i

h

The Christian

Advertising

Playbook

20

8 Firing the

Pastor

28

What

millennial

Christians

want at

work?

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Creative Christian Preachers of

Companies Detroit

Christian Business

Ideas

Be the Church

own Square. Throughout history,

it’s the one place where ideas and

people meet. It’s where solutions

tackle problems with innovation and

boldness. That’s what you do as a

creative Christian. That’s what we do

as a community of believers.

Welcome to Faith FEED. Welcome

to Christianity’s Town Square.

T

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ur Google plus

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share content as well as

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ideas for church growth,

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Linda Pintus

Will Doniker

Jason Hunt

Lance Cummins

Rebecca Hines

Stephen Crawley

Tim Robinson

Jamiel Cotman

FaithFEEDMag@gmail.com

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54

Your Christian product

not selling? We’ve found

the cure! It’s just not

what you expected

34 What do Gen Y

Christians want

from leaders and

organizations?

Click to join

us at the

cross section

of faith and

innovation.

Are You?

I am Christian

I am Innovative

I am Faith FEED

With innovative Christian

companies like yours is mind,

we’ve plotted out a clear

roadmap to mutual success for

you and the Christian

community, realizing that the

two can’t be severed.

Feed Editors

s goes the body of Christ,

so goes its businesses. There

are far too many none

innovators in the Christian

business community. Its as

though believers think that

because they’re Christians,

they don’t have to be creative,

add value and know their stuff.

That somehow they’ve got a

heavenly pass. I feel the

opposite way. My belonging to

God makes me more adamant

to glorify him in the business

arena, more and more each

day. Obviously somethings

A wrong with me. This month we

peer into Innovative Christian

Companies, who they are, what

they know and what they need

to hear from everyday

Chrisitans they’re trying to sell

to. What do we want from our

business leaders? How best

can they serve us and advance

Gods kingdom and values in

the process?

-Linda

For instance, we take a look at

Christians@work, analyzing

what your workforce wants in a

Christian organization and how

their happiness as believers

their translates to higher

productivity. From there, we

even get into, ‘The Christian

Advertising Playbook’ jocking

down best practices from

leading Christian organizations

Have ideas for Christian businesses?

Click here and speak your mind to

our group on Google plus.

from around the world, so do

take the time to look into each

and share your thoughts with

our group for Creative Christian

Companies by clicking the

microphone below.

XOXOX

What do you think?

Christians@Work

W

Ith over 24,000,000 professed

Christians going to work each and

every day, its safe to say they are now

a group of their own. Amongst that

group even, you have self-employed

Christian designers, authors and

speakers; none profit bloggers, pastors

and leaders; along with mega brand

business owners trying to think up the

next trend among Christian consumers

and most of all, the everyday believer,

looking for innovative ways to live by

faith, apply Gods Word and be

successful in their career.

Yet with all of these persons,

bearing the name of Christ amongst

the global workforce, few feel their

values are being accepted on the job

and that this is in fact, what is

causing them to be less productive.

Sound like an excuse? We sure

thought so, but that’s until we did

some digging around of our own and

looked into it.

Click here to view our

survey about the

Christian workforce.

What did we find? Christians were

totally open to spiritual practices

being allowed at work, via chapel,

public prayer or optional devotion.

Our findings showed Christian

responses such as, “Would make

me feel more welcome,

comfortable and thus productive.”

Sounds like millennials aren’t as

secular as we’d like to think.

Another question we asked 5,000

working Christians were, “What’s

the number one hindrance to your

productivity at work?” Most

chose, “Not finding a sense of

purpose and meaning in what I

do” and though secular

survey takers answered

the exact same way when

the following question was

same question.

asked of them, Christians more

frequently pointed to “pleasing

God”, “honoring the LORD” and

“advancing the kingdom” in lieu

of “doing good to others” as

none Christians .

