I’m the kind of guy who needs a shot in the arm every once in a while to keep me motivated. I have a hard time with the “status quo” … I need to see things progressing, be a part of something “new”. When life around me starts to feel “normal” I get uncomfortable. I start looking for things to change.

Fresh is never fresh for long.

Sunday proved to me that things ARE changing. We got to see several of the people we have come to know as family over the last year or so make a life changing decision. A decision to publicly declare their faith. To take a risk.

I know it’s not about me, but it sure feels good to be a part of it.

Take a look;

Sunday we continue a series called “Fearless” – it’s about average people who became champions and overcame insurmountable odds. Just like these people did Sunday.

The church is growing, people are growing, I’m growing. This is why we do what we do. Stay tuned for some more big news next week.

For the past five weeks we’ve been teaching (@MapleGrove) a series called Miracles. This week we used the illustration of Jesus’ first recorded miracle in the Bible – when Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding.

You can listen to the message here. (Week 5 – Water to Wine)

So the basic point of the message is this; if you want a miracle from God you have to do what God tells you to do.

• (Jesus) mother said to the servants, “Do whatever (Jesus) tells you.” John 2: 5

• …faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:17

• Because Jesus and the servants obeyed, a miracle happened.

• …I will show you my faith by what I do. James 2:18

And of course, with all the doom and gloom about the economy right now, Pastor Gary can’t help but using the example of finances to illustrate the point. Do you want a miracle with your finances? Are you obeying God? Don’t tithe? If you want your finances to get better, tithe. Try it. The bible says “test me”.

And here’s where it get’s interesting… he’s heard about a church where they offer a money back guarantee. Sounds a little risky, doesn’t it?

Then, after thinking out loud “do I want to do that?” … he says “I have that faith” … “For the rest of the year, if you tithe, and God doesn’t bless you, I will personally give you your money back.” Not from the church, but from his own pocket!

I’ve heard of other churches that have done this, it’s not all that new, but I have yet to find one where the pastor has done it personally. Now that’s personal faith.

If you would like to give to MapleGrove Church, you can start the process here.

Many churches print a photo directory once a year with color photos of each person and a nice family photo.

There’s also church directory software tools that help churches do their own photo directory and try to keep up with the changes.  They can add new people as they get them and publish new versions, periodically.  (Kind of like the phone book pile in my closet – where we just add the new one to the top of the pile until the next bon fire.)

These might work great for churches where few new people come, but this Sunday when someone new comes to your church for the first time, how do you help them meet people? Do you hand them a directory and tell them to call people?  I don’t think so.

Then there are the privacy issues.  You have names and address and phone numbers for people, but who do they want that information given to?  Shouldn’t each person decide who they want to see their information?

And who keeps all of this information up to date?  Not just the new people being added and the people that leave being removed (if you even dare do that), but what about their contact information?  This could be a full time job.

Many large churches with large budgets attempt to use a web based system that gives each person the ability to edit their own information on the church’s website.  That sounds great, if you can get them there.  The problem is, people are busy, so this is not usually a very high priority on their “to do” list.  Even these types of directories quickly become an outdated list used primarily by leaders.

Some of these “church management” systems have attempted to add social networking pieces to their software in an attempt to get more people to use them, but that’s not working either.  If people are going to use social networking, they are going to be somewhere were their friends are – and the fact is, not all their friends are ever going to be at your church.  Jesus said to “go” and make disciples in “all” the world, not just your church friends.

We’re experimenting with solutions to some of these problems AND we’ve managed to take back a piece of the internet for good … it’s called facebook.  We’ve been working with MapleGrove to help them use the most popular social networking (just a new word for fellowship) tool (a website) as a public member directory (and more) using a free feature of facebook called “pages“.

With a facebook account, each user can decide who they want to share their personal information (contacts, photos, videos, etc.) with.  In just a few months of talking about it, most of our members (that didn’t already use the system) went and created accounts.

Our members (“fans” in facebook lingo) can post stories to our page, share photos with other members, ask and answer discussion questions and invite their friends.

Our administrators can create events, send short “status” messages to members, and moderate the page when needed.

We’ve tied our church management software into facebook as well.

I’ll be writing more about how to use this tool in the near future, but if you want to get started right away you can create a page for your organization here.

Financial mentor Dave Ramsey is currently teaching a 3-week series at LifeChurch.tv for churches across the world to use. It’s called Life. Money. Hope.

Dave did an interview about the series (you can watch it below),  here are a few bullet points;

about money…

• When the economy changes, the rules don’t.
• Have an emergency fund.
• Don’t get into debt.
• Live on a budget.
• Diversify.
• Think long term.
• Fear is not a fruit of the spirit.

about leadership…

• Surround yourself with people that share your value system.
• Get good at delegating.
• Know you can trust the people you work with.
• Invest in people (don’t just hire talent)
• Remember your history (what worked, what didn’t).
• Be in unity with others in your organization.

So what’s the bid deal?  Is a website so important for a church?

Richard Reising, president of Artistry Marketing in Dallas, Texas, and author of the book Church Marketing 101, thinks it is. “Currently, 80 to 85 percent of people are finding their church based on websites,” he says. “Websites are replacing the yellow pages as a key mode of church advertising.”

Yet so few churches take this seriously.  What do you think?

One of my new favorite restaurants is Red Robin. Not because of their Royal Red Robin Burger(R)…

“This is the aristocrat of all burgers because we crown it with a fresh fried egg. In addition, topped with three strips of hickory-smoked bacon, American cheese, crisp lettuce, tomatoes and mayo.”

… but because of their attitude about service.

