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Innovation is

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32

8 The IPad

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36

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How a church with no bibles still has a biblical impact on the culture.

30 Church

incubator Manhattan,

New York.

Feed Editors

iven that this is our

special, “Social Media Edition” I

though it necessary to share

our rich roots on Twitter,

namely that, it’s where we

started. That’s right, we

weren’t a company with several

employees in a downtown

urban area, just a simple

Twitter profile, trying to keep up

with creative Christianity. We

followed, talked about and

shared the webs most

innovative Christian tech,

strategies and lifestyle

solutions that so many

G have come to enjoy. And this

month, we continue in that

tradition.

Check out, ‘Social Media

Christians’ [p23] where we

explain the chronology of how

believers have migrated online.

Also, don’t forget to look at, ‘

Now is the BEST time

for Christians to take

over the social media

space.

-Linda

Churches that meet the real

needs of people, not just

preachers! [p41]

We plan to continue

unearthing innovative

Christianity on every social

media platform we encounter.

Our single greatest hope is that

you would join us for the

journey.

‘Growing your Church on

Twitter’ [p10] we reveal the

secrets of our growth on the

famous platform. We also

touch basis with Creative

Christian Companies, our think

tank group meeting in upstate

New York, to brainstorm

creative ways to develop

Click below to

engage with

creative Christians

in our Google +

group.

Growing Your

Church

r does it matter?

That’s the big question so

many church marketers

are beginning to ask?”

says Tyler Mason media

specialist at Mt.

on Twitter Vernon Christian Center in

German Town, Maryland.

He debates, not whether or

not Twitter is important to

the body of Christ, but

whether or not Christians

understand that it is.

o

https://twitter.com/FaithFEED_

“Because let’s face it, the

reputation of Christianity

has dropped” Tyler

continues. “And now more

than ever, we need to

have a strong presence on

the second biggest, but,

the world’s fastest social

network. And that’s twitter.

But my church doesn’t

seem to understand that. “

are at about 22%. “Are you

surprised?” our friend

Tyler explains in the media

room of his church. “I have

the hardest time

convincing ministries to

get out there and be

creative, but to no avail.

Now look whose winning!”

Tyler has a point, according

to the Pew Forum’s new

survey, evangelicals make

up about 25% of the

Christian landscape,

however, the all famous

“nones” , secularists who

don’t identify with any

religion [Note: Nones

consider atheism a religion]

Case and point, Christians

need to do church without

walls. And Twitter is where,

for the most part, they

haven’t begun. Secular

organizations and groups

shouldn’t be making the

strongest connections there.

But they are. The question

is how?

Continued on

page 15

Credit monitoring site

Credit Karma does weekly

trend chats with its

followers giving advice on

brushing up your finances.

Like many other

restaurants,

Chick-fil-a uses

Twitter to

showcase its

awesomeness and

promote its

overall brand.

Though no longer pastoring,

@PastorMark page stands as a

tribute to how well the

millennial leading Christian

used the platform to make

his mark.

Philadelphia based

Lifestyle Brand, Bear

Fruit, uses Twitter

to build discussions

around its products

and services,

creating viral

promotion.

How Churches Can

Grow On Twitter

Forget promotion and focus

on product.

“It’s a quicksand effect”

says social media strategist

Kate Horn. “If you use

Twitter to promote, you’ll

be demoted. However, if

you use Twitter to provide

content, visual, verbal and

beyond that is uncommonly

engaging, you’ll be

promoted. “Twitter she

says, “Punishes the impure

in motive”.

Kate Horn also urges

churches to not think this

devalues marketing. “Its

quite the opposite. Twitter

is the marketing! Christian

leaders have been using it

to do their marketing,

without realizing it is the

marketing. It’s sort of like

using a brochure to sell

something, without

realizing the brochure itself

is representing your brand.

And if it’s not visually

appealing, has good offers,

and engaging substance,

nobody will read it”

Viewing Twitter as a

brochure for your church,

blog or website is a good

bit of advice. Why visit your

sanctuary when something

as basic as its Twitter page

is utterly boring?

