CSI's Anthony Zuiker and Your Ministry or Business - Ministry and Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

CSI is perhaps the most successful franchise in the history of television, watched by tens of millions around the world. No, most of their shows do not promote a biblical worldview and yes, you should exercise discernment in your television viewing habits. But you can learn a lot from CSI's media planning for your ministry or binistry (business that's your God-given ministry).

Check out the clip below of CSI Executive Producer Anthony Zuiker talking about creating and airing content across multiple platforms including television, web, mobile and more. Especially notice his comments about viewers' immediate response to show content, as evidenced by their web surfing habits. (Warning: the video contains no profanity but does reference inappropriate content.)

Take a cue from Zuiker and think about your ministry or business content, and how to spark audience response across various media. If you air a weekly radio show, push your listeners to log onto your website for a forum discussion immediately following the radio broadcast. Then take it a step further.

Build widgets from your show content, which fans can add to their blogs and online profiles. As an example, check out the PluggedIn movie review widget to the left of this column, which I built in about five minutes this afternoon using SproutBuilder.

Better yet, create shorter webisodes from your audio or video content, which can be consumed and spread virally online. Or unfold a story over a series of ads, which individually convey your sales message, but also fit within a larger narrative, with cues to participate/solve the mystery/share similar stories online.

Don't just utilize a single medium to minister or promote your business. Shape and deliver your message through broadcast, web, and mobile venues. And don't simply hope that folks will talk about your ministry or business online; take a page out of CSI's book. Facilitate and fan the flames of the conversation through better media planning, to the glory of God.

Eye-Tracking and First Impressions - Ministry and Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

Funky cool Matrix time. Enjoy this article on the use of eye-tracking research to help publishers design websites and magazine covers. In a nutshell, they want to know what we look at first and how long our eyeballs stay put on particular ads and articles. Of course, the implications for media design (web, print and otherwise) could be huge.

Even if you're not planning on hiring eye-trackers and installing retinal scans at every entrance, you should apply the concept of eyeball tracking to your ministry or binistry (business that's your God-given ministry). Don't just think in terms of first impressions. Think about the message sent by the images on your website, your logo, your print materials and even your office space.

As I mentioned in my recent article on website quick tips, your online home should be eyeball-friendly with beautiful pictures that tell your story and easily navigable site design. Don't clutter your website with everything you're doing. Let your visitors know what's important through bigger pics, central placement of key stories, and attractive headline fonts that point the way.

As biblical ministries, you should also prominently feature at least a link to your doctrinal statement and values, as well as core programs. Unless you don't know what you believe, what you're about, and why people should care.

For businesses, first impressions on your website are equally mission-critical. Where are retinas tracking on your home page? If you build homes, are pristine pics of available models displayed front-and-center? If you sell insurance, do you prominently feature photos and testimonials from the folks you've helped rebuild after the storm?

The same rule of first impressions applies to your physical building and staff/volunteers. No, you don't have to spend all the money in the world to build the most opulent church or headquarters. Interested folks usually aren't hunting for perfection, but a welcoming environment to seek out what they need.

And no, for you ministries, you shouldn't go overboard with eye-tracking into "seeker sensitive" or Brian MacLaren "remove anything that offends/let's just have a conversation" crap. If God's knocks on the door of our hearts, we naturally run out the back. (see Romans 3 and Ephesians 2) Hence, your seeker sensitivities will prove worthless, in and of themselves. But in the context of God's move on our behalf, attention to impressions is valid, helpful and biblical. (see 1 Cor. 9:22)

One last thing...The authors of a brilliant new book called Made to Stick, discuss the curse of knowledge. That is, we often struggle to recall life before we knew what we now take for granted. Non-believers and non-clients don't know you and don't know what you're about. It's up to you, led by the Holy Spirit, to point their eyeballs to what matters. And yes, the Holy Spirit leads Christ-following people to the right ideas in both ministry and binistry.

Think about those retinas and act accordingly. I'll be watching Minority Report.

The Price of Arrogance...Learn from Wachovia

Unless you live under a rock, you've no doubt heard of the mortgage crisis now battering the U.S. economy. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been lost with billions more to come. But what's this have to do with your ministry or binistry? Patience, friend, patience.