What do we take from this? Christian

millennials want more than just a

place for doing good, they want an

opportunity to acknowledge their

values in particular. “We’re

supposed to stand out” says Justin,

a youth leader who volunteered to

give his name in our survey. It

seems, millennial Christians feel

most productive, creative and

resourceful when they know that

their specific values are welcome,

not simply “general” good. And while

we certainly don’t recommend

forcing your staff to pray in Jesus

name, we do advise having a culture

that is lenient towards biblical values

As you develop your company,

be mindful to implement these things

to attract top Christian talent. If you

don’t, we’re seeing that they either

won’t come, or worse, show up and

underperform.

Christian Branded

Businesses

Millennial Christians are

taking it a step further and calling

on business leaders to innovate

upon their values. So while yes,

they’re asking for their principles

to be celebrated and not

suppressed, they want the

innovative edge of doing it

creatively. “I’d love to have an

actual “Christmas party” says one

woman [no name given] having

took our survey. “We have to do

a “winter celebration” because

the owners want to include none

Christian workers too.” And while

this is a generic example, how

many times have you

“celebrated” Christian

Continued on page 18

Top talent Christians, those with

special education, training,

experience and track records,

wanted to see strong Christian

values up front and center

amongst their employment

leaders

We asked 17,000

Christians and none

Christians about

work and faith

1 out of 4 Christians

said they don’t want

marital aid provided by

an employer

The remaining three said

that they’d like work to

acknowledge marital status

with some type of benefit or

assistance

Work is a place

to find purpose

Work is a place

to make money

Morals are

important

Keep religion

out of work

Morals make me

more

productive

Morals have

little to do

with being

productive

Christian Secular

Do you want top

Christian talent? Look at

what they look for in a

work environment

Click here to share how you attract

millennial Christian workers in our

Google Plus group.

beliefs or took a stand as a

“Christian” business? This survey

shows that these are the precise

behaviors that will draw in the sort

of Christian leaders who will push

your brand forward. Yet most

business owners who identified as

Christians in our report didn’t make

these types of claims. Indeed, they

made efforts to conceal it

corporately. So while yes, we do

believe in doing things the right way

at the right time, our studies are

showing us that

Christian millennials actively seek

business leaders who let their light

shine before men. They want to

work for Christian businesses that

simultaneously make them better

believers and push the cause of

Christ forward. It’s hard to do that

when you’re trying to fit in.

“The way to look at this is

PR” says Larry Cohen, owner of

SkyOffice, a Christian

telemarketing group in Northern

Virginia. The sort of top talent you

want, bold, edgy, and intelligent

aren’t going to apply for wuss boy

business leader firms. They want

to do what their calling is pushing

them towards, and that aint being

stuffed behind a cubicle while

secularists are out promoting their

values on the mountaintops. If you

can promise them that, they’ll

perform for you, push your sales

forward and may even die for you.

It’s just so rare”

Turn Over Tables

The Jesus millennial

workers seemed to identify with

isn’t as stiff as we make him out

to be. And though we’re not

asking Christian entrepreneurs

to turn over church money tables

to get their attention, millennials

are expecting to see a little more

boldness from Christian

employers

They’re looking to work for

companies whose making a

mark for Christ in the culture,

while also innovating upon

Christian values for the future.

Being in the Christian business

directory just won’t cut it

anymore.

Are you a millennial

Christian worker? Share

how you stand for Christ

in the workplace here.

hat your about to

experience is something few

pastors get a chance to, and

that’s the opportunity to hear

what people are saying when

he or she isn’t around. Enter

Kate Johnson, long term

member of several churches

throughout the east U.S.

region. She views church as

“the ultimate pass time”

choosing to root the bulk of her

social activities there. However

she has a strange suggestion

for some ministries she’s

encountered. And you might be

shocked at what it is.

W

Firing the Pastor

Why Kate Johnson

believes drastic

change amongst

leaders is key to

change amongst

people.