Continued from

page 12

“Leading with why you want them

to follow, is a great way to get

followers”

says Andy Broestein none profit

specialists at Zale’s Consulting,

“You have to create a strong “why”

before they do “what” you say. In

this case, give them a reason to go

to your Twitter account”. So

instead of asking them to follow

your blog on Twitter, say, “Get

exclusive interviews, chats and

more at our Twitter account”. The

more customized you can be, the

better! “There should be

something there that I can’t get

anywhere else. You should

leverage the difference of Twitter

from the other social media

accounts. Namely that they get

something there that they can’t get

from your Facebook or other SM

profiles.”

Andy continues by saying, “So if

you’re on Twitter, your

organization needs to have

content unique to Twitter or,

content that best gels with WHY

people come to Twitter. Too

often, people use their Twitter to

send people somewhere else,

like Instagram. This gives them

more work to do and just

causes them to either unfollow

or disengage.”

Lead with why

How are you

engaging

others on

Twitter?

Click to

share

All in all, Christian organizations

should be utilizing Twitter’s

uniqueness to their advantage.

There are titles, messages and

word arrangements that sell,

and there are those that don’t.

You want to be the former. For

instance, saying, “How to Pray”

on your tweet with a link to the

blog isn’t nearly as good as

saying, ‘3 Keys to Effective

Prayer’. Why? Book marketing

expert Roger C. Parker says,

“People want to know that

they’re going to get something,

and having a numbered title

helps that”. Other good ideas

from him:

Curiosity creators,

‘Never Eat Alone’ for

instance, is a best

seller with a title

that makes you think,

“Why?”

Have Good Copy write

Targeted titles. ‘The

Geeks Guide to

Fashion’ for instance

would get the interest

of apparel fanatics.

Benefit emphasis,

simply put, you

should title your

tweets with emphasis

on the benefit it

brings Apply these tips to your church’s

Twitter account and spark a

growth curve like never before!

Finally, we would add to this

following and unfollowing. Simply

follow people who would most

likely be interested in your tweets

and unfollow them at a date later

than 24 hours. This promotes you

within their account while

maintaining Twitter’s policies. Do

as many as possible each week,

as Twitter will tell you when you’ve

reached the follow limit.

ts not for me to bring them

to Christ, that’s the Holy Spirit’s

job, is the answer you’ll hear

from most evangelicals. When

you ask them why they aren’t

engaging the lost on YouTube

Facebook and Instagram. The

honest truth is this, most

believers don’t know how to

engage others effectively for

Christ. And the fact that we live

in a post social media world

I

What’s the

code of

conduct for

evangelicals

online?

doesn’t make it any better. So

how do we do this? There must

be a way for tech savvy

believers to advance Gods

kingdom in their realm, because

let’s face it, that’s where the lost

are

are going with their complaints

about Christ. And if we are wise,

that’s also where we’ll go with

Christian solutions. These are

the rules.

10 Online

Commandments

The

Get off of Christian sites. “Men

don’t take a candle and put it

under a bush” [Matt 5:15].

Believers have to realize that

Christian sites are great starts,

but, we’re to take that light

onto none Christian platforms,

sites and blogs to comment and

interact in such a way that

brings others into the faith.

Be brief. Blogs, comments and

texts that are too long, just

don’t get read. In the seldom

cases that they are, its because

the brief opening sentence or

some

Behave. If you don’t observe

protocol on the sites, blogs

and places online where you

want to win others, you won’t

win others. You have to find

commonalities with the world

before you can change it [1

Cor 9:22]

1

2

3 other factor contributed to it.

Learn to communicate briefly,

and only extend conversations

when it’s absolutely necessary.

Not as the norm.

Behave. if you don’t observe protocol you won’t win others.

Communicate. That’s to say,

learn to express yourself both

casually and cordially online.

This sounds obvious but the

plethora of misspelled words,

unclear explanations and

emotionless comments seen

online by Christians prove

otherwise. You have to be a

good communicator in order to

win others online.

Do warfare. This means

apologetics. The Christian

who knows how to

strategically tear down none

Christian values in debate

will win souls by the dozen.

