if church were a sport and made trades?

I have been watching the Hockey Free Agency trades today.

For Hockey Fans, the first day of free agency is a huge piece of excitement, frustration, hope and doubt for the upcoming season.

Players are re-signed, traded, moved all within minutes.

I cannot help but wonder what it must be like in a players life to know that his company (team) can trade him at any moment..

What is that was how it was in our world? The world of the non-professional athlete.

Better yet, what if the church community made trades or entered free agency just like the sports world? How crazy would that be?

Headlines:

Pastor David Warren has been traded from Phoenix Community Church to the Atlanta Assembly of God. Although the trade details have not been fully released, Phoenix will get Pastor Mike Mills, considered a veteran message presenter and one third round pick of a Music Minister in 2011.

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Nashville First Baptist Church has made a shocking move by releasing long time Pastor Eddie Jones into free agency. There has been rumors they were looking for a different style of delivery and it is likely they are in negotiations for long time Southern Baptist Pastor super star Kevin Fipps. Contract price might be too high though. Other free agent options for NFBC are Associate Pastor Steven Sparks from Seattle United Methodist who is up for a contact extension this month or long time Christian Speaker Eric Morris formally a Pastor at First Baptist of Portland.

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In the most shocking trade of the season, Community Church leader Michael Ross was traded for Rabbi Levi Lapin. In an unprecedented move the church completely changed directions leaving its fans to wonder. The trade also included the rights to one Small Group Leader, and two Assistants. More details to follow.

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Sacred Heart Catholic in New Orleans today reached a long term contract with its new Priest, Father John Stephenson. The long time rookie hold out finally came to terms with the organization after months of speculation that a deal would not be reached. The contract was stated to be a 7 year, multi $ deal, that would also include a perks package including residence, car and clothing allowance. It is also rumored that one visit to the Pope in Vatican City will be included in the package but that has yet to be confirmed.

 

OK, off with my goofy hat.

the business of church

Wow…a major delay in posting. I am traveling and in Washington DC and really have not had a free moment to even think..(no cracks please)…but here is the post I worked on while flying east.

Being someone that works in the business world I tend to look closely at market trends, service and innovation.

My thoughts shifted to the church. How does the church fare from a business perspective?

Don’t kid yourself…the church is a business in many ways.

It operates staff, budgets, presentations and services a “consumer”. The consumer being the parishioners who attend each and every weekend.

The better the church operates itself from a business perspective, the larger that church grows and the more “consumers” it has. The larger the consumer base within the church, the larger the “revenue” or tithe in this case.

A strong church has a business model that uses a portion of its revenues (tithes) to give back in the form of missions.

Where churches often struggle in business is in the adaptation of current trends and business cycles. Many are slow to adapt or admit they have to change to meet the consumer. Some believe this is a very bad thing in that faith in God should not be a market trend but simply just the way you are.

What about new consumers? What about those who are young and have never been exposed to a life of faith? What about those who are even a bit older and have questions and/or have not been invited to a church that one day they might call home?

This is where an adapting trend based business model comes into play. A good business plan allows you to reach these people.

Social Media for example is a huge component of many companies business plans right now. It is also the driving force in our youth and how we live daily. You can receive fare specials for airlines through Twitter. Sites offer coupons for purchases, rebates for large ticket items and so on. Tweetups are occurring to discuss the latest and greatest and design new models for an ever changing world. Facebook has connected us with all of those people we long forgot. So how does this play into the church?

Some of the most active churches in the country are following suit. Recently there have been Twitter Sundays at churches, Facebook fan pages, tweets from your favorite church just to name a few. These very things are helping churches grow. Blogs of course even take the business of church a step further by allowing prospective clients or current consumers a look into the lives of their leaders maintaining a connection during the work week.

These churches work with the flow of a changing business climate. They are adapting their model constantly to help them gain market share.

It cannot go without saying that the church should be simply a place of worship and a chance for someone to simply grow their faith. It is a bit crazy to think of it as a business but that is reality…especially in the world which we live in.

General thoughts….you think church is a business?