Check out this article about Wachovia Bank's mounting losses. Especially notice the arrogance of their CEO not long ago, supremely confident as he was that Wachovia not only wouldn't be hammered by credit losses, but actually would profit from any changes in credit markets.

About pride, Scripture couldn't be clearer. Arrogance is the mortal enemy of your walk with Christ and true success. In fact, "pride comes before a fall," and "whoever trusts in himself is a fool."

I'm sure that in 2007 things we're cruising along nicely at Wachovia. Pride and good, old-fashioned stupidity blinded them to their risk exposure and rolled out the red carpet for the world of hurt they won't soon escape.

Ministry and business to the glory of God works the same way. The slow creep of prideful blindness to spiritual weakness and organizational ineffectiveness, suddenly manifests in a dam break of apathy and irrelevance.

Where are you at? Are you trusting in yourself or are you clinging to Christ? Remember, "past success is no indicator of future performance." You must take up your cross daily. You must yield yourself, your circumstances, and your organization to our God, Who is an all consuming fire. He must purify you and purge pride.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul confronted his readers' welcoming prideful adversaries to the Gospel. Paul's response: "But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I
shall find out, not the words of those who arrogant but their power." (I Cor. 4:19). Indeed, the Spirit works the same way in our lives. He is not concerned with our words, but with the power of our deeds, a power which "is from God and not from us." (2 Cor. 4:7)

As the Spirit commanded through Paul, "Guard against self-deception, each of you. If someone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become foolish so that he can become wise...So then no more boasting about mere mortals! For everything belongs to you...and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God." (1 Cor. 3:18-23)

Heed Biblical teaching and learn from Wachovia's mistakes. "Humble yourself, therefore, under the mighty hand of God that He may lift you up in due time." (1 Peter 5:6) Your personal, familial, ministry, and binistry success hang in the balance.

Apple, Steve Jobs and Your Ministry or Binistry - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

From the "in case you missed it" category, check out this great Fortune magazine article on Steve Jobs, Apple, and innovation. Notice that Apple concentrates resources on a few smart but risky projects, rather than dilute precious energy and cash across a horde of "safe" products.

For Jesus' disciples and the Apostle Paul, the core was preaching the word--including evangelism and discipleship, prayer and loving service (see Acts 6, 2 Timothy 4:1-2, James 2:14-18). Check out the Steve Jobs article and ask yourself what is the core of your ministry or binistry (business that's your God-given ministry). Determine if you're focused or diluted and get it right, for the glory of God and "the work of service."

Blue Tooth Proximity Marketing Case Studies...Learn from Coke's Powerade

In our unending quest to help your ministries and binistries be principled and practical, check out this great Blue Tooth marketing case study featuring Powerade's smart outreach at a South Africa cycling event. Whether you're a church offering evangelistic info or service times, or a business offering real estate listing or fast food coupons, BlueTooth proximity marketing is relatively easy to deploy and is showing great promise.

Enjoy the Powerade case study and read more about getting started with Blue Tooth here. If you'd like consulting help with your BlueTooth efforts, contact us here.

God's Work In Spite of You - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

Last weekend I trekked back to the Rocky Mountains of the Western U.S. for green chile in Albuquerque and paintball in the Colorado highlands. In the midst of this testosterone-filled trip, I chatted with a longtime friend and business owner about the ups and downs of operating a company in a manner worthy of Christ and the long and winding road of the entrepreneur. Among his many fascinating answers, my friend confessed that God often blessed his business in spite of him.

Fast forward to my plane ride home...

Awash in the semi-depression that has typified my current journey from ministry & business consultant to working full-time for a single organization, I assumed an aisle seat on my favorite discount airline. Another passenger soon parked in the window seat on my row and we headed up, up and away.

With about an hour left on our near-cross country flight, I awoke from a much-needed nap and spotted the reading material of my window seat friend. A bible? Come on, Lord! First, I want simply to do what pleases you and I can't find a job doing that. And now you don't even seat me next to somebody who's lost, who will spend eternity separated from you unless they repent and turn to Christ. What do I have to say to yet another fellow Christian? Arghhhh!

Or so I thought...

Twenty minutes into our effortless conversation, Mr. Window Seat mentioned that he had previously journeyed to China on a mission trip. I then asked the $64,000 question (the title of a 1960s American game show for you non-Yanks). With whom did Mr. Window Seat go on that mission trip? His answer: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Insert tension-cutting knife here...