It’s about 7 A.M. or so as

we discuss all of this with Katie

in a Starbucks in downtown

Richmond, VA. “It’s not that I

don’t like preachers, I just feel

they need different metrics to

be judged by. Thus far,

Christians have looked at their

life and ministry, how they treat

their family and build the

church. However, those are all

‘preacher’ centric, not ‘people’

centric measures. A pastor

being good to his family is for

him more so. Sure, we will be

blessed by the example. But it

won’t necessarily rub off on or

trickle down to us.” Kate believes

the “people centered

We look at what

Pastors do

through their

people, more

than what they

do

metrics” take the emphasis off of

what a leader accomplishes

and instead places it on

what they’ve done for

others. “I mean suppose we

rated Jesus by the size of

the building he put up?”

It’s time we said what

we’ve all been thinking, it’s time

we fire what we know today as

“pastors” theoretically or, in

some cases literally. However

you want to look at it, drastic

leadership changes are needed

in today’s churches. Just living

right and driving a nice car

won’t cut it anymore. Atheist

can do that.

be the main thing a ministry is

known for” All too often, we

look at these trinkets of

pastoral success, without

realizing it doesn’t have much

baring on changed lives.

Secular rap artist and actors

have the very same success

trinkets but are in fact

misleading the culture. Should

we be glorifying the same

accomplishments?

“Buying new buildings, jets for

the ministry, church vehicles

and so forth are all examples of

‘preacher centric’ measures.”

says Johnson “People centric

measures, would be how many

families are doing better, how

many Christians now have the

funds to pay for the jet. But we

don’t look at that. We just get

caught up in all of the star

acrobatics, financial and

otherwise that preachers do,

namely for themselves.” Of

course we don’t think ministries

should’t have jets or churches

shouldn’t have multiple

locations, but that shouldn’t be

the metric we use to rate their

performance. That shouldn’t

What does a new

church or jet

for the

ministry mean

to the people;

the answer? Not

much!

Kate, our serial church hopper,

goes over a few things that her

experience on trustee boards,

women’s groups and more

have told her about what

ministry leaders, especially

pastors have to change

to see Gods glory present on

their church. And the first, and

most foremost is a people

centric culture. “That’s not a

people centered culture,

because we’re here to serve

God, however, it does mean all

of our milestones are based on

helping others” Kates case and

point, Moore Life Ministries

pastored by Keith Moore. “I

haven’t been, but I heard they

don’t call their groups

“ministries” but “service teams”

I think that’s a good step in the

right direction” The expectation

of a “ministry” today is more

about how holy and blessed

you are, not what you’ve done

for others.

When Girl Scouts leader

Sarah Gormley was told that

Instead of

ministries, Keith

Moore’s church has

service teams

What does a new

church or jet

for the

ministry mean

to the people;

the answer? Not

much!

Organizational expertise is the

second, simply put, leadership

should have education and

training and even ongoing

training to run the church

efficiently. “Church is a delicate

combination of both ministry

and business. However,

ministry is more important

because it’s what feeds the

business. Too many pastors

think they have a business

problem when they really have

a ministry problem and vice

versa. You need to have skills

in both, with a bias towards

ministry” she explains. The

best churches she’s seen were

led by pastors with experience

in two areas. One is ministry

such as church volunteering

and office, the other is

business.

Conference for 2014, she

interrupted them only to say,

“They don’t. I work for them.”

That’s the discipline pastors

must return to. They’re going to

have to see themselves as

chief servant officer, the one

person who would die for the

group. It’s that attitude that

becomes the guiding force of a

people centered culture. One

where everyone is hungry to

get others ahead.

she has an amazing group

of young girls working for

her, at the Adobe

Pastors must

view themselves

as the Chief

Servant Officer,

the one person

who would die

for the group

How do you foster

courageous creativity in

your church? Share your

thoughts here.

“But business is easier

because in business, others

get paid to follow your

instructions. That’s why being

an effective volunteer leader is

key, but you still have to

approach it as a business that

you can expand and innovate

upon or else it dies”.

