When you engage in public relations as a non-profit organization, every move must be strategic and thoughtful. The road to visibility can be long and arduous, and there is nothing more important than your integrity and your reputation. For more than three decades, we have been providing counsel and service to organizations and public figures in the Christian and non-profit sectors. We’ll unfold ten things we’ve learned.
#5 Feature Compelling Leaders
Most causes will not catch on if they are not connected to and sponsored by engaging people. That’s why charities use celebrities or statesmen, or push their chief executive to the forefront. It’s true in fundraising—people give to people. And it’s also true in public relations. You might think that you good and important work can be sold without a compelling spokesperson. That’s possible, but not likely; sorry.
A good, well-trained spokesperson will serve your organization well. Media want to talk to an individual who will speak with authority, and will be quotable. If it’s broadcast media, it helps if he or she is interesting, attractive, winsome, and literate.
We’ve worked with several organizations that want publicity, but their chief executive is too camera shy, too busy, or too tongue-tied to do interviews. A substitute is often acceptable, if the substitute can speak well, and can speak for the organization.
One exception to this is crisis communications. In most crises, the CEO should be front and center. It’s reassuring to people, and it shows the public that the company is taking the crisis seriously.
If you don’t have a good public spokesperson you need to hire one or develop one.
--Jim Jewell
13 Ocak 2010 Çarşamba
11 Ocak 2010 Pazartesi
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
It’s National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. I watched the movie Taken over the weekend; if the fathers of victims could step up and put their lives on the lines to save their daughters… (well, if we were all ex-CIA agents, it would help).
Information on what you can do at change.org
Some good organizations that are helping:
Street Grace (in Atlanta).
International Justice Mission
The Salvation Army
Information on what you can do at change.org
Some good organizations that are helping:
Street Grace (in Atlanta).
International Justice Mission
The Salvation Army
8 Ocak 2010 Cuma
Green Christians: Eight Starter Ideas for Churches Who Care about Creation
By Jim Jewell and Rusty Pritchard, co-founders, Flourish
[This article is from a series of weekly ministry ideas on the Flourish Blog called Cultivating Community].
Flourishing churches are those that draw people to God, encourage balanced spiritual growth, grow healthy families, care for their communities, and communicate the gospel to those outside the faith. A big part of flourishing is stewardship. In recent years, strong financial ministries have encouraged churches and families to be good stewards of their money, and have provided advice, tools, resources, and practical tips for them.
We think churches need similar help in the area of environmental stewardship. Some churches doubtless pursue environmental action because they are merely following the culture. But for Christian ministries, being green is not a fad or a fashion. It can’t be about politics or posturing. Biblical environmental stewardship must be about caring for creation in a way that’s deeply rooted in faith and that testifies to the Creator himself. Here are eight ideas for your church:
Go Deep
Start with Scripture, not with a focus on political issues or even environmental problems. Politics and science are constantly changing, but God’s word is constant. Read what the Bible says about caring for creation and the people who depend on it.
Give Thanks
Plan a church emphasis around creation care in the Thanksgiving season, when churches have historically celebrated with gratitude the harvest of crops. Peter Illyn, of the Christian environmental ministry Restoring Eden, says “Thanksgiving is a much more natural time to focus on God’s good earth than secular holidays like Earth Day.”
Keep the Sabbath
Perhaps the most radical thing a church can do in the area of environmental stewardship is to commit to keeping the Sabbath. The scriptures about Sabbath-keeping make constant reference to rest and care for the land as well as for people. God rested on the seventh day of Creation to enjoy His good handiwork. Spending time with family and friends and enjoying the free outdoors is an act of resistance to the pressures of materialism and consumerism.
Get out!
Along the same lines, encourage the children (and the adults) in your church to spend at least an hour a day outside. Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says, “Christians should take the lead in reconnecting with nature and disconnecting from machines.” Inspire families in your church to turn off the TV, computer, and video games and to help their kids have more “green time” than “screen time”.
Clean up
Pick a local park, stream, or streetscape littered with trash and vandalism, and have a cleanup day. You can find a link on our website to a network of Christians in Conservation called A Rocha (Portuguese for “the rock”); among other useful resources, they have a downloadable guide for how to organize a community clean up. By joining together, they say, “we can visibly demonstrate to our communities that God actively cares for his creation and so do we.”