Just as my business owner friend confessed that God often blessed his company in spite of him, so the Spirit was now presenting me with an opportunity to share the truth of Christ with someone lost from Him, in spite of my childish bellyaching not three hours before. Soon Mr. Window Seat and I were engaged in a full-throttle debate over who exactly Jesus Christ was and is, whether Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and potential authors of new revelation.

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit stayed true to His promises, brought pertinent Scriptures to mind and gave me the boldness to proclaim His eternal truth. FYI, you can see a few Scriptural answers to erroneous Mormon beliefs at the end of this post.

My friend's business pursuits and my airborne gospel encounter should encourage you who are believers in Jesus Christ. Indeed, God will often accomplish His good pleasure in spite of you.

Of course, God's loving work in the face of our shortcomings should not push us to "sin all the more that grace may abound." Rather, we should take every opportunity to thank God for His provision--first of His Son for our sins and then for the work we enjoy and our daily bread. And we should seek our Sovereign God for opportunities to work with Him as co-laborers (like Paul and Apollos in 1 Corinthians 3), rather than as the bratty children of our loving heavenly Father.

If today has not been a good one for you and/or you know full well the feeling of God blessing your work in spite of you, take a few moments to thank Him for His grace through Christ and on your ministry or binistry. Then pursue Him in His word, in prayer and in fellowship with other co-laborers in Christ, to the end that you will become tool in His hand, not an obstacle to His will.

And try not to open your mouth and insert both feet...


Contrary to Mormonism:

• Jesus Christ is not separate from God in His essence (see John 10:30, 17:21);
  
• Jesus Christ is God (see John 8:58, Colossians 2:9, Titus 2:13);
  
• Joseph Smith's teachings completely contradict Scripture and he was a false prophet of the worst kind (see Galatians 1:9 on the eternal destination of such as Joseph Smith);
  
• God has never changed (James 1:17); and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (see Hebrews 13:8);
  
• Eternal life does not entail us becoming gods over our own planets (see John 17:3);
  
• Only Jesus Christ Himself, His direct disciples, and their direct disciples could pen Spirit-inspired, new revelation (see Ephesians 2:20); and the Holy Spirit is God (see 2 Corinthians 3:16-18).
• The Council of Nicea in 325 AD simply confirmed the doctrine of the Trinity, rather than established it. Click here to learn more about it.
  

Car Repairs and Suffering in Ministry and Binistry - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

Have I mentioned how much I hate working on cars? Let me remind you.

I own a beautiful, 4-door, hunk of Detroit steel that takes good care of me most of the time. But regular maintenance is necessary, hence I set out to change the spark plugs and wires this past week.

What for most of you would've taken about as much time to spell your own name, required several days for yours truly. I replaced the first few plugs without much fanfare. Then came "the three."

My good friends in Detroit decided the best place for the distributor was directly above the spark plugs, which themselves were already wedged on the backside of the engine. Add to that my replacing the spark plug wires in the wrong order, and I quickly owned a car that ran better before I tuned it up! After finally consulting a repair guide, I fixed my dumb mistakes and my horseless carriage now runs great. Along the way, I received many small cuts on my hands, wrenched my back, and was in a generally foul mood until order was restored.

Why bring up my misadventure in auto repair? First, because it's funny. And, more importantly, because my vehicular dissonance (which I believe is a real medical condition), sparked in me a search of Scriptures about finding God's will and suffering for Christ.

No, I don't think not being able to fix my car is suffering for Christ. But it does illustrate how sometimes we set out to accomplish a perfectly simple task--tuning up a car or honestly seeking God's will for our ministry or binistry--and we find ourselves in a prolonged world of hurt. But just as the right auto manual helped me sort things out, so God's word will help you make sense of your ministry or binistry.

Though we'd often rather skip the suffering passages in favor of Jeremiah 29:11-13 and others, God's word is blunt about suffering: if you're a true Christ-follower, you will suffer for Him. And this suffering sometimes occurs when and, in fact, because you're genuinely seeking Him.

Hear the encouragement of the Spirit through Peter: "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation." (1 Peter 4:11-13)

Surprise! Christ suffered for God's sake. Surprise! We will suffer in the same way and we are commanded to "keep on rejoicing in it." But this is not blind, dumb optimism. This is not simply keeping a sunny disposition. This is rejoicing in hope.