Kate is a huge fan of the

Girl Scouts. “They’re structured

as a none profit yet launch

HUGE for profit initiatives and

own product. They’re teaching

young women professional

skills like salesmanship,

leadership and beyond. That’s

an example of people centered

metrics set by an organization.

That’s an example of a service

based culture”

Using business acumen to

accomplish ministry objectives

is the skeleton key [so Kate

says] to organizational

expertise, but it is far from the

last.

“Courageous creativity is

the one deciding factor of

whether or not a pastor should

pack his

and get another job.” Kate

believes. “If you’re not creative,

you can’t stand out and be

heard anymore. Nobody cares

how loud you can yell” she

gives our most innovative

ministry leader, Pastor Steve

Furtick and his creative team

at Elevation Church as an

example. “They maintain a ‘I’m

not scared to be different if

different is being Christian’

energy. I can’t put my finger

around it but every church,

whether or not they plan to

grow that big needs to think

that way. There’s a boldness

that creativity demands and a

courage that demands

creativity”

We’re in the fourth

Quarter and it’s almost

third down, however

secular brands are still

better at reaching

Christians than

Christians are. We need

something. Something

different.

Playbook Advertising

The Christian

So what are the key

mistakes Christian themed

business owners are

making when advertising to

saints? We’ve plotted them

out here.

Irst, figure out your, “why”.

According to Nancy Wright,

founder of Cakes for Christ, a

company she bought and sold

for over a million dollars. “If

your why isn’t strong enough,

you won’t persist long enough

to figure out how.” Yea, we’ll

take that as a credible source,

but the real “why” has to be

founded upon Christ.

Especially if we’re aiming to

reah

reach Christian consumers.

And the why? Why, the

importance of advancing Gods

kingdom of course! Your own

personal relationship with God

and thirst to see His rule,

dominion, values and person

Buyers want a

Christian

brand with a

real cause

penetrate the culture. And

there is no better tool to do that

than offers provided by a

creative Christian business.

If your why

isn’t strong

enough, you

won’t persist

long enough to

figure out how

F

Business

ownership is

a place of

influence.

Are we using

it for

Christ?

“Products and services

influence us perhaps more than

anything else outside of the

home we’re raised in” Modern

Research’s Becky Pallman

says. The clothes you buy, the

stores you shop, and the

conversations you have online

are all centered around

business” she continues. “It’s

just for most of us, we’re on the

receiving or consumer side.

Only about 10% of the world

are business owners”

So what happens when

Christian entrepreneurs decide

to own the most innovative

movie collections, housing

providers and beyond? That’s a

culture strongly influenced by

Christ via products and

services. “Believers have to

see that “why” and sell from it”

Says Nancy Wright. A concept

to which, as we listen more and

more to her talk, is one to

which we agree. Tetsunao

Yamamori and Kenneth A.

Eldred, founders of Ariba

Technologies, Inc. [NASDAQ:

ARBA], the leader in the

Internet business-to-business

industry, and Inmac, which

went public in 1987 and later

merged with Micro Warehouse,

wrote about this in their book

If they don’t

see Christ in

your why, they

won’t buy.

Kingdom Business:

Transforming Missions

Through Entrepreneurial

Strategies. However,

nowadays, millennials are

looking for businesses with a

philanthropic edge. And that’s

just the “why” Christian

business owners have to inject

into their offers and marketing.

“If they don’t see “Christ” in

your why, the Christian

consumer community won’t

buy” Wright mentions.

Niche up. The more subtle, the

less sales. Don’t get us wrong,

you have to be good, but, you

have to be bold too. Watering

down the message of Christ is

just the thing that’s going to

destroy your sales as a

kingdom entrepreneur. And

don’t think for one moment that

today’s pastors and ministers

are the example that you

should seek. All too often,

they’re MISS-leading the

Christian business community

on how to advertise. You stand

by Gods Word no matter what,

in your interviews, PR and

beyond. Don’t think for a

moment that your going to

shove Jesus under the bus to

get sales, the moment you do

If Jesus isn’t

welcome, I’m

not welcome

you’re going to lose business

and Jesus. In the words of

Tyler Perry, “Where Jesus isn’t

welcome, I’m not welcome”.

