Kem Meyer on Less Clutter & Noise

Could you limit every email to 3 sentences?

Sentenc.es; a disciplined way to deal with email. Could you do it?

I got an email from Matt Knisely with this in his footer

"Q: Why is this email 3 sentences or less?

A: http://three.sentenc.es"

I'm going to try to adopt it as my personal policy. Let's see how it goes.

How do you "do" press releases?

"I know the fundamentals of a press release. But, I wonder about the practical philosophy behind it. Do you need press releases to get news coverage? Are there principles to follow that makes an editor treasure a press release instead of trash it?"

I invited Jami Ruth as a guest blogger to answer this question. Before she joined the communications team at Granger, she spent several years as an account executive and media relations rep at a local ad agency. She's been the driving force behind organizing our press strategy and strengthening our two-way relationship with our media outlets. Here's how Jami answered...

"No strategy is a bad strategy. So rather than ignore the media or worse yet, bombard them with self-centered tidbits, our strategy is to ask ourselves a few questions before we ever send out a news release.

1. Why? Every contact with the media is an opportunity to tell our (God’s) story. If we're doing something worth talking about...people will talk. It’s not publicity for publicity’s sake. Awareness is not the win. The win is interest that compels people to give God or church a chance. While media publicity can effectively help with that at times (it's like free advertising) we are never in control of the message. We can provide talking points but reporters don't accept "scripts." We're ok with that, though. It's authentic.
   
2. What? We want to be proactive with the media, but only send out news releases for events that are truly newsworthy and of interest to the general population. Events that qualify impact a practical community need; physical (feed the hungry), emotional (marriage or family series) or intellectual (job seeker workshop). The news isn't "here's what we're doing." The news is "here's how the community is going to be different and here's ways you can be a part of that." If we send out a large volume of releases, we're adding noise--not value. Noise gets ignored.
   
3. How? It's important to build a trustworthy consistent rapport with the local media. It's a two-way relationship. They trust us because we respect their time and guarantee a consistent, professional contact person who puts them in touch with the right spokesperson at the right time. We do that by centralizing media publicity and routing inquiries through the communications team. Not only are we able to time the volume and release dates to make sure they're appropriate and newsworthy, we're also able to work with the senior management team to select best spokesperson person for interviews, quotes, etc. (The communications team isn't the spokesperson. That's not our job.) To help equip anyone involved with interviews, we developed a spokesperson tip sheet.

Samples:

• Media spokesperson tips
• News release

Church Communications Strategy Coaching Network

There are times in my life when I need a good coach. I've talked about it before. The benefits of an ongoing professional alliance with one person (or a small team) creates unique benefits I can't get in other learning environments. Because of coaching networks in various seasons of my journey, I've been able to:

• gain clarity
• focus my efforts
• sharpen my awareness
• accelerate my personal progress
• increase my personal effectiveness
• improve the quality of my own life
• positively impact lives around me

Let me assure you--this isn't marketing copy with weightless bullets. Anyone who knew me before and after every coaching season saw tangible, extraordinary results. Not only am I thankful for those opportunities; I'm an advocate for others to find them.

Why? We just can't do it alone. Coaching networks are challenging, rewarding, provoking and empowering. It's a one of a kind experience. One person put it this way "You will dream bigger dreams, have insights, uncover and hopefully remove limitations." I would have to agree.

Recently, we've been having quite a few conversations around here about how can we facilitate more coaching offerings for the people who have reached out to us. Even with tight budgets and tight schedules, there is still a demand. I'm getting several messages every month with requests, and have been for the past couple of years.

So, I'm going to give this a try. It might be my turn. I'm launching a coaching network this fall for Church Communications Strategy.

