Church Marketing Sucks

Wanna see me break into a cold sweat? Combine my name with the phrase church communications expert. I mean, I know some stuff, and I’m even pretty good at a couple of things, but I don’t consider myself an expert at anything. Well, other than procrastination and sarcasm.

When I’m referred to as an expert, my brain does this:

1. Oh no. They just used expert.
2. Experts know everything.
3. I don’t know everything.
4. I don’t know anything.

I recognize that this is neither healthy nor accurate. I’d love to say I’ve gotten over my Fraud Demons, but I just haven’t. I have, however, figured out how to manage them a bit better.

When given a compliment, I say, “Thanks so much” and I try to actually believe it.

I don’t wonder why I’ve never before received that compliment—a train of thought that inevitably ends with, “Because I suck at everything all the time.” I don’t assume it was just a pity compliment. (“That brochure has a great personality.”) I don’t turn a compliment in one area into a criticism of another. (“They said the copy on the postcard was great, but they didn’t mention the artwork, so I’m a terrible designer.” Which actually is kind of true, but you get the point.) I don’t assign malice to the compliment. (Yes, it is absolutely possible to give a compliment with malice. Example: When I know I’ve gained a few pounds and someone asks if I’ve lost weight, I’m certain they’re waiting for me to confirm their observation of the exact opposite. See? Malice.)

I ask for help.

Being called an expert implies you are always to be the helper, and never the helpee, and that’s just ridiculous. I don’t know about you, but struggling alone with something at which I’m honestly no good runs my confidence through the meat grinder and spits out little bits of self-loathing. Plus it’s a horrendous waste of time. So, rather than trying to figure stuff out on my own, I find someone who actually knows what he or she is doing, and I ask for help.

I don’t try to hide my self-doubt.

There’s something powerful about sharing my “I’m not sure I know what I’m doing” with people whom I trust. Sometimes, that means texting another church communications person: “AGH! I’m stuck. I’m so overwhelmed with everything I have to get done, and I don’t know even know where to start, and I made the men’s ministry mad again.” More often than not, my friend replies with, “Me, too” which generally causes me to feel much better. (It’s not that I want my peers to suffer; it’s just that it’s nice to know I’m not alone in that space.) More often than not, a “Me, too” from someone who understands me and my work is more helpful than reading “Five Easy Steps to the Perfect Easter Outreach Plan.”

Three simple phrases: Thanks so much. Help me. I’m stuck. Use them. Oh, and I double-dog dare ya to use that last one at an upcoming Certification Lab. I guarantee you’ll hear a chorus of “Me, too.”

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We do important work—sharing the gospel—but that doesn’t mean we can work ourselves to death. Learn more about how to fight church communicator burnout.