter indicating we were looking for a communications director at West Ridge. We had several great candidates respond. I’m excited to announce that Phil Bowdle will be joining our team in a few weeks. Phil is coming from Montgomery, Alabama where he was on staff at Frazer United Methodist Church, one of the largest United Methodist churches in the country.

Phil will be serving in our creative arts area where he’ll be building teams to help with communications including writing, graphics, media and web. If you attend West Ridge and have real life experience in one of those areas, let us know. We have volunteer opportunities for well-trained folks who are ready to help us with our web and marketing strategies.

By the way, John and his team are helping us put the finishing touches on the new WestRidge.com. Get ready for fresh web goodness.

In the mean time, head on over to Twitter and say hello to Phil.

As more and more churches embrace multi-site, one of the first issues that ministries have to wrestle with is whether to invest in technology to deliver messages live or to consider the cheaper (and sometimes more reliable) option of just using a DVD of the message. For those churches that choose the latter and don’t have a Saturday evening service for recording the message, that often means they’re operating on a week-delay at their remote campuses.

Before folks began to embrace social media, the option of week-delay was very viable. In fact, in many respects it could be preferable because you have much more flexibility with the timing of the services and the length of the service elements leading up to the message.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you view it), social media changes the game. Now folks are sharing thoughts and reactions about their experiences as the services are taking place. People are using Facebook and Twitter to let their friends know what’s happening as the service unfolds. Then it’s not uncommon for someone, possibly even the teaching pastor, to summarize the highlights of the service including the message. That potentially creates a challenge for campuses who won’t be viewing that message for another week.

Ironically, the television networks are wrestling with this same issue. In years past, events like award shows were delayed on the west coast to make sure the programming took place in prime time. With the increase in social media, though, folks on the west coast were seeing the results before the programs were televised. As a result, viewers declined. Christina Warren, a blogger for Mashable, recently wrote:

Social media has only made the need for live programming even more clear. In the old days, web forums or IM chats or liveblogs could give people the play-by-play, but people had to know where to look. Now, live events immediately take over Twitter and Facebook streams. If you don’t want the surprise to be spoiled, you pretty much have to stay off any social network during the live telecast.

So the question is will this same dynamic impact churches? Will the increasing use of social media make week-delayed messages a thing of the past? For those of you who are engaged in multi-site and multi-service settings, have you noticed any negative reaction?

There are no shortcuts to having a platform. You have to earn it.

No one owes you a platform.

Sometimes someone who is trusted can help you get a moment on the platform, but you still have to deliver to keep it.

The harder you try to have a platform, the harder it is to get it.

If you do what you’re designed to do and you are faithful to stick with it over time, there’s a good chance you’ll have a platform.

Not all platforms are created equal, but all have the opportunity to positively impact the lives of others.

Relationships are the foundation of a platform. If you can’t build relationships, you can’t have a platform.

The person who yells the loudest doesn’t necessarily get the platform.

If you never stop and listen, you probably won’t get the platform either.

If it’s just about you, you don’t have a platform.

You’ll lose your platform if you don’t continue to use it for positive change. You have to move people to a better place.

You’re more likely to leverage your platform if you tell stories that engage both the head and the heart.

You’re more likely to keep your platform if you ask questions.

If people can’t have access to you and your daily life, your platform is probably shrinking whether you know it or not.

Platforms are established over time and lost in an instant.

Lots of people want a platform, but very few are gifted to have a platform and even fewer are humble enough to keep it.

I read this verse again several days ago. Maybe you’re familiar with it.

“Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.” (James 4:11, NLT)

It’s because of teaching from God’s Word in verses like this and others that I believe using my blog or Twitter feed to be critical of specific individuals or ministries is sin. You may disagree, but that’s why you never see me talk negatively about people or churches. That’s also why I don’t allow comments that do the same.

I know…I’m giving up traffic on my blog because of that. Criticism and controversy generates traffic. My site sponsors would probably love it if I started using this platform to call out people and turn this site into the Christian version of TMZ.

Yes, things could get a lot more exciting around here if I started calling out pastors and their churches. Instead, I’ve decided to generate conversation around ideas. By the way, feel free to push back on my ideas. Just don’t attack me personally. I like a good dialogue on ideas. That’s how I learn. (Maybe this is one of them.)

So, in the meantime, I’m going to try to follow God’s design for my life even with this website. Sorry I can’t fulfill your craving for rumors and gossip and a good ole’ fashion claim of heresy. I’m sure there are other websites available if that’s your thing.

And now you know why I have a boring blog.

‘Tis the season to shop for Christmas gifts, so I recently made a trip to Target. I love Target because I don’t have to spend a lot of money, and I avoid going to Wal-Mart.

After spending a little bit of time in the store, it struck me how different Target is from most churches I’ve visited in the past. That led me to wondering how Target would be different if it operated like the typical church. So, with that in mind, here’s my initial list:

What if Target Operated Like a Church?