If so, what is your churches business model? What does it do that is cutting edge and how well is it working? Are you reaching new consumers?

Comcast and DirecTV- The Best Example of a Poor Business Model

OK, I know I am not supposed to HATE…but man is this a hard one right now. I HATE TV companies.

Yesterday Comcast raised our rates on TV, phone and internet by $62 a month. Insane…and totally poor business. After attempts to get the rate brought back in check, no luck….they will not do it again because according to the agent, Triple Play is going away. So, I decided to move my business.

My other option is DirecTV. I spoke with them and after 47 minutes on the phone was transferred only to find out that the guy I had been talking with for 47 minutes had set me up incorrectly and we would have to start over. SERIOUSLY? Everything cancelled and now starting over. Totally not cool.

Called back this morning and now they will not offer the pricing and set up that we had agreed upon yesterday. SERIOUSLY? Yep. Now they want to charge me for all of the equipment and set up they were going to give me for free just 12 hours ago. Why? Because a few years ago I had DirecTV and it hasn’t been at least the passing of 4 moons followed by the birth of 4 children coupled with some derivative of my age divided by 9 multiplied by the last time I turned on a FLIPPIN TV! Something like that.

What is it with these companies? Why is good business such a hard thing to do? Are they looking at our US Congress as a model for running their companies?

Any of us who operate our own businesses know that you work with your customers, provide excellent service and work to grow your business. If you provide a good value or service, you will be rewarded with sales even in a tough economy.

In both cases, neither DirecTV or Comcast gets it and obviously neither have read Good to Great. In fact I would classify both of them as a joke in the business world.

Why is good (not even great) customer service so hard to find these days?

the art of the coffee shop deal

I had some time to kill today so I stopped by one of my favorite coffee stomps…Bongo Java. Hands down the best Iced Mocha in Nashville!

As I sat for a brief moment to write I noticed that out of the 50-60 people in the coffee shop, about half of them were working business deals.

There is paperwork for housing deals, sales plans on the counter next to my computer and even I am working on some sales programs for upcoming travel. In about 3 minutes of watching I have counted 6 business cards being handed out. Just a booth over from the counter I am sitting at is an interview (this always gets me tickled…one guy in a suit freaking out while the other one grills his background).

Has the coffee shop become the new golf course?

I know I often use it to get away from my home office or as a stop in mid day to update accounts and so on.

I do think the one major difference in coffee shop deals vs. golf course deals is that there is a larger group of clients that can be worked with. Anyone who does not have an adversity to entering a coffee shop really.

Just as I am writing this I now see a church staff coming in for a meeting…how cool.

Enough of the writing…time for my question.

Have you ever done a coffee shop deal? Do you find it a productive place to work?

tents- the new homeless shelter in the US

 

Homelessness…a sad but true reality all cities around the world.

Some choose to be homeless but many others are forced there due to unforeseen circumstances.

 

In many areas across the United States, something once uncommon or unheard of at best, is popping up….Tent Cities.

We have all seen these on specials about Darfur, India and other 3rd world areas that have an excessive amount of homeless.

But now the world is seeing something they do not usually get to witness. Tent Cities in the United States. Places like Sacramento, Reno, Phoenix and even Nashville (ours has been around for years).

This is largely in part due to a lack of facilities and resources to aid the recent homeless and the increases numbers that have come into being over the past year. In many California cities for example, the shelters fill up rapidly leaving hundreds if not thousands out on the streets.

A few facts:

Roughly 10% of the US population is out of work right now…and thank God that seams to have started slowing and declining a slight bit. This does mean that 90% of us can still help.

The bulk of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. One of the leading factors to “middle” class America winding up in tent cities.

Most of the people in Tent Cities want to work but are having trouble finding it. The number is somewhere around 90% who want work.

All this known, what is one thing we could do that would make a difference in their lives? or Keep this from happening to more people?

I don’t think it has to be major…maybe as simple as a bag of food.

Let me know….

I’ll start. Start teaching financial literacy so the “middle” class can avoid these pitfalls. Pass out a copy of Total Money Makeover to someone you think could need the help right now. (my approach comes from prevention) For those already in need….serve at the rescue mission.

if Jesus played baseball-the game call

One of my favorite segments ever on radio I found today on youtube.