Reach Out
You may never have been to an Earth Day festival, but the unchurched people in your community have. It’s the fastest growing secular holiday, and it’s a great outreach opportunity. Visit one this year, and make plans to have an outreach table next year, witnessing to the Creator who made the good earth the attendees are celebrating. We can help with a guide to tabling at such an event. Or host a film viewing at church for the local community, with a great nature film or a film about food, health, or sustainability. We help provide discussion guides for films.
Do a church energy audit
Let the youth group help do an initial church energy audit (we can help provide a guide), based on your last year’s utility bills and a facility inspection, and let them use next year’s cost savings for their summer mission trip. Or get professional help, like Prestonwood Baptist Church, a megachurch in Plano, Texas, which did a major energy overall and saved more than $1 million on utilities and water.
Be inspired
You can meet other pastors and church leaders who are growing their ministries and caring for creation by connecting online. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, which bring you the best of Flourish magazine and our online content, and take time to become a member of Flourish. Your support enables us to continue building a network of churches who are caring for creation and their neighbors, and who are restoring the witness of the 21st century church.
Jim Jewell and Rusty Pritchard are the co-founders of Flourish. A version of this article appeared in Ministry Today magazine.
[This article is from a series of weekly ministry ideas on the Flourish Blog called Cultivating Community].
Flourishing churches are those that draw people to God, encourage balanced spiritual growth, grow healthy families, care for their communities, and communicate the gospel to those outside the faith. A big part of flourishing is stewardship. In recent years, strong financial ministries have encouraged churches and families to be good stewards of their money, and have provided advice, tools, resources, and practical tips for them.
We think churches need similar help in the area of environmental stewardship. Some churches doubtless pursue environmental action because they are merely following the culture. But for Christian ministries, being green is not a fad or a fashion. It can’t be about politics or posturing. Biblical environmental stewardship must be about caring for creation in a way that’s deeply rooted in faith and that testifies to the Creator himself. Here are eight ideas for your church:
Go Deep
Start with Scripture, not with a focus on political issues or even environmental problems. Politics and science are constantly changing, but God’s word is constant. Read what the Bible says about caring for creation and the people who depend on it.
Give Thanks
Plan a church emphasis around creation care in the Thanksgiving season, when churches have historically celebrated with gratitude the harvest of crops. Peter Illyn, of the Christian environmental ministry Restoring Eden, says “Thanksgiving is a much more natural time to focus on God’s good earth than secular holidays like Earth Day.”
Keep the Sabbath
Perhaps the most radical thing a church can do in the area of environmental stewardship is to commit to keeping the Sabbath. The scriptures about Sabbath-keeping make constant reference to rest and care for the land as well as for people. God rested on the seventh day of Creation to enjoy His good handiwork. Spending time with family and friends and enjoying the free outdoors is an act of resistance to the pressures of materialism and consumerism.
Get out!
Along the same lines, encourage the children (and the adults) in your church to spend at least an hour a day outside. Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says, “Christians should take the lead in reconnecting with nature and disconnecting from machines.” Inspire families in your church to turn off the TV, computer, and video games and to help their kids have more “green time” than “screen time”.
Clean up
Pick a local park, stream, or streetscape littered with trash and vandalism, and have a cleanup day. You can find a link on our website to a network of Christians in Conservation called A Rocha (Portuguese for “the rock”); among other useful resources, they have a downloadable guide for how to organize a community clean up. By joining together, they say, “we can visibly demonstrate to our communities that God actively cares for his creation and so do we.”
Reach Out
You may never have been to an Earth Day festival, but the unchurched people in your community have. It’s the fastest growing secular holiday, and it’s a great outreach opportunity. Visit one this year, and make plans to have an outreach table next year, witnessing to the Creator who made the good earth the attendees are celebrating. We can help with a guide to tabling at such an event. Or host a film viewing at church for the local community, with a great nature film or a film about food, health, or sustainability. We help provide discussion guides for films.
Do a church energy audit
Let the youth group help do an initial church energy audit (we can help provide a guide), based on your last year’s utility bills and a facility inspection, and let them use next year’s cost savings for their summer mission trip. Or get professional help, like Prestonwood Baptist Church, a megachurch in Plano, Texas, which did a major energy overall and saved more than $1 million on utilities and water.
Be inspired
You can meet other pastors and church leaders who are growing their ministries and caring for creation by connecting online. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, which bring you the best of Flourish magazine and our online content, and take time to become a member of Flourish. Your support enables us to continue building a network of churches who are caring for creation and their neighbors, and who are restoring the witness of the 21st century church.
Jim Jewell and Rusty Pritchard are the co-founders of Flourish. A version of this article appeared in Ministry Today magazine.