Believers who take that

approach in leading their

companies will find higher

support from Christian buyers.

So the lesson is this:

develop products and services

that Christian’s want, and it will

sell itself. Oh sure, you’ll have

to do some promotion, but it

won’t be an uphill battle

because you’ve responded to a

real market need. The biggest

take away our experts are

providing Christian

entrepreneurs is that they don’t

really have a promotional

problem at all

It’s a product one. “Its like

they’re trying to fit in when

they’re supposed to stand out”

Wright explains. “And the world

can see right through it”

Trying to please everybody, is

the playbook strategy for

failure.

It’s the one Christians

have been playing by in

business. Unfortunately.

Why Don’t

Buy

Christians

from Y

o u

orking with countless

business executives,

Wyndell Green, business

specialist for Anointed

Entrepreneur, a consulting

firm in Richmond, VA

has some serious warnings for

Christian entrepreneurs,

namely that, the industry does

exist. “Too many people

starting a Christian business

don’t really have a Christian

product per se, they just have a

product that they’ve thrown

W

Straight

talk from

Wyndell

Green

A Christian themed

business is one that

identifies itself as

Christian to the

remaining business

community

“Bethlemeham Bagels” or

something foolish like that”

Christians, particularly if they’re

aiming to run it using biblical

principles.

a Christian title on. So instead

of calling it Better Bagels, as

they should, they call it

So what do you

recommend they do

instead?

They have to distinguish

between a Christian based

business and a Christian

themed one. If not, they’re

going to have serious brand

identity; more foundational

problems going forward.

So what’s the difference?

A Christian based business can

be any business owned by

And a Christian themed

business?

A Christian themed business is

one that identifies itself as

Christian to the remaining

business community,

intentionally targets Christian

consumers and is selling a

product identified as religious.

secular in order to fit in. Lay a

firm foundation for yourself.

Believe it or not, these

businesses tend to make more

money, because they have

stronger brand identity and

accountability to a group.

Companies that generalize

themselves too much,

particularly as it pertains to

identity, don’t do well.

Then the thing is to innovate

upon that foundation. So if

you’re a Christian book

publisher, you think, “what’s the

core reason Christians buy my

books?” whatever your answer

to that is, is what you use to

anchor your advertisements

and even guide what you sell

next.

Companies that

generalize themselves

too much, particularly

as it pertains to

identity, don’t do

well.

Given that one has a

Christian themed

business, how do they

get more sales?

Well first, realize your strength

is in the theme, and don’t deter

from that. Don’t try to go

But everyone does that

right? It seems like

common sense.

building a shiny new ad, a very

tiny percentage of business

people are focused on building

a brand. Brands sells

themselves, so you don’t have

to. The catch is, brand building

involves so much more than

financial capital. It takes

intellectual capital, time capital

and creative capital to figure

out what your business stands

for, the problem it solves and

how to position that in an ad.

Amongst Christian business

people it’s very rare.

Time. It’s like spending time

with something or someone, it

begins to develop a

personality. You even give it a

name. You may know people

who call their cars ‘bruser’’ or

give their friends a second nick

name. It’s our psyche as

humans. We assign personality

to people, places and things

based on our experience with

it. That’s why you’d never

name a girl butch or a boy

Shelby. People’s experience

with those names don’t fit that

gender. A Christian software

company for instance, should

look to its behavior with clients

Brands sell

themselves,

so you don’t

have to

I wish it were common

knowledge but it isn’t.

Everyone’s focused on

So is that it, build a brand,

and that will increase sales?