It’s called The First Baseball Game Ever Played.

In short, what if baseball would have been played during the time of Jesus? How would that have been announced? By Harry Caray of course!

There is no video…audio only.

to bidet or not bidet..now that is a question?

 

After watching countless episodes of House Hunters International and oogling over the vacation homes I cannot yet afford, one thing keeps showing up in the episodes.

Bidets.

You know, the funky little wash basin affair that makes your butt and other respectable areas much cleaner after that all important newspaper reading.

My first thought is do all these Americans buying vacation homes know what they are looking at or are they just confused and acting cool in front of the cameras? I would totally be like “What the heck is the sink so low?”

After a little Bing and Google, I found out how to operate one of these magical pieces of porcelain. The curiosity was killing me especially because it is just not something you see in the States. I also found where you can buy attachments for your current toilet to add the Bidet feature…hmmm…kind of like a space age add on that looks a little like it will help your toilet fly when used…just my take.

Here is what I have to know…

Have you used a Bidet? Do you have one?

OK all you foreigners that read my blog…please chime in. I got to know what this thing is all about.

the best part of summer

When I was a kid there were things I loved about summer.

One, was being outside all of the time. Growing up in Olympia, WA you had to take the two to three months you were given and to live it up.

Hangin out with my neighbors Ben and Chuck….Remy up the Hill and Jason from across the lake. And being on a lake, there was a lot of water skiing involved…

One of things I really remember is games. Especially when we were younger.

I couldn’t help think back to all the back yard games we used to dig out.

There were 4 of them that immediately came to mind.

 

 

Lawn Darts…the good, now illegal ones…those were the best.

And who ever actually played the game? No one. The best was throwing them as high as you could and seeing where they would land…ahhhh the good old days.

 

 

 

 

Croquet. I was never very good but always played on the neighbors yard…wicked fun. Still don’t think I know what the colors on the stick mean? I think we went with red for blood and green for I get to hit you till you bleed. I was usually on the receiving end.

 

 

 

 

Horseshoes….I only played this at my Uncle Bob’s house but always loved it. Completely crappo at it and still cannot do well…even on the WII.

 

 

 

 

 

and Badminton….always my strongest summer sport…must have been all the tennis but I could crush a shuttlecock…bam!

 

 

 

So tell me, What were or are your favorite summer games to play? Do you still have a set of “illegal” lawn darts?

why your church?

It is a curiosity of mine why people attend the churches they do…or not attend.

For me it is simple. I choose The Church at HopePark (Bellevue Community Church) in Nashville because it is geared towards my personality.

The music rocks, it is inviting and not stuffy, plus I can wear my baseball cap and drink my Starbucks all while enjoying a message from David Perez. Also, I have never seen one time where we acted exclusionary to anyone coming in from another faith. Our new small groups formation is going awesome (yep, pressure now being put on you Bill Todd:)). And finally, we truly find a way to get involved in the non-churched community and bring people together for fellowship like on 4th of July.

My curiosity is probably sitting in my reasons why I attend where I do but I always find it interesting when I see people pouring in other church buildings. Especially living in the most churched community in the United States. Why the Baptist church? Why that one? Why the church that is formal and you have to wear a shirt and tie? Why the one that does not allow music? and so on.

So here is where you come in.

Where do you attend? Give your church a shout out and provide a web link if you like.

Also, Why do you attend there?

If you don’t attend, why not? (You responses are safe here..no criticism, just curiosity)

www.hopepark.com if you want to see more about the amazing place I attend.

mystery man in America???? Part 2

Time for CLUE 2:

Our mystery man holds several world records and it was not too long ago he was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.

There has been several instances where his feats of strength have included long swims.

He once appeared in the tv show Batman.

And finally for today…almost everyone one of us at one time or another, has tried something he has had a influence in creating.

Bring on the guesses.

Very quick on the answer Ms Kris….and correct at that.

I guess I should have made it tougher but it was the awesomeness that is Jack LaLanne.

Here is something just for you all: