History in the Making

Story Workshop Presenters, Pt.6

The sixth STORY Workshop presenter to be named is Dawn Nicole Baldwin.

Dawn founded the strategic branding firm AspireOne and is a go-to consultant for churches like Granger, Seacoast and Willow Creek.

She used to work for Willow Creek and Veggie Tales and now speaks, thinks and writes for a living. Rumor has it she's working on a book too. Dawn blogs here.

Dawn is helping to create synergy between Cultivate and STORY, which are being held in conjunction. Excited about what she's doing. You're going to love hearing from her.

WIRED Says Story is Dying

Stories are losing their beginnings, middles, and endings. According to WIRED magazine.

"Brothers and sisters, we are gathered here today to mourn the death of Story. As you may have heard, it's kaput—or, at the very least, terminally ill... [read more]

Unauthorized Sermon Remix #2: Rick McKinley

This is Rick McKinley meets Lord of the Rings.

[Download Here]

This is the Gospel story read by members of the Imago Dei community and Rick McKinley with unauthorized effects.

Feel free to link it, spread it, lick it, and stick it anywhere you'd like.

But by all means... use headphones.

(The Matt Chandler edition is here)

Thursday Observations

• Yesterday was Ainsley and my nine-year anniversary. She's 8-months pregnant; wrangling two preschoolers; dealing with me; and trying to turn our rental into a home. I owe her big-time.
• A few friends are making murmurs of departure from cubicle life to follow their dreams. I think God is stirring our generation.
• I started running again this week to coincide with my fresh new beginning. Ouch.
• I wonder when Panera will kick me out of my new office space.
• I'm a horrible networker because I only call people when I have a reason.
• I think the future of Twitter is not Twitter, but rather what we embed it into.
• And is it just me... or does it barely function most of the time?
• I've created a list of conferences to attend this year and Lollapalooza is on it... if that tells you anything.
• There's nothing more inspiring to me than the ocean in the evening. Nothing.
• There are shockingly fewer Chick-Fil-A's here in Va Beach than Georgia.
• Yesterday, I went to get my hair cut, and the stylist made my hair look just like his. Uh...

Story Workshop Presenters, Pt.5

Another presenter at the follow-up day of Workshops at STORY is Drew Goodmanson.

Drew started Monk Development and Kaleo Church in San Diego. Love entrepreneurs who start churches.

I've been reading Drew's blog for years and got to meet him Orlando a few years ago. He exudes brilliance. You're going to love him...

You Know What to Do

Hillsong United's just a few purchases away from beating Eminem for the top spot in album sales on iTunes.

Mash-up Generation

We are a mash-up generation. If we can create our own custom mixes and experiences with virtual reality... why not reality? =)

This comes from Auto-Tune the News. See their impressive collection [here].

HT: Tyler Stanton's blog

How to Give Yourself an Internet Make-Over

1. Pay a good photographer to take your photo.
Watch to see when someone like Daley or Promise or Jordan or Leigh is coming through town, and get on their agenda. You'll be surprised by how good you can look.

2. Keep your photo current.
Oh, you used to look so good without the fat and wrinkles. But when you put out a 5-year old photo, you're not fooling anyone. Embrace the changes.

3. Decide on your platform and master it.
John Saddington (human3rror) said he doesn't use every social media outlet. Choose one or two and forget the rest. You'll be more effective.

4. Pay a designer to overhaul your site.
Ask someone like Brad or John to give you an e-makeover. We all think we can design, but it's hard to be objective with your own work. And it shows.

5. Persevere.
"Solid content + Consistency = Readership." Sometimes you can cheat by asking, and people will link you. But know that you're making withdrawals and you only have so many coins.

Storyline

Great brands exist in our mind's eye long before they exist in tangible form.

Ever hear a great new song that you could've sworn you've heard before? Or how about a new technology that is so simple, yet so powerful, that you can't believe you didn't think of it first?

STORY has existed inside me since I was in seventh grade.

My Christian school history teacher wrote the words "his story" on the chalkboard to explain our biblical worldview, and it never left my consciousness.

I incorporated the non-profit organization "Historytellers" in 1998.

Purchased booth space at Liberty University's SuperConference in 1999.

Started a church called "History Church" in 2001.

Started this blog "History in the Making" in 2005.

Preached an entire message series called "Story" in 2007.