[how does one get started

building a strong Christian

brand]?

to establish what the brand is,

what it stands for and why it’s

different. So if people like their

software because of how easy to

use it is, then don’t give the

company a complicated-tech-

savvy name. Call it something

like ‘Easy Worship’ Then give it a

tagline about being easy and

position your ads around that

theme.

Not in my experience. Ads

without branding is sort of like

giving medicine to people who

don’t know they’re sick.

However, when you brand

build, instead of advertise

So you don’t think

practical ad advice or

sales tips are what

Christin b owner’s need?

, you carve out your difference

and put it up front and center.

It’s like building a doctor’s

office to sell your medicine in.

Now they recognize it. Now

they see it. Where do I sign

up? The brand frames,

positions and gives people a

reason to buy your offers.

Any last words of advice?

No.

5 Your business idea is stupid!

Ahh, got the hard part out of

the way. Because we’ve gone

to several venture capitalist,

Christian consumers, and

private investors and asked

them what they would like to

invest in instead.

Christian

Business

Ideas

Nobody’s

Doing

Have some ideas we missed?

Share them with our Creative

Christian Companies group on

Google+

With marriage rates at an all

time low, I think its time

Christians have a relationship

company that’s customized for

them. And while you think that

there are ministries that

Why aren’t

there many

big marriage

teachers?

Marriage

Coach

“Christians need a brand.” says

Harry Whalberg, private

investor in the Hanover, VA

region. “And there aren’t any

companies out there for hire to

help them in marriage” Harry

wants to buy from and invest in

a marriage education company

that has books, seminars, chat

rooms, retreats and more. “We

have those things for singles,

but for married couples, nope!

And it’s the married couples

who need it more and have it to

spend. But nobody’s doing it”

do that for free.

However, they have

to focus on

countless people at

a time, or in free

session where there

services are often

taken for granted

“Where are the banks that prize

giving, family and church? I say

church because that’s the

platform whereby I give to the

community.” says Harry’s

Christians

need their

own banks

Jr. investment assistant, Harry

Brown [no relation]. “A bank

that teaches ethics and finance

in junction with providing

services is one that’s needed.

It’s one I’d look into for Harry. “

Financial services is a complex

industry to get into to, but it is a

lucrative one. Case Western

university says it’s one of the

most overlooked high growth

industries amongst startups.

Financial

Services

Christian

Education

Christian education just

needs an upgrade. Where’s the

school for teens that’s

addressing Christian courtship

and making headlines in

international news. We all see

teen pregnancies on Maruy

and Jerry, whose teaching

godly kids to do the opposite?

Christian education is a big

business already, but it sure

could use more innovation.

“We need something that’s

housed primarily online though”

says Mary Yavant, elementary

school teacher in Richmond,

VA. “CES conference dealt with

educational technologies that

could update textbooks in real

time, do seminars from within

its pages and even provide

tests then and there. That’s

what we need in Christian

education, only for bible based

curriculums”

Ministry

Consultant

Business consultants

specializing in ministry growth

are super duper rare.” Says

Maple leaf Church’s pastor

Langston Turner in New, York,

New York. He believes that his

ministry would have been

even better if some of “these

young guys’ would come in and

commit to advancing him

technologically. “I need more

than a computer, I need a full

blown technology strategy

that’s intertwined with my

ministries plan to grow, expand

and reach more people. There

is nothing out there like that”

Langston also thinks

executive coaching should be a

part of the deal. “Adapting older

more established pastors to be

‘digital ministers’ is a sight to

behold. Whose doing that?

Who’s helping guys with older

more established ministries

adapt their platforms to the

digital age? “We totally agree

with this at Faith FEED as Faith

+ Innovation is our main focus.

Film

Production

And we’re not talking

about the string of one hit

wonders like ‘the Passion” or

Mark Burnetts Bible series.

Christianity needs a production

company that’s committed to

putting out epic Christian films

that are box office hits on a

regular basis. The secular

brands do it, but, it’s as if

Christian movies come in

spurts. Every five years or so,

one great Christian film hits

and then it resides.