• Instead of having men’s and women’s clothing departments, they would be called clever names like Impact and Embrace that are completely meaningless to new shoppers.
• Each department in the store would have its own logo to go with their clever name. And, of course, all those logos would be different than the logo on the front of the store.
• The workers in each department would all have their own t-shirts and flyers to promote what’s available in their departments. The youth clothing department would, of course, have the best flyers.
• The store manager and his wife would be pictured on the front page of the website.
• You wouldn’t actually be able to buy anything from the website, but each department would have its own page explaining why they are such a great department and the the information would be several months out-of-date.
• If you are in the shoe department and have a question about flashlights, the shoe department employee has no idea how to help you because it doesn’t have anything to do with shoes.
• Shoppers would be able to start their own departments so that they can buy the items that they want to buy. Don’t worry…that means there will certainly be a clothing department for singles.
• Shoppers would also be able to appoint their own store manager and then serve on committees and boards to tell the store manager what to do.
• The store would only be open one day a week between 9:00 a.m. and noon and on the first Wednesday evening of every month.

Hope this makes you laugh. (Emily and I did.) And, maybe it also challenges some preconceived notions. After all, churches are sort of notorious for worshiping methods and traditions whether or not they actually produce results.

What would you add to the list?

When I was taking piano lessons early on in life, I had a bad habit of pounding on the keys. In music terms, I loved fortissimo. “Very loud” came very easy to me. Then my piano teacher taught me the value of dynamics. She explained how beautiful music isn’t just achieved by hitting the right notes–it’s also a reflection of the dynamics. The power of fortissimo doesn’t grab our attention in music unless we also embrace the pianissimo, the very soft movements.

Have you ever been in public when a parent blows a gasket and starts yelling at their child but gets no response? Here’s my bet. The very first time the parent reacted like that, their child responded. The reason why kids choose to ignore a yelling parent is because it’s a learned response. Kids are smart. It doesn’t take them long to learn that if a parent constantly yells but never follows through with any real punishment, then they can ignore the screams.

Loud is only effective when it’s louder than normal. If it’s always loud, then loud becomes the new normal. In other words, loud is not loud anymore.

The same principle holds when we’re trying to promote something in ministry. Here’s how it works. You commit to a promotions campaign to get people to a new series or a big event. You decide to go loud. You buy the billboards, print the fliers, hang the banners, create the viral videos and announce to the world, “This is going to be the best deal ever!” That’s great. The first time it may work. And, chances are it could work, again, sometime in the future as long as you have some long pianissimo movements in between.

But, if you choose to go loud with every series and every event, people will get smart. They’ll soon learn that “loud” really means “normal.” When that happens, you’ll be spending a lot more time, energy and money, but people will learn to ignore your yelling. Loud will not be loud anymore.

Before you “pull out all the stops,” make sure you’re really going to deliver what you promise. It better really be the best deal ever. If not, all that yelling will eventually lead to you losing your voice–your message will lose credibility. People will stop believing you, and they’ll stop responding to your message.

If everything is loud, nothing is loud.

I had lunch with a few of my West Ridge teammates a couple of days ago in a no-name restaurant. It was quite the surreal experience. Everything about the restaurant screamed 1970s…including the waitresses. One of them reprimanded me for trying to pour tea for someone else. (I’ll never do that again.) Oddly enough, they were playing Madonna music over the sound system. Like I said, it was very surreal.

As we were walking out, we noticed this display of business cards:

There have to be over 50 business cards on that shelf. Everyone is vying for the attention of the restaurant patrons. You can buy a house, get your hair cut and catch a taxi among other things. I guess we could call Sheila’s Beauty Salon to see how effective this advertising is for her business. Looks like she got the prime real estate on the front row.

I guess we can’t fault these businesses for taking advantage of some free advertising. And, honestly, I guess we can’t fault ministries in our churches for doing the same thing. At some point, though, someone in leadership probably needs to ask the question: what’s the priority message?

Here’s the reality though, it’s just easier to say “yes” to everyone. It’s easier to treat everyone the same. Only problem is that when you try to make everyone equal and attempt to treat everyone fairly, you end up with this cluttered display of business cards.

Regrettably, this crowded shelf of business cards is reminiscent of what I see in too many churches. In an attempt to be fair, churches are willing to be less effective.

• When we promote every ministry equally, nothing gets prioritized.
• When every ministry is treated the same, it creates confusion for people trying to figure out their next step.
• When we give everyone the same platform, it’s difficult for any of the messages to be heard.

The only answer to this is for leaders to be unfair. You have to determine your priorities, and give those ministries the focus in your messaging. You have to be willing to say “no” to many requests for platform time and bulletin space and email blasts. You have to keep the important stuff important.

It’s one thing when you’re in a 70s restaurant in northern Georgia and someone is trying to get you to find a new beautician. It’s a completely different deal when you’re trying to help people take their next steps in their spiritual journey. If your objective is to help people become more like Jesus…

Stop trying to be fair.