When you refute anti

Christian arguments, those

who are in the valley of

decision are able to enter

the kingdom. It’s just the

assurance they needed.

4

5

Love through action. Drop

all the Christiane-eese

language. Even when

discussing scripture, be

sure you keep things kind

and clear enough for the

simple to grasp. Avoid

trolling, name calling and

bigotry. Be direct. Be

immovable. But don’t be

rude. Speak the truth in

love [Eph 4:15].

6

Contribute to the overall

community. Debating

and winning souls

shouldn’t be all you’re

doing. Be sure you are

adding value online.

Be vivid. Dan Roam, author

of ‘Blah-Blah-Blah’ created

this term. Namely that, your

words have a visual and

verbal interdependency. Use

statements that help them

picture what you’re saying.

Be lightly poetic when

witnessing to others. Make

them see what you mean.

Challenge yourself. Join

groups online that

challenge what and how

you believe for the

better. It’s the only way

you’ll grow and develop

as an evangelical online.

Respect it as ministry.

This is perhaps the most

important of the ten. If

you think your time

online, is just time online,

and not an opportunity to

witness for Christ, you’ll

never take any of the

former seriously.

Drop the Christian-eese and speak normal.

7

8

9

10

W hat does it take to

be an effective

Christian on

Social Media?

Social Media

Christian

First you have to know it.

“Christians who wish to live their

faith on Social Media need to

comprehend it, perhaps better

than most people” Tim Weinstein,

media specialist at Faith Works, a

ministry consulting firm in

Richmond, VA. Tim advises his

ministry clients to establish a solid

presence on the three biggest

social networks as a starter.

“Facebook, Twitter and Google+

should be the minimum for every

forward thinking believer and

especially at the organizational

level. Once

solid profiles are created there,

the worst thing you can do is try

to update them daily. This

doesn’t work” Tim says. Instead,

to get into the game of being a

Christian with a solid social

media presence, Weinstein

believes you should pick one

favorite that you like the most.

“Again, be sure you complete

step one, that is, you’re on all

three networks, but after that,

pick one to be active on more

frequently. Siphon off the rest to

your team, if you have one. If

not, simply update those ones

when you find the time.”

How cool! Nobody wants to get

updates on social media from a

Christian whose only life is

putting updates on social media.

Pick one for more fun and, as

Tim said, more effectiveness.

Facebook,

Twitter and

Google+ should

be the minimum

for every

forward thinking

believer

being discouraged by it” See the

twist? People are looking for

fresh insights into the Christian

faith, so if you’re not providing

that, your content is off kilter.

And that doesn’t mean you go

off like Rick Warren on a perfect

tweet stampede! Rather, it

means your Facebook posts

and Google+ updates are about

things that aren’t unbiblical for

starters and creative when you

have to go Christian. This

means visual aid, creative

writing and innovative insights

into good ol Christian values.

People are

looking for

fresh

insights into

the Christian

faith.

But social media Christianity

doesn’t stop there. The one

thing you must do to develop

your presence as a believer on

SM is provide quality content.

“It’s good to know scripture, but,

followers would rather see it

creatively applied in your posts.

You should aid others into the

Christian worldview with good

visuals, copy write and other

effective behaviors than

thumping the bible” Tim

finalizes.

Content

Content is what people are

looking for. Case and point,

Rick Warren. Oh sure, he’s a

mega church pastor of one of

the largest Baptist

congregations in the U.S.,

but, he’s a tweet machine!

“Faith is not denying reality.

Faith is facing reality without Continued on page 28

The rule here is to join groups that

organize around your values and

interests. Then participate in addition

to posting on your main profile.

Brevity and timelines is king on

Twitter. You’ll get re-tweets and

follows as you post quality content

in live time before others do.

Since Google+ connects to the

search engines, you want to focus on

quality more than quantity, as what

you post will end up there.

Your videos should be well

planned and thought out. Be sure

they have quality recording and are

tackling real issues in addition to

being fun to watch.

Even if you hate taking pics, you

should have a decent presence

on Instagram as it’s the top

photo sharing network.