Having something like a

Christian version of Miramax

films would not be bad at all,

given one has the passion and

capability to start it.

Innovative Christian Companies

So which Christian businesses

are making a distinctive mark for

Christ, one that can stand out and

glorify him in their respective

industries?

Innovative

Christian

Companies

hen you think of an

innovative company,

you probably think

Apple, Walt Disney or

Nike. And while those

are definitely creative,

we’ve outlined

Christian themed firms

that are making just as

much a distinctive

impact in their own

industries.

W

Since you have an app for

everything, your Sm, your

alarm, and today, even your ac,

why not have one for your

church? Oh sure, some

Smart Church is

just what it

sounds like, the

digital version

of your church

Churches have a customized

app, but, Smart Church has

taken it a step further and

allows all churches to have

one! Not to sound like their

commercial, but that’s pretty

good!

Smart Church is just what it

sounds like, the digital version

of your church, with all of its

contacts, social media feeds

and branding. So instead of

toggling between your pastors

Facebook, Google + and

Twitter, you get it all in one

stream.

“I use it to stay updated

on current events because I’m

always traveling” says Will

Turner of St Pauls Baptist

Church in Chicago, Maryland.

“So glad someone thought of

this” The updated or premium

version allows church goers to

create networks for those

outside of their church and

share it with moderators.

Sm

art

Ch

urc

h

And while there are many

video content networks that

Christians can use, Wing

Clips remains the eldest

having been around for over

This is just the

sort of thing

that we need at

the local church

level

10 years. It secures

licensing agreements with

major film makers in both

the Christian and secular

markets, and allows

anyone, let’s say, a

presenter at your church

Who wants to use a scene from

X Men to make a point about

God given gifts, they can just

go to Wing Clips and use the

video bite for free.

“This is just the sort of thing

that we need at the local

church level” says a pastor in

our Christian Creative Class

group. “We need more

companies that rise up to meet

the needs of today’s churches,

for the sake of the gospel”.

We like Wing Clips because

they’re thinking. And today,

many Christian leaders aren’t

doing this. For instance, Wing

Clips has a web taxonomy that

allows you to pick clips just by

scrolling the side bars. It shows

categories such as “suspense”

Win

g C

lips

Continued on Page 49

Christian companies that

go digital are the ones we

see innovating the most

action’ or even ‘horror’. You

can take inspiration from a

myriad of video clips in their

opinion, and we agree.

Finally, we believe Wing Clips

has excellent brand identity.

The wing logo structure, the

brand association with major

films and its emotional link with

inspiration, makes it a top tier

Christian brand in our book.

Alas, while we could have

given their parent company

[Lifeway] the recognition, we’ll

play to the underdog vibe

The publisher has

released a myriad

of study guide

bibles that are

retro fitted for

different groups

and consider the subsidiary,

‘Explore the Bible’. What does

it do? Oh we’re glad you asked.

The publisher has released a

myriad of study guide bibles

that are retro fitted for different

groups amongst Christians.

It has a version for leaders,

kids, adults, women and men.

But beyond that, you can

subscribe to its simulcasts

hosted by the likes of

Priscilla Shirer and

Anthony Evans.

“What Lifeway has done

with their explore product, is

created a sub culture for bible

addicts” says Christian

business consult Eddie Trifke.

“We need more brands like

that, that are centered around

biblical values. There aren’t

enough of them, at least not

any that are intriguing or

innovative enough to scale”.

With the explore brand,

the bible has been taken from a

book on the shelf, to an

experience that connects

Exp

lore

th

e B

ible

people with modernity. Brinigng

the bible to life with current

conversations, meetings and

such, used to be the job of the

church, though it is failing.

We feel Lifeway has met

a real need with this one and

the evidence is in our favor.

Xplore brings the

bible to life with

conversations,

meetings, and

community. That

used to be the

church’s job.