Considered changing "Whiteboard" to "Storyboard" for its second year in 2008.

Story Workshop Presenters, Pt.4

The follow-up day of Workshops at STORY will also feature Kem Meyer.

Kem is the communications director for Granger Community Church in Indiana - one of the most creative and impactful churches in the country. She just wrote the book Less Clutter, Less Noise of which I am a disciple. You can read more from Kem at KemMeyer.com.

If you love Granger's style, it's because you unknowingly love Kem.

Three Kinds of Jobs

1. You're not in your sweet spot. You're working to pay the bills and slightly miserable. You dream of better things, but can't let go of the security (which isn't really security) to go after your dreams.

2. You're good at what you do... and valued. But you're coasting. There's no challenge and no chance to be audacious. You're comfortable, but only if you don't stop to think about "what if."

3. Your faith is stretched. Every resource is being drawn from within you. The uncertainly is overwhelming, and you're tempted to trade it all in for security... but then you'd be right back where you started.

First Landing

The moving truck pulls up to our new place in Virginia Beach this morning.

Being the analytical person I am, I drew a "pie chart of provision" in my Moleskine this morning. I'd say 15% of it was based on known sources of income. The other 85% I labeled - "unknown."

I'm not saying you can put a percentage on trusting God, but let's just say God's about to become a whole lot bigger to me. =) In the words of Jonathan, "Perhaps God will act on our behalf."

Moving to Virginia Beach

 

See you on the other side.

Story Workshop Presenters, Pt.3

Another presenter at our follow-up day of Workshops at STORY is Phil Cooke.

He's an active producer and director in Hollywood, and advises some of the top faith-based organizations in the world on media. Phil wrote the book Branding Faith and lectures at many leading universities.

Excited to hear Phil's take on branding and media from a Christian worldview. The rest of us are mere pontificators; Phil's a player.

Now This is An Author Site

Death by Love... by Mark Driscoll

We Audiences Can be Trained

The most interactive bloggers build community by writing provocative things and then ending their posts with "What do you think?" Again and again and again. After a while, people get the idea, and comments explode.

The most effective communicators know how to train crowd reactions as well. It takes time and consistency.  But when it clicks, the cheering is louder; the crowd is more focused; the humor is better received... you get the drift. I've got examples, but they're in the forthcoming book. =)

Story vs Information

I've never met Jeff Henderson who leads Buckhead Church, but I love this blog post he wrote about story vs. information...

"Have you ever noticed that when someone asked Jesus a question, He often responded with a story? According to the latest research, it seems like Jesus was way ahead of his time, (not surprisingly, of course.) 

"Cognitive scientist Roger C. Shank tells us research is showing that “humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories...." [read more]

The Emcee of STORY

When I was choosing an emcee for STORY, it wasn't even close. Scott Hodge has been one of my favorite bloggers for years. He's got off-the-charts likability; he's turned his father's church around in what is a remarkable story; publishers are trying to lure him; and he's a fantastic storyteller himself.

On top of that, he's become a good friend.

The Paramount Theater is in Aurora - Scott's town. And we're hosting the follow-up day of Workshops at Scott's church - The Orchard. See a few Flickr photos of the Workshops venue. It sells out at 300.

Let it Lie Fallow

I think we can get into a dangerous cycle when it comes to success. Something good happens ~ a conference, an event, a creative element, a program.

And then we repeat it, and repeat it, and repeat it, and repeat it, and... Until, finally, it hits the top of the bell curve of popularity and starts to descend. Attendance drops. People stop talking about it. The buzz ends. But we keep doing it.

Here's a wild idea...

Quit while you're ahead.

Stop what you're doing and let your field lie fallow for a season.

Sound like sabotage? Of course it is.

But to come up with a better idea; to free our audiences to try new things; to kill the sacred cow... we have to sabotage our own success.

STORY Workshop Presenters, pt.2

For the optional, follow-up day of Workshops at STORY on October 29, another one of our incredible presenters is Ron Martoia.

Ron is a self-described transformational architect and runs Velocity Culture, which is all about shifting the way people think. His lens is unlike any other human being's.

I first heard about Ron when he was leading the wildly creative Westwinds Church in Michigan. He's since gone on to write books, teach at universities,  speak at major conferences... and now we've got him.

Booyah.