Linked-In should reflect your

more professional self and

house your business

interactions correctly.

But you should still have fun.

The part of social media that

gets the most attention is the

casual part, sharing engaging

life experiences with others, a

day at the mall, club, church or

fun park should appear in your

If you can’t show others that

your faith transcends religious

sayings and scripture quotes,

and gets into your day to day

life with photos, audios and

videos, it’s less convincing.

The part of

social media

that gets the

most attention

is the casual

Continued from page 28

timeline. The Christians who

shares their professional,

casual and all aspects of their

life, not just their Christianity,

will find greater following and

impact for the kingdom. Overall

the approach is more

welcoming.

Sociability

Christians have to adapt a more

sociable and open psychology

online, and that means social

media. We have to begin

communicating with others

while still being able to main-

tain our own faith. This is what

the world loves to see from

believers, and that means being

a social media Christian of

sorts. One who can succinctly,

briefly and socially interact with

others within the confines of

Christian values. It has little to

do with

only talking to Christians, and in

fact, is intended for none

Christians too experience.

The need has never been

greater. More and more, we’re

seeing the “nones” that is, none

theistic asking questions and

wondering if “that faith stuff” is

even valid in this day and age.

Who better to show them that

you can live a full and abundant

life while still being sharp in the

principles of God’s Word, than a

social media adept Christian?

Start by following your favorite

accounts on social media, both

Christian and not. Study their

techniques, glean wisdom and

figure out how you can share

your values as a believer using

the same. Remember to keep

this on top of healthy interaction

with others on the platform as

well. We’ll begin to see a world

changed the moment we see

creative christians on social

media, being the light God

intended them to be, not

folded up in a corner of a

Christian blog somewhere.

Communicate

with others,

and still

maintain your

faith.

ay it with me,

Here, we chart down 3

major ways we could be

using our tablets to

heighten the church

experience.

The IPad

Church S “This is my bible.

I am what it says I

am. I have what it

says I can have. I

can do what it says

I can do. I’m about

to receive, the

engrafted word”

One problem with this

though, nobody’s holding

up a bible as such, they’re

holding up tablets. They

may as well begin starting

the chant off with, “This is

my bible app…” and go

from there. But this is

such a cool thing, one that

most churches are likely

sleeping on.

Christian Town square, -

things like live Q&A’s,

comments, questions and

the like, can be facilitated

during the sermon or with

an ‘After Church’ segment.

Imagine a live chat

surrounding the subject

matter, permitting everyone’s

voice to be heard at a pre-

selected facilitator’s request.

This means we can address

real issues on Sunday, not

just the ones targeted in a

This means we can address

real issues on Sunday, not

just the ones targeted in a

scripted sermon. British

academics Stephen Reicher,

Clifford Stott, and John Drury

have found that

Clifford Stott, and John

Drury have found that

individuals in crowds do not

abandon their rationality or

surrender their identity to a

Continuity, - Why does it

have to end at church?

Again, the ‘After Church’

segment can begin an hour

or so after the last service,

online. Now, you can say how

you felt, discuss what about

the message you struggle

with and what you want

Change, - In churches

today, the pastor is the

chief change agent.

However, when Jesus

walked the earth, it was the

people’s faith that caused

the shift. What happens

when we return to that

model? Imagine a church

where solutions connect to

problem s

mob mentality. They do not

lose their minds. They do,

however, become highly

sensitive to what those

around them are doing, and

become strongly

cooperative as a result. Use

this! Ask them questions

during the service via text

and take live surveys to get

feedback in real time. Turn

the Sunday monologue into

a dialogue, everyone can

look forward to.

The mobile digital church,

is a more effective one.

Only, we haven’t been

acting on the advantages

and thus leaving ministries

as is.

with greater quality. Why?

Because nobody, even the

pastor, gets

EVERYTHING from God.

The body as a whole can

contribute, and the IPad

can be the tool we’ve been

waiting for!

Pastors today and ministry

leaders alike, have to

wake up to the change

that has occurred, see it

as divine, and take

advantage of it.