7 Ocak 2010 Perşembe
Excerpts from DETOX by David Putman
“We must be born again from our religion, from our self-imposed yokes, from the weight of our burdens. It isn’t easy, but the result is a chance to break free from the weight we have borne and live in the freedom and simplicity of Jesus.” Page 10
“There is power in the word journey when we use it to describe our relationship with Jesus. That’s why part of my rethinking has involved going back and rereading the Gospels over and over again.” Page 49
“The tendency to control is especially dangerous to someone as religious as I have been. When others don’t’ live up to my moral standards, I want to impose restrictions and guidelines so that they can be taught and changed.” Page 89
“Loving like Jesus is the ultimate expression of love—there is truly no greater love. He loved through the darkness and loneliness of being betrayed by his own creation, and he loved through the hurt that came with seeing his followers fail him.” Page 104
“You can’t follow Jesus and not love your enemies, [but] loving your enemies always costs. Don’t think it doesn’t.…Loving our enemies is a form of righteousness and always leads to some kind of persecution.” Page 129
“If we are gut-level honest with ourselves, it is not unusual for Christians to build religious walls that keep out those who live differently. We can even use our churches to build these walls—instead of being the church that attracts and embraces sinners, we build church buildings that keep sinners out.” Page 138
“When we take the mission of making disciples seriously, it’s a sobering reality that I’m going to reproduce what I am….This is why it is so important we have a clear understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, along with a clear understanding that our ministry overflows from this understanding and relationship.” Page 173
“If we are to witness the work of God in the church today, we must put away our divisions and petty religion in favor of bringing the church together. There is only one banner under which we can all fit—Jesus—and there’s room for all of us.” Page 215
For an interview with David Putman or to book David as a guest, contact Jim Jewell at (678) 458-9837, jjewell03@msn.com
###
“There is power in the word journey when we use it to describe our relationship with Jesus. That’s why part of my rethinking has involved going back and rereading the Gospels over and over again.” Page 49
“The tendency to control is especially dangerous to someone as religious as I have been. When others don’t’ live up to my moral standards, I want to impose restrictions and guidelines so that they can be taught and changed.” Page 89
“Loving like Jesus is the ultimate expression of love—there is truly no greater love. He loved through the darkness and loneliness of being betrayed by his own creation, and he loved through the hurt that came with seeing his followers fail him.” Page 104
“You can’t follow Jesus and not love your enemies, [but] loving your enemies always costs. Don’t think it doesn’t.…Loving our enemies is a form of righteousness and always leads to some kind of persecution.” Page 129
“If we are gut-level honest with ourselves, it is not unusual for Christians to build religious walls that keep out those who live differently. We can even use our churches to build these walls—instead of being the church that attracts and embraces sinners, we build church buildings that keep sinners out.” Page 138
“When we take the mission of making disciples seriously, it’s a sobering reality that I’m going to reproduce what I am….This is why it is so important we have a clear understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, along with a clear understanding that our ministry overflows from this understanding and relationship.” Page 173
“If we are to witness the work of God in the church today, we must put away our divisions and petty religion in favor of bringing the church together. There is only one banner under which we can all fit—Jesus—and there’s room for all of us.” Page 215
For an interview with David Putman or to book David as a guest, contact Jim Jewell at (678) 458-9837, jjewell03@msn.com
###
6 Ocak 2010 Çarşamba
David Putman, author of the new book, DETOX
Bio Sketch
David Putman
Author of DETOX
David Putman is executive pastor of Mountain Lake Church in Cumming, Georgia, north of Atlanta. Before writing Detox, Putman was the co-author of Breaking the Missional Code, and author of Breaking the Discipleship Code.
A church planter throughout his ministry, David is co-founder of a church planting organization called churchplanters.com. He is recognized as one of the catalysts of the current church planting movement. He’s been the founding pastor of two churches, and he has coached and trained church planters around the globe.
David loves his family, motorcycles, writing, and hanging out with friends. He says:
“I am a big time family man. I have two awesome kids. My son serves with the 82nd Airborne and recently served in Afghanistan. I’m really proud of him, but I’m really tired of war. I’m praying for peace on earth. My daughter and I are just alike only she’s a good looking version. My wife really is the best person I’ve ever met.”
Prior to his pastoral role at Mountain Lake, David served with the North American Mission Board (SBC), where he developed the Nehemiah Project, a church planting strategy that was used to launch hundreds of church planters in North America.