Yes, Red Robin, you do “WOW” me. My 16 year old son thinks it’s because of the “World-Famous Bottomless(TM)” Steak Fries. Yea, they are great, but it’s more about the fact that you can’t run out before they are bringing you more.  The drinks are always full too.  And the general attitude they have towards “WOWing” you.

The graphic is from the front of their comment card.  Yes, their goal is to “WOW” you.  Why? Because they want you to come back for more.  They want you to tell your friends.  They know what this means for business.

When I talk to church leaders, I often get resistance when I use the term “WOW” associated with a church.  Sorry guys, but it’s not just a show.  It’s about wanting people to want to come back.  It’s about wanting people to tell their friends.  It’s not about the show.  It’s about making a real difference in people’s lives.

What do you do at your church that people can say “WOW” about?

Take a look at a couple ways people tend to separate themselves from visitors when their real intent is to get closer.

“The Greeter” – Place someone at every door to your building and make sure no one can get in without passing through their gates, right? I’m not totally against someone being at the door to open it and say something like “good morning” to every person, but if your greeters are more like guards then you should re-think this.

“The Tour Guide” - Isn’t church about the people? Rather than showing someone around the building (unless they ask for it) why don’t we just relax and try to get to know them first? Make sure your building is well marked for things like bathrooms, and keep an eye open for someone who looks like they are looking for something – you can always ask “can I help you.”

“The Talker” – What if we let them talk to us. Offer to listen by shutting up sometimes. Care about what they say. Make it your goal to remember what they tell you. Especially their name. “everyone should be quick to listen” [James 1:19]

“The Labeler” - Asking someone “are you new?” or “is this your first time?” separates us in many ways. People hear “you’re an outsider” or “we’re better than you” because you are new and I am not. Try something like “hi, my name is Dean” or “have we met?”

“The Counter” – Every person that comes to your church is important – but don’t make getting their name on your mailing list more important than getting them to come back next week. Asking someone to fill out a “visitors” card so that YOU have their information recorded could send the message that you care more about numbers than relationships.

“The Interrupter” - When someone is already talking to someone you would like to meet, don’t interrupt them, wait for your turn without hovering. I can’t tell you how many times someone has tried to separate me from someone just as we were getting to know each other.

“Wetting yourself” – There’s a term we use in marketing called “we weeing all over yourself.” It’s where you talk more about yourself than you should. Statements that begin with “we” or “our” or other words like that. I’m not saying you shouldn’t answer questions when asked, but to push answers to questions that have not yet been asked can do just that, “push” people away.

There is obviously a balance somewhere between cold and being pushy, but realize that some people just want to anonymously check you out for a little while. Don’t force them to go faster then they want. Be available to help without forcing them to take it.

A brother offended is twice as hard to win back as a walled city.

And most people would agree. We can’t please everyone. But does that mean we shouldn’t try?

When Paul wrote to the Christians of Corinth, Greece he said “we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.” He was talking about giving away his right (according to Jesus) to be paid well to preach the gospel, but wouldn’t this apply to our personal “rights” to do things the way we want to do them apply here too?

He goes on to say he “becomes all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” for the sake of the gospel. This meant following Jewish traditions to win the Jew, becoming week to win the week, following the law to win those that follow the law.

Today that might mean using popular music to reach the culture that listens to that music, learning about popular movies and TV shows to make your point with people that are into that culture, dressing, talking, and looking like the culture you are trying to reach.

Jesus told us [Colossians 4:6] to make our message “taste good” as food is “seasoned with salt” so that we make the most of every opportunity.

But what does our market like? What are their preferences? How do they talk? We should know.

I think this is the “training” Paul was talking about when he says “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.” If that means dressing up to reach business people, then dress up. If that means dress down a bit when you work with homeless people, then dress down. Jesus could care less what you wear.

I’m not saying we should “sin” to win sinners, but when it comes to personal style, music preferences, design and art, there are many ways to look at what we do and test it against what the people our message is to would like.

What do you think?

In this article, Kent Shaffer lists some of the most common ways churches are offering this option.

PayPal has no set-up costs, but the percentage they take from you is much higher, and the usability (though improved recently) is still far from friendly to the end user. The giver must create an account with PayPal to set-up recurring giving and it takes way too much work to actually happen for most people. We have seen sites increase their sales by 20-50% when changing from PayPal to a payment gateway.

Secure Giving Forms aren’t secure at all. A person ends up with your credit card numbers and who knows where that will end up leading.

Service Providers are more secure, but you will pay way more that this really costs. Secure server certificates don’t have to cost $300 anymore, and there is no reason these services can’t be more integrated with your website.

Payment Gateways – I would argue that the cost isn’t the problem here, it’s the fact that most of the gates are set-up to only swing one way (in). In the example provided, note the disclaimers…

If you would like to cancel or modify your giving schedule, you can contact us at giving@churchonthemove.com. For cancellations or changes, please allow adequate time for processing, which is done during our regular business hours.

So on pay day when I realize that I need to adjust my gift for the next week, I have to email someone and have them do it for me? What if it’s too late? Why do I have to tell someone?  I think people want more control and privacy than that.

So, what works best? We have found a solution can be had for a lot less money than you think. We recently developed one for MapleGrove that allows users to create an account (that integrates into our mailing list software) and give either one-time or recurring gifts, they can set, edit, or stop their own gifts 24/7/365, and no human has access to their credit/bank card numbers. It uses a payment gateway through Authorize.net (no set-up fees for churches with our provider).

For those that are using any of the above, I’m interested in hearing about your results. What has worked for you? What has failed? How many of your people give on-line? How have on-line giving systems increased your giving?  Please post your comments.