We are to keep on rejoicing to the degree that we share the sufferings of Christ, so that when Christ returns we may rejoice with exultation. On this Pastor John Piper declares, "Our joy now through suffering is the means of attaining our joy then, a thousand-fold in glory."

As an independent ministry and binistry consultant in the midst of a prolonged search for the right ministry to join full-time, I identify with all of you wondering just what the heck God wants to do in you and through you. I understand hemorrhaging savings like it's going out style. And I especially empathize with genuinely seeking God's will in the midst of suffering for Christ by putting everything on the line for the sake of figuring out what He wants you to accomplish.

But there is hope for us. In fact, the Spirit-led author of Hebrews says, "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings." (Heb. 2:10) See what God worked through Christ's pain: "because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." (Heb. 2:9) If God wrought Christ's substitutionary atonement for us through Jesus' sufferings, how much more will he produce as we suffer in Christ?

Take heart in hardship, not because you're "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps," but because you know the outcome of suffering in Christ: joyous exulting at our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ's return! This the hope of all who know and follow Jesus Christ. If you do not know Him, I encourage you to read the book of John in the New Testament. You can download a free audio New Testament in nearly 300 languages here. Then contact me through the "Contact Lucky Rock" button to the left of this post.

Learn from my auto follies and do not suffer without hope. Read God's manual for your ministry and binistry and suffer for Christ, not as though some strange thing were happening to you, but constantly rejoicing with a view to big-time rejoicing at His soon appearing. And maybe find a good mechanic...

Innovation that Inspires - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

As the rains flood down like a dam break here in sunny Florida, I'd like to brighten your day with what is a decidedly sweet merging of technology and ministry.

Faith Comes by Hearing, the world's largest audio Bible distributor, this week launched a new product especially for soldiers serving round the globe. The Military BibleStick is a "portable, digital audio player, which comes pre-loaded with an Audio Drama New Testament. With a matte black finish, matte black ear buds and a red-light-only operation, the Military BibleStick has an intentional low-key design to reduce visibility and to be used in low-light situations. This Audio Bible, which is about the size of a pack of chewing gum, has five buttons and requires only a single, triple-A battery."

By God's grace, FCBH actually personally developed the technology to enable soldiers to listen to New Testament on the battle field. What's more, built into each Military BibleStick is a means for soldiers to request audio Bibles for their spouses and children.

Soldiers are already reporting great results such as this story from one non-commissioned officer, “People loved the dramatized version...After a few months of deployment, you run out of DVDs to watch and CDs to listen to, so they began to want to listen to the Audio Bible on the BibleSticks. We had one guy who claimed to be an atheist, and after about two months, he asked for the BibleStick next.”

The challenge of reaching troops in combat with the living word of the living God was a daunting one. But the Spirit showed Himself strong and worked through FCBH to eternally impact potentially millions of U.S. troops and their families. (Give to & join this project here.)

God's innovative work through FCBH should inspire you. If you're a Christian professional, pray about how to use your skills and techno know-how to further God's kingdom. He has sovereignly gifted you and positioned you and the Spirit wants you to thrive in your given task.

Catch what the Spirit spoke through Paul to the Corinthians: "As the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk." Though the immediate context of the passage refers to marriage and slavery (no marriage and slavery are not the same thing), Paul's Spirit-inspired words exhort believers to thrive in whatever situations they found themselves when God saved them, including their non-sinful business pursuits.

Take this call of duty seriously. Don't just think in general terms about being available. Pray that God will lead you to specific opportunities with specific ministries to further use your skills for God's glory. You might even want to call up or email your favorite ministries, to see if they're interested in utilizing you. That's exactly how I started volunteering with FCBH.

For you vocational ministry leaders, pray about your ministry needs and how God might meet them through superior technology and strategy. Stop, think and pray about how you might overcome your biggest ministry obstacles through better tech and planning, such as God did through Faith Comes by Hearing. Pray also that the Spirit will lead the right Christian professionals to team with you. Warning: you may actually have to pay them a fair wage for their help! Don't have the money? Pray that God will provide the funds for the ministry He desires to accomplish. (He does own "the cattle on a thousand hills.")

Be inspired. Be prayerful. Team with other believers to forward think for Christ. And let me know your results.