Month: May 2005

One Idea is Better than Three

GarrettDimon.com has a great theory about presenting ideas to clients. I think he may be on to something. In his article, One Idea is Better than Three he wrote:

If you present clients with multiple ideas and expect them to choose one, invariably, the end result is muted and diluted as the message of the different ideas gets blended together. This is what happens when you approach the situation with an offering.
Instead of spending time creating 3 differnt comps, ideas, or concepts, take aim at that one that’s great and make it amazing. Blow them out of the water. Leave them speachless. That’s guiding.
It’s really about taking them where you feel and know they need to go. You may be a little off course and that is to be expected. Believe it or not, your clients are looking to you for answers, and they want to help you find those answers. They are looking to you for guidance to the best solution.

While I really haven’t purposely tried this, I know from past experiences that presenting one plan or design to someone and then letting them see why you’re passionate about it tends to get them on board with whatever your idea is.
When people see that you’re passionate about something they tend to want that same fire and passion in their own life.
I can’t recall who said it, but they were right, “Preach always, use words if necessary.”
If people see a passion in our lives about Christ or life or a silly computer game, they will want to be a part of it.
So be passionate and live hard and strong.
Let the grace of God shine throughout your life.

(Faith + Design) x Passion = Joy

I just read an article that truely inspired me. Why am I dependent on other people to make a living? What if I had the faith of a mustard seed and stepped out and really went forward with 121 Media. There are many opportunities that I would love to work on, given the time.
It’s the business and money side of it all that scares me.
Lord, grant me the peace to do Your will. Help me to move in the direction You want me to go. If You desire I stay at the newspaper, keep me there as long as You will. If not, show me the door.

The Greatest of These

NOTE: Revision of ‘We want to compete on the highest level.’ Published in Belton Journal 5-5-05.

The Chicago Sun-Times ran an interview with U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. last week.
He talked about U2, the botched up ticket sales and how the band is still not satisfied with just being the “biggest band in the world.”
“We want to do better, we want to compete on the highest level, and that means competing on radio, and competing with people like Britney Spears and all those pop artists who are at the top of their game. The songs that are written for them are pretty spectacular, and we want to compete with that. Why else do this? There’s no other reason. None of us need to do it, we’re all financially secure, and for a lot of bands, that’s a huge turn-off. ‘I’ve got the kids now, I’ve got the money, what do I need this for?’ This is revenge for us.”
Granted, in my opinion U2 is already the greatest band in the world.
But apparently they’re not happy yet.
In my own life there are a number of times that I get complacent and feel like I don’t need to improve.
But what if I woke up everyday with a mindset that I needed to be the greatest editor in the world, or the greatest single’s intern in the world or the son or friend or Christian? How would my life differ?
What would it take for me to be the greatest at all these things?
Scripture tells us that even the disciples wanted to be the greatest in the kingdom in heaven.
In Matthew 18 the disciple ask Jesus “Who will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
Jesus tells them, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
That excites me, because I can be childlike all the time.
But that’s probably more a lack of maturity than what Jesus was talking about.
My friend Mike loves to tell me about his two-year old son, Liam.
A few weeks ago Mike was eating dinner with his wife and Liam. And halfway through the meal Liam realized they hadn’t prayed.
He stopped everything, put his hands together and said, “Pray. Pray.”
That childlike faith is what Jesus was looking for. A faith that isn’t distracted from our daily duties. A faith that never questions how big God is, but knows God is bigger than any problem we have.

Pastoral Director of Design and Marketing

Is it just me, or would a Pastoral Director of Design and Marketing be my dream job. Oh how I would love to work full time doing marketing for the church.

What would that entail? Would marketing the church be simply telling the Gospel 24/7? While I think that’s a big part of it, I think it has more to do with marketing what makes the church a church. Also, it has to do a better job at telling the greatest message ever to people who aren’t going to step inside a church normally.

I think we need to find relevant ways to tell the Gospel to the world. We must be certain we don’t change the message or the Gospel, but sometimes it can be packaged differently.

Take for instance, one of my other passions, the CWF. How is it that a bunch of guys who love wrestling have found a way to package the Gospel with it?

It’s amazing to see how people respond to it — and more importantly to God.

We must find ways to reach every corner of the world with our message and I would love to be on the front lines.

UPDATE: Interesting how things change over the years. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t want this job anymore — at least not at a church. I’d much rather see churches spending money on caring for the needy around them — rather than spending money on one more staff member.

What about you?