Are you a:

• Pastor, creative professional or ministry decision-maker who influences and supports local church communications before, around and after the weekend message?
• Director who leads talented, uncoordinated teams of artists (words, images, technology, etc.) looking for ways to equip them through change—from chaos to coordination?
• Ministry professional facing the challenge of clearly communicating everything that’s happening in the life of your church across departments and campuses without shutting audiences down in the process?
• Leader in a season or crossroads who need customized, focused, up close and personal attention?
• Influencer who is highly committed to strategic, interactive, out-of-the-box opportunities to roll-up your sleeves and let down your guard with peers you can trust?

It might be your turn.

Are you an executive pastor? Well, then, YOU might need something different.

Konnichiwa!

 

Diary of a web site...

DON'T build web sites. DO extend the life of your organization to the online space. That’s a significant shift in mindset many people have trouble with, but here's one guy who made the leap.

Pigs flew and I went on Christian TV...

Speaking of The Last TV Evangelist ... I went way, way, way outside my comfort zone a few months ago and was a guest on The Harvest Show. It was a whole new level of "putting myself out there" and I was nervous about it. But, I believe the local church is the hope of the world and it needs some help. The conservative Christian subculture is probably the most important audience that needs to break through the clutter to build trust instead of walls. Thanks, Kelly & Corey, for the opportunity to talk about it.

The Last TV Evangelist...

Loved Phil Cooke's latest book The Last TV Evangelist. He effectively stands as a credible voice in the middle of two worlds...he doesn't polarize on either side of the "religious" programming issue. As a matter of fact, he actually works in the industry he's critiquing. As a result, he battles a raging internal conflict and this book represents that tension.

The traditional, conservative Christian subculture is a very uncomfortable place for me. For years, it created barriers (in language, lack of excellence, exclusivity, etc.) that made me run away from the local church and distorted the person of Christ to a disconnected and unappealing thing. Years later, even though I work for a local church and am in full-time paid ministry, I still feel out of place in "organized religion." I can relate to that internal conflict.

Phil's book was objective, educated and honest. I think you should get it. In Phil's words ... Don't be offended, be challenged.

Some of my notes.

• Young people today look at religious media and it just seems so out of touch with the rest of their lives. From tacky sets and quaint accents to outdated styles and over the top emotions, there's a significant disconnect between the Christian media and what they experience everywhere else. "Communication does not begin with words; it begins with connection." The Revolutionary Communicator
• The problem is not really with Christian media itself, but rather how it's consumed--when it becomes one's only source of influence. I have friends who only buy Christian music, watch Christian TV or listen to Christian radio. They'd rather watch a poorly produced, mediocre Christian movie than an excellent, well-made secular film.
• The Great Commission is about going into all the world, not just the safe and insulated world that exists within Christian media. I just can't find anything in the Bible that calls us to lead "safe" lives. However, I understand there is a real reason for caution when we consider much of the values, including gratuitous sexuality, violence and profanity on network television. It's been said that Hollywood is brilliant at making fake things look real and Christians are brilliant at making real things look fake.
• It's about balance. Remember, I work in Christian media, so I'm not talking about dumping all religious radio and TV. I am advocating the occasional breath of fresh air. Full time immersion in anything can screw up your perspective about life.
• Jesus didn't give an explicitly religious message every time he encountered people. Many times he wove it into a powerful story about the normal details of living. His friends and disciples weren't religious leaders, they were a fascinating cross-section of the culture at the time.
• Take the time to teach your kids about life. Watch TV with them, see movies together and help them discover how to navigate their place as a Christian in the culture.
• Understand that culture happens. Popping the bubble will deepen your own faith.
• When God spoke to Solomon to build his temple, he didn't hire good-hearted losers. He hired the best craftsmen and artists in the land. The truth is, the Church today has it backwards. We spend too much time criticizing the outside culture and not enough time holding each other to a higher standard.
• Good people trying to do the right thing can still get it wrong. It's not about compromising our message, it's about respecting the audience enough to speak in a language and style they understand. The greatest of intentions don't guarantee a legacy.

Awkward conversations are worth it...

