Church Marketing Sucks

It’s no secret: I love online office hours. It’s a chance to “get out” into the digital community and touch base with people from all over the country.

If you’re new to the concept, I hold online office hours every Wednesday from 2-4 p.m. CST. It’s a chance for people to come by, ask questions, say “hello” and let me know how they’re doing. When I worked on staff at a church here in Des Moines, Iowa, it was an easy way for the people of my congregation to get a hold of me wherever (or whenever) they may be.

One of the objectives I hope to accomplish is giving you a peek into what just goes on in a digital office. That’s why we’re going to feature some of the most interesting, controversial and downright bizarre questions I get in my online office twice a month here on Church Marketing Sucks. The reason for this is two-fold:

1. To give you an idea of what the church communication community is talking about.
2. To encourage those of you in leadership roles to start online office hours yourself.

This has been, and always will be, a giant experiment, so we can learn together as we go. That said, here are a few of this week’s questions with my responses.

What is your view on media within ministry?

My answer: My guess is you’re wondering if we should use media (in the general sense) in our ministry efforts? If so, I would answer with a resounding: yes. We should. Media, I believe, are not inherently good or bad. They are morally neutral, in other words. Certainly the medium is the message, so we cannot ignore that. Utilizing media in our ministry efforts shapes the message to some degree. That being said, to not use media would be a big blunder.

Top three social media books that are must reads?

My answers:

1. Trust Agents by Chris Brogan
2. Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky
3. Groundswell by Li & Berkhoff

And that’s that. Normal, everyday people stopping by my online world and saying “hey.” Maybe even learning something along the way. Have you ever considered online office hours?