In 1991 he was a contributing author to Church Planting at the End of the
Twentieth Century by Charles Chaney, writing the chapter, Getting Off to a Big Start. He served as one of the editors and authors of Seven Steps for Church Planting, one of the North American Mission Boards flagship resources.
David lives in Cumming, Georgia, with his wife Tami, their daughter Amanda—who plays collegiate tennis, and their son Dave—who serves in the U.S. Army as a Forward Observer with the 82nd Airborne.
For an interview with David Putman or to book David as a guest, contact Jim Jewell at (678) 458-9837, jjewell03@msn.com
###
David Putman
Author of DETOX
David Putman is executive pastor of Mountain Lake Church in Cumming, Georgia, north of Atlanta. Before writing Detox, Putman was the co-author of Breaking the Missional Code, and author of Breaking the Discipleship Code.
A church planter throughout his ministry, David is co-founder of a church planting organization called churchplanters.com. He is recognized as one of the catalysts of the current church planting movement. He’s been the founding pastor of two churches, and he has coached and trained church planters around the globe.
David loves his family, motorcycles, writing, and hanging out with friends. He says:
“I am a big time family man. I have two awesome kids. My son serves with the 82nd Airborne and recently served in Afghanistan. I’m really proud of him, but I’m really tired of war. I’m praying for peace on earth. My daughter and I are just alike only she’s a good looking version. My wife really is the best person I’ve ever met.”
Prior to his pastoral role at Mountain Lake, David served with the North American Mission Board (SBC), where he developed the Nehemiah Project, a church planting strategy that was used to launch hundreds of church planters in North America.
In 1991 he was a contributing author to Church Planting at the End of the
Twentieth Century by Charles Chaney, writing the chapter, Getting Off to a Big Start. He served as one of the editors and authors of Seven Steps for Church Planting, one of the North American Mission Boards flagship resources.
David lives in Cumming, Georgia, with his wife Tami, their daughter Amanda—who plays collegiate tennis, and their son Dave—who serves in the U.S. Army as a Forward Observer with the 82nd Airborne.
For an interview with David Putman or to book David as a guest, contact Jim Jewell at (678) 458-9837, jjewell03@msn.com
###
5 Ocak 2010 Salı
New Book: DETOX for the Overly Religious
Detox, by David Putman.
B&H Publishing Group. Release date: Jan. 1, 2010
“Finding Jesus is All About Losing Your Religion”
Author David Putman Explores the Path
for Following Jesus Away from Toxic Religion
ATLANTA, Jan. 5, 2010-- In his new book, Detox, church planting expert and Atlanta-area pastor David Putman begins with what may seem like a quip: “Christians should lose their religion.” But he’s really quite serious. Putman says the biggest barrier many people encounter in their search for a meaningful relationship with God is that they are “overly religious” and have allowed the veneer of religion to deter them from simply following Jesus Christ.
Detox, released by B&H Publishing Group on January 1, 2010, provides an easy-to-read 23-step “detoxification devotional” to help wean readers from their dependence on rules and empty religious traditions and to explore the simple-but-profound journey into a relationship with Jesus.
The 23 steps are presented in three sections: Living Like Jesus Lives, Loving Like Jesus Loves, and Leaving Behind What Jesus Leaves Behind (more followers).
Living Like Jesus Lives
Simplicity
Rethink
Come
Seeing
Journey
Frozen
Blessed
Margin
Control
Loving Like Jesus Loves
Cup
Perfume
Sinners
Enemies
Friend
Samaritan
Forgiveness
Leaving Behind What Jesus Does
Study Course
Disciples
Go
Purpose
Hospitality
Temple
Oneness
Each chapter ends with questions for reflection individually or as a group.
For an interview with David Putman or to book David as a guest, contact Jim Jewell at (678) 458-9837, jjewell03@msn.com
Leaders of the Evangelical Generation #45 Steven Curtis Chapman. Lyricist and Musician
[I am working on a project that may become a book on the most influential evangelicals leaders of our generation, since 1976, and the impact they've had on the church and their times. I will introduce them briefly on this blog from time to time].
#45. Steven Curtis Chapman. Lyricist and Musician b.1962
If anyone in Christian music could accurately say “I wrote the songs” it would be Steven Curtis Chapman, the most honored songwriter and one of a handful of the genre’s dominant performers in the last 20 years.
Chapman received Christian music’s Dove Award for Songwriter of the Year every year from 1989-1995, and again in 1997 and 1998. He was also honored as Male Vocalist of the Year in 1990, 91, 95, 97, 98, 2000, and 2001; and Artist of the Year in 90, 91, 93, 95, 97, 2000, and again last year, 2009.
In fact, Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman are the most honored artists in Dove Awards history.
I met Steven Curtis Chapman on the way to prison. In 1994 I had negotiated an agreement with Chapman’s representatives for Prison Fellowship Ministries to be main sponsor of his “Heaven in the Real World” national concert tour. [Heaven in the Real World was one of two albums to go platinum (sold more than a million copies) for SCC.]
Steven had become interested in Chuck Colson and his prison ministry work and call to faithfulness, and had included a Colson voice over on the album Heaven in the Real World’s title song. As part of the sponsorship agreement, Steven would perform in several Prison Fellowship in-prison outreach programs, PF would gather names of mostly young people at concerts and get promotional space in the CDs, a concert hand-out and other places, and the SCC team would receive a sizeable amount of sponsorship money—six figures—from PF.
It was fairly revolutionary for a conservative organization such as PF, and although it was difficult to measure the impact on the organization, it was probably helpful all around—particularly providing more youthful names for the organization’s aging donor list.
It was on the way to one of the prison programs that I met Steven, flying to the area together, sharing a van. It was the first of many visits with a young musician who seemed to get younger with every passing year to stay popular with young audiences.
While stardom has had a bad influence on numerous Christian music stars, Chapman has always impressed with his authentic and consistent life and work. I found that to be true as he sang and spoke with energy and compassion to both arena crowds of tens of thousands adoring fans and to a few hundred often-stone-faced prison inmates—some of whom shared the faith and others who were just looking for a few hours outside their cell blocks.
It was a trip into the belly of one of the nation’s prison beasts—I believe it was in Indiana—that led to Chapman’s striking and inspirational song: “Free.”
Back in the news in the last year with the tragic death of his youngest child, who was hit by the family car in their driveway. He’s handled it was characteristic honesty and class, and some of the passion of the time is evident in his new album, Beauty Will Rise. He spoke about the tragedy and the album recently on Good Morning America.
Jim Jewell
#45. Steven Curtis Chapman. Lyricist and Musician b.1962
If anyone in Christian music could accurately say “I wrote the songs” it would be Steven Curtis Chapman, the most honored songwriter and one of a handful of the genre’s dominant performers in the last 20 years.
Chapman received Christian music’s Dove Award for Songwriter of the Year every year from 1989-1995, and again in 1997 and 1998. He was also honored as Male Vocalist of the Year in 1990, 91, 95, 97, 98, 2000, and 2001; and Artist of the Year in 90, 91, 93, 95, 97, 2000, and again last year, 2009.
In fact, Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman are the most honored artists in Dove Awards history.
I met Steven Curtis Chapman on the way to prison. In 1994 I had negotiated an agreement with Chapman’s representatives for Prison Fellowship Ministries to be main sponsor of his “Heaven in the Real World” national concert tour. [Heaven in the Real World was one of two albums to go platinum (sold more than a million copies) for SCC.]
Steven had become interested in Chuck Colson and his prison ministry work and call to faithfulness, and had included a Colson voice over on the album Heaven in the Real World’s title song. As part of the sponsorship agreement, Steven would perform in several Prison Fellowship in-prison outreach programs, PF would gather names of mostly young people at concerts and get promotional space in the CDs, a concert hand-out and other places, and the SCC team would receive a sizeable amount of sponsorship money—six figures—from PF. It was fairly revolutionary for a conservative organization such as PF, and although it was difficult to measure the impact on the organization, it was probably helpful all around—particularly providing more youthful names for the organization’s aging donor list.
It was on the way to one of the prison programs that I met Steven, flying to the area together, sharing a van. It was the first of many visits with a young musician who seemed to get younger with every passing year to stay popular with young audiences.
While stardom has had a bad influence on numerous Christian music stars, Chapman has always impressed with his authentic and consistent life and work. I found that to be true as he sang and spoke with energy and compassion to both arena crowds of tens of thousands adoring fans and to a few hundred often-stone-faced prison inmates—some of whom shared the faith and others who were just looking for a few hours outside their cell blocks.
It was a trip into the belly of one of the nation’s prison beasts—I believe it was in Indiana—that led to Chapman’s striking and inspirational song: “Free.”
Back in the news in the last year with the tragic death of his youngest child, who was hit by the family car in their driveway. He’s handled it was characteristic honesty and class, and some of the passion of the time is evident in his new album, Beauty Will Rise. He spoke about the tragedy and the album recently on Good Morning America.
Jim Jewell
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