Nobody hears

your message

unless its spoken

creatively. Innovation is

the New Pulpit

Picture if you would, a

world with no churches.

No, forget that, a world

with no churches as we

know them today. No

buildings. No steeples

And to be specific, nobody

wants a podium sermon.

Nobody grows like that

No baskets with

offerings from the

people.

I think we’re going, and in

fact, are now there. Simply

put, church as we know it, is

no longer necessary. Buildings,

people, and donations. What’s

become more important is theology,

mission and culture. The church

building, size and preference is now

officially of lesser importance.

The big underline is

innovation!

You’ve heard of it

before as edutainment.

Its colors, actions, and

beyond that are

designed to make the

message more

memorable.

What’s become

more important

is theology,

mission and

culture.

Educational instructor

and author of, ‘The

Accounting Game’ Judith

Orloff, believes that too

much attention to detail

in lectures is the main

reason nobody

color, movement, smells,

emotional experiences and

lots of play and fun.” she

says. The churches and

ministries that reach

others will begin, more and

more, to take on this

Church as we

know it is

no longer

necessary.

elementary school,

much of the

information you

learned went directly to

your long-term

memory, because it

was peppered with

music, color,

movement, smells,

learns

anything.

“While in

elementary

school,

much of the

information

you learned

went

directly to

your long-

term

much of the information

you learned went directly

to your long-term

memory, because it was

peppered with music,

color, movement, smells,

emotional experiences

and lots of play and fun.

methodology if

for nothing

Other than the

fact that it’s more

effective.

Ordith

who founded

her own college

In Burlington, Vermont

puts it this way

“Kindergarten is the

best learning model,

we have! In grade

however, we moved

away from colors, maps,

visuals and the like and

went into memorization so

we could pass tests. But

this only stores data into

your short term memory.

The Purple Cow

This all reminds us of an

article we did in a recent

ideas issue of Faith FEED.

In it, we mention Seth

Godin’s theory of the purple

cow. That nobody

remembers something that

isn’t remarkable, or worthy of

remark. If Judith’s

educational approach is

right, then we’ve been on

This thing for quite some

time. Namely that,

creativity, is what makes

your brain push it’s “save

button”.

Creativity

makes your

brain push

it’s ‘save

button’

Christian entrepreneurs,

authors, and leaders

would do well to take note.

If the message isn’t

edutaining, that is to say,

colorful, emotional and

creative, it’s not

uncommon and is thus

unworthy of remark.

Nobody will remember it.

So how do we get there?

How do creative Christian

leaders re-spark the fire

that they once had?

together. To make a

complex and confusing

thing simple and clear, you

have to get into the

mindset, not of a preacher,

but of a kindergarten

teacher. Focus on the big

picture. Use visual aid.

And get them involved.

Go Kindergarten

“You learned the alphabet

by singing. You learned the

multiplication tables by

saying them out loud with

each other. You laughed a

lot. You were creative.”

According to Judith. Why

now, when evangelizing as

adults, we switch things up?

“Most attempts to teach fail

because of too much

attention to detail and a

failure to present the big

picture framework of how it

all works and fits

Invoke Emotion

The sad thing about the

bible is that we don’t get to

see how Jesus said it, we

only know what he said.

But we can be sure that,

many of the plain vanilla

bible sayings we read,

were filled with emotion.

You have to do the same.

The sad thing

about the bible

is that we don’t

get to see how

Jesus said it,

we only know

what he said.

This means

communicating how you

feel about your message

and why? People want

something human to

connect with on your blog,

during your sermon or

lecture. Give them that!

Coming to Christ,

learning to pray or the

like, with a mark of

progress or completion, it

becomes even more

effective.

Gamification

People, more than

anything, remember what

they do. However, if you

can reward them, for

The more game

concepts you can apply

to their learning process,

the more effective it will

be.

So before winning

another person to the

kingdom be sure you’re

innovative. Be sure your

using the new pulpit!

anhatten, New York. We

gathered in an East End office

park to conduct creative

class, where believers get

together and brainstorm

solutions to the world’s

problems, only this time, the

church! And it has become an

incubator of sorts for

developing ministries

The issue,-bureaucracy!