Explore already has a following

of 30,000 followers spread

across the social media

landscape.

Share your thoughts about other

Christian companies with our

Google e+ groups.

We miss anything?

Gen X Speaks

What do they

want from

church leaders,

businesses and

innovators?

Jose Taylor,

New Mexico,

Stop

following

me

I want leaders

that aren’t

trying to be

“cool” but

trying to be

“Christians”.

Too often I feel

like churches I

attend are more

about being

accepted by the

culture instead

of trying to

change it.

Anne Washington, Jesse Taylor, Arnold

Dodson and Lee Smithers

We want pastors or company

leaders to kick it with us

outside of church, even if that’s

online. Something like ‘A day in

the park with Pastor Joe’ or a

night on the town theme

conference for singles.

Anything that gets us outside of

the Bible Study to Sunday

service weekly routine. The last

thing we Christians need to be

seen as is routine.

Hang With Us

Where is all the

substance from pastors today?

I feel like when I drop into

church [no I don’t attend] the

messages are so light, fluffy

and friendly. I don’t feel they’re

slaying giants like gay

marriage, world hunger or

poverty. Just a sermon about

something that’s going to make

Everyone feel happy, for now.

So to me the cry for

content online is another

version of this. Companies that

sell product should also give

product away in the form of

substance. I want to look

through free and fee based

products.

I just feel everyone wants

something for nothing. There

Substance

Please

Andre Scott

just isn’t any substance

and workshop on Saturday all

revolving around what I heard

on Sunday.

The Church

Immobile

I want to plug in to my

church all week long, not just

on Sunday. And that includes

the sermon. Why should I

settle? Why not have pastors

who write content plans instead

of sermons? Simply put, I get

the sermons on Sunday, the

chat experience on Monday,

the study guide on Tuesday,

bible study on Wednesday,

Q&A on Thursday, banquet on

Friday

Michael Cunningham

Where we’re

Going

In 20 years the face of

Christian leadership will either

be gone or completely

reformed. We hope the latter. If

it’s to be reformed, a few of the

changes Generation x adults

are seeding seems to be far

more

creative, snazzy and outright

bold. They don’t want another

sermon, but an in depth

movement that they can be

apart of. One that shows up in

their social media streams,

inboxes and yes, at their

churches as well. They want

innovate leaders who are

thinking of new ways to change

lives, because like technology,

solutions outdate themselves

very quickly. They want

organizations that keep up with

these changes and exceed

them.

Are you that different? Is

your Christian blog,

organization or church going to

begin providing that? What

What we’re hearing above

all is that people are forgetting

about people, it’s all about their

ministry or business.

Gen X Christians just

want Jesus.

Preachers of Detroit

e don’t need another

show about preachers” says an

angry black millennial, Sharon

Jones. To her, ‘Preachers of

Detroit’ is a step back for her

community and the city of

Detroit which is mostly African

American. “I’m a Christian

and don’t think we need

another show positioning

preachers or church as a

solution”

This is a common theme

amongst millennials. Nobody

thinks that ‘church as usual’ is

going to help. The big call,

“Innovation, - we need to innov-

W

ate. Who cares how many

preachers we have in Detroit? I

mean come on!” says Lacy, a

Caucasian single mother, and

former drug addict from the

area.

After telling her our

thoughts, namely that it’s a

good idea to showcase the

great things churches can do

for the community, she

basically held her ground.

“I’m tired of attention

going to organizations that

aren’t really having an impact

At least compared to how much

money they’re taking”

In spite its critics,

Preachers of Detroit has had a

successful launch, garnering

over 1,000,000 viewers its first

week.

We hope the show does

reach millennials viewers and

continues to address their

needs for programming that

suits their values, whether or

not they do so perfectly.

Who cares

how many

preachers

we have in

Detroit?

What Career

Christians Want

A sense of

Christian

purpose

A successful

mentor and

personal

attention TO be a part

of a real

movement

Faith FEED Survey of 20,000

employees