Last week, I bulleted out some things I've learned in 20 years of parenting. One point I landed on highlighted the irresponsibility of telling our kids to abstain from bad things without the real-life teaching to go with it. Too often parents (especially Christian parents) measure their parental success by the list of don'ts they create to protect their kids. This picture is so incomplete and potentially harmful.

It's not easy, but part of our job as parents is to find ways to empower our kids with loving education not control them with fear or pander to them with empty cliches. Recently, I was put to the test on this and have a practical example of how it played out in my own home.

I procrastinated on an awkward topic. 2nd grade seemed way too young to me to have an in-depth "real" conversation about sex. But, get this. I had actually waited too long because somebody else was already talking to him about it. Girls in his class were sending him graphic notes, saying vulgar things, daring each other to "grab" him in the library, tackling him at recess for "fan club points", etc.

Because we had never talked to our son about the things (and profanity) he was experiencing at school, he got confused. He didn't know how to process everything that was happening. How to communicate about it. How to understand it. How to reconcile two worlds. He was embarrassed and he felt trapped. He suffered silently for months before we ever found out.

• How do we talk about these things at an age appropriate level? What's is age appropriate anyway?
• How far do we go?
• What do we focus on? What do we avoid?
• How do we prepare them for relational conflict and peer pressure?
• How do we expose lies and reveal truths?

Tricky. There's no one size fits all answer to that question. Every kid and every circumstance is different. But, using the topic of sex as an example ... there are a couple of places to get some help.

First educate yourself.

1. Pure Sex message series audio files.
2. Sex for Sale message series audio files.

Next, get the conversation going with your kids.

1. Start off by asking them questions to learn what they think. Before you start talking, hear how they respond...in their own words.
   • What is love?
   • What is the difference between loving someone and being in love?
   • How old do you think you have to be to be "in" love?
   • What's the difference between real love and TV love?
2. Read a book together. Take turns reading different pages out loud.
3. Compare and contrast the difference between love and lust.

Are there any resources you've found helpful to help navigate through awkward conversations with your kids? Where do you get help growing a healthy functioning family in an unhealthy dysfunctional world? How are you intentionally living in the tension (versus hiding from or avoiding the painful realities around us)? Love to hear from you.

What I've learned in 20 years as a parent...

Parenting is hard. I'm in over my head. I'm not going to do everything right. But, I'm going to keep learning and keep trying. I don't take the responsibility lightly. I consider it an honor. And, here's a few things I've learned after being a parent for 20 years.

• I can't take the credit when my kids are a success.
• I can't take the blame when my kids choose their own path.
• My kids are not an extension of me, they are a unique God-created individual.
• I don't have all the answers; I have as much to learn from them as they do from me.
• Part of my job it is to help get them thinking, but not to tell them what to think.
• Dancing around and avoiding real conversations about awkward topics (like sex, mental illness, substance abuse, etc.) only sets them up for failure.

Let's camp on that last bullet for a minute. What parent looks forward to a conversation with their beautiful, innocent, cute & cuddly cherub about any of these topics? Our parental instinct is to protect them from all of it--act like it's not there. Our best intentions lead us to spend our time building a fortress of screens to shield them as long as we can. It's a lie many of us fall victim to. We procrastinate or avoid these conversations altogether because we don't want to be the one to take away "innocence." That's nice in theory, but naive in reality.

All of us have to face these issues and we're not in control of when that happens. it's everywhere, all around us (and them). If we don't provide our kids with a healthy, realistic context and adequate preparation, they're blind sided with life and thrown into reactive mode.

I want to be bold enough to teach my kids about uncomfortable topics. Where else will they get the truth? The media? Ugh. It’s up to us to clear the static, take the lead and help them learn the right place to find the answers when they need them.

Recently, I was put to the test on this and have a practical example of how it played out in my own home.  If I share the story now, this post would be too long. I'll save it for Monday. Have a great weekend.

Chat about team culture & leadership development...

A couple of days ago, LV from Catalyst stopped by Granger for a quick dinner & chat. We captured it on video just for you. Watch and your favorite part has to be when I raise my hand like a 2nd grader.