One thing that begins to

stifle any organizations

growth is bureaucratic

systems and procedures,

namely no accountability

amongst leaders and thus

confused followers and

volunteers. All in all,

bureaucratic churches

become ineffective.

Building a Team of Teams

M

One approach was suggested

by Pastor Brown, a volunteer at

First Christian Church in

Harlem. “Ongoing training.

Once you stop training you stop

growing. Church leaders should

undergo ongoing training that’s

specific to them as leaders. But

somehow those lines get

blurred as ministries develop,

and we consider “everybody” a

leader, which means nobody is”

That was heavy. But we need

growing, the people do as well.”

It! A whopping

80% of the 100

churches we

surveyed did

not have a

distinguished

program for

their leaders

ongoing

development.

“When the

leaders stop

Pastor Brown shared his

innovative approach to

ongoing leader training in

today’s churches during the

brainstorm. “There has to

be clear distinctions in what you

want them to learn, vs what the

other members do” To much

criticism. “I don’t think

that’s healthy as other

members would feel left out”

another pastor began.

But as Pastor Brown finalized,

“We can’t expect something

different from lay leaders if

we’re not giving them anything

different.”

beneath.” This is seen below:

We can’t expect

something different from

lay leaders if we’re not

giving them anything

different

Teaming Up

Your Team

The second idea was to create

healthier team dynamics. Our

own Rebecca Hines proposed

a solution mapped out in book,

‘Team of Teams’ by former U.S.

Marine general Stanley

McChrystal. “Churches have the

old linear chart where the pastor

is at the top and the workers

“While this is certainly better

than no order at all, it permits

bureaucracy [what we don’t

want], when it becomes too

layered, which is often as

those at the top get lazy” A

better organizational chart

would be”

When leaders facilitate

connections amongst their team,

idea flow and productivity is

higher!

It’s a matter of good better and

best” Rebecca tells the room full

of Christian leaders. Referring

to Sandy Pentland of MIT.

“Collective intelligence has little

to do with individuals but more

to do with the connections

between them and the easy flow

of ideas”.

Think of it this way, when was

the last time you had a ‘Town

Hall’ meeting for your staff,

volunteers and members? That

would be one example of a

team of teams, working together

to grow the organization.

So the height for Christian

leaders to reach for their

organizations are as follows:

When a leader is at the center

of multiple interconnected

teams, facilitating discussion,

brainstorm and ideas, instead of

being above it, churches will

see growth in all the right areas.

Are you overly layered in your

leadership approach? You may

want to consider what our

church incubator discovered

before bureaucracy brings your

organization down.

When leaders facilitate

connections amongst

their team, idea flow and

productivity is higher!

o the IWatch is here. And

apple fans are going wild,

mostly with good comments.

However, amongst its

complaints is loading speed,

insensitive touch screen and

overall bugginess. But we can

expect that with new products,

especially of this caliber.

So what’s the skinny? Namely

this,-it’s freaking sexy! The

design appeal of the watch can

match any of the following:

Apple IWatch Review

S

Elegant Tech

If style was

your concern,

the worry is

over.

This one most tickles our fancy.

Namely that, many watch

companies, who claim they

aren’t worried about the IWatch,

said Apple wouldn’t delve into

this category. But clearly it has.

Of course, this, like other Apple

devices is a tech product. So,

the nerds must be catered to.

And we’re all nerds in one area

or another [in case you feel

insulted].

Urban Geek

Let’s face it, Apple is

known for making tech

a cool space, namely

by taking it out of the

business realm and

into pop culture. This

design continues in

that legacy.

And while yes, the

bands are

interchangeable, we

notice the rectangular

head design is fitting

for today’s squares.

So while no, they haven’t

come up with a bible app for

IWatch, we can be proud

that the device is able to fit

all of our style preferences.

Whether it’s Chic, urban or

mega geek!

Adapt or Die

In May 2015 Twitter re-invited its partnership with Google, meaning its visibility will be higher on the search engine.

Can the world see

you? If you’re a

creative Christian

they need to. Now

more than ever.