George Bullard's Journey

Great Commission Resurgence Progress Report Observations: The First 20

By George Bullard at GBullard@TheColumbiaPartnership.org

February 2010

Will the Great Commission Resurgence Plan, if Adopted, Be Effective, Or is it Strategically Naïve and Historically Ignorant?

I have been a member of a congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention all of my life. I worked in Southern Baptist denominational positions for 30 years. I am currently serving the larger Baptist community as General Secretary [executive director] of the North American Baptist Fellowship of the Baptist World Alliance. As such I favor the increased vitality and vibrancy of all Baptist conventions and unions.

A Little Less Conversation [www.Inc.com, February 1, 2010]

A Little Less Conversation

Have you ever invited employees to a meeting just so they wouldn't feel left out? If so, you may be an overcommunicator.

By Joel Spolsky |  Feb 1, 2010

Josh Titus

Cross-functional or Dysfunctional? On every project, one person should be in charge of the flow of communication. You want the decision-making process to look like Figure A -- not Figure B.

How Much of Congregational Budget Should Be Allocated to Pay Pastor/Staff?

[Note: Several weeks ago I wrote a post about the number of staff persons a congregation should have. See this post at http://bullardjournal.posterous.com/how-many-staff-persons-should-a-congregation. I have since had a request to know how much a congregational budget should be allocated to pay pastor/staff. Here are my thoughts.]

Dear Jim:

In response to your inquiry about what percentage of a congregation budget ought to be allocated for the direct and indirect costs of the pastor and staff, the short answer is no more than 50 percent. However, the answer is really not that easy. Here are some additional thoughts.

Jason Byassee: The End of Denominations? [Faith and Leadership, Duke Divinity School, 2.12.10]

February 12, 2010

Jason Byassee: The End of Denominations?

What if we woke up tomorrow and all the denominations were gone?

Some commentators would cheer. Some, more sanguine, would mourn, but not for themselves. Many of us would be looking for jobs. But so what? The question is not %u201CWhat if the church of Jesus Christ dissolved?%u201D  God is going to get God%u2019s church -- it%u2019s just a question of whether mainline denominations in the United States will be part of that future.

There was a time when I couldn%u2019t have cared less about such an apocalypse. Denominations are bureaucracies, not churches. Who cares if a bloated 1950%u2019s-style corporation vanished from the face of the earth? Does Jesus need these fossils to get his work done? Aren%u2019t these relics of church divisions over issues that no one thinks should divide us anymore?

More than a few denominational execs probably feel this way themselves. But I don%u2019t, not anymore. The criticisms are legitimate. But the implication -- that denominations should therefore go away -- is wrong.

Great Commission Task Force Calls for Cooperation Between SBC Entities [Associated Baptist Press, 2.23.10]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) -- A task force studying ways to make the Southern Baptist Convention more effective recommended greater flexibility and cooperation among state and national entities in a progress report to the SBC Executive Committee Feb. 22.

Floyd

Ronnie Floyd, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., and chairman of a 22-member task force appointed last summer by SBC president Johnny Hunt, said the group will meet at least once more before releasing a final report May 3, in time to be presented at the SBC annual meeting June 15-16 in Orlando, Fla.

"We believe the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando expect change and expect the leaders in our convention to lead us toward the changes that are needed," Floyd said.

While any structural changes suggested in the report would fall under purview of boards of trustees of various SBC entities, the task force proposed six specific components of a vision for Southern Baptists to champion in the future.

The first calls for a "new and healthy culture" that provides local Southern Baptist churches with a "missional vision" to present the gospel and make disciples in North America and around the globe.

African-American Baptists Collaborate to Help Haiti [Associated Baptist Press, 2.22.10]

WASHINGTON (ABP) -- Presidents of five historically African-American Baptist denominations announced Feb. 12 they were collaborating to respond more effectively to human need in Haiti.

Robertson

Murray

Presidents of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention; National Baptist Convention, USA; National Baptist Convention of America; National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; and Progressive National Baptist Convention formed the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration.

Representing more than 10 million Baptists in the United States, the coalition exists to link resources to create financial and technical synergies in responding through relief and recovery for Haiti, advocate for just and compassionate government policies toward Haiti and work toward sustainable community development in the island nation devastated by the Jan. 12 earthquake.

"This collaboration is essential for the kind of response that is needed in Haiti," said Julius Scruggs, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA.

Pew Forum: Religion Among the Millennials [The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 2.17.10]

Religion Among the Millennials

Less Religiously Active Than Older Americans, But Fairly Traditional In Other Ways

Feb. 17, 2010

In this report:
Introduction and Overview
Religious Affiliation
Worship Attendance
Other Religious Practices
Religious Attitudes and Beliefs
Social and Culture War Issues
More Information

Download the appendix (1-page PDF)
Download the full report (29-page PDF)

Readership Down, Information Up [Posted on Daily'Dog January 21, 2010]

By Ed James, President and Founder, Cornerstone Public Relations

Yes, newspaper readership is down. That's old news. But it appears that awareness and a general hunger for news is actually on the rise. With advances in technology, mass reach is instantaneous and everyone has become instant experts immediately "in the know." Social networks like Facebook and Twitter enable the sharing of information to occur at lightning speed, while the widespread adoption of Smart Phones has given a new definition to the term "eyewitness reporters." RSS feeds and mobile Internet have allowed for anyone with a pair of eyes to absorb an entire newspaper's worth of content with a couple flicks of a finger. From NBC's late-night shuffle and the Balloon Boy to Mark McGwire's recent admittance to steroid usage and the latest celebrity death, mass awareness of news events has become instantaneous. Even typical barriers to entry, such as being in transit when news hits, no longer exist.

Associated Baptist Press - Yearbook Stats Show SBC, ABC Losing Members Again in 2009 [ABP News, 2.26.10]

NEW YORK (ABP) -- Catholic, Mormon and Assembly of God churches all posted membership gains in 2009, while mainline denominations including the American Baptist Churches USA, lost members, according to an annual report by the National Council of Churches. And the Southern Baptist Convention -- the nation's second-largest faith group -- saw its membership decline for the second consecutive year.

The NCC's 2010 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches reported membership of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States -- the largest of 227 national church bodies included in the report -- at 68 million. That represents growth of 1.49 percent, after a slight membership loss in 2009.

Is SEO the Future of Evangelism? [From ChurchRelevance.com]

I think the future of evangelism is search engine optimized (SEO) online content.  By no means, will this replace face-to-face evangelism or other methods. However, online behavior is opening doors of opportunity that will only increase with time.

Optimizing your ministry for search engines is more than trying to show up in the top 10 search results for your church name or Churches in your city. sing Google to answer lifequestions is normal for those with Internet access. Imagine what your church could accomplish if it provided relevant answers in these moments when people are more open-minded and seeking truth.

Scenarios:

Imagine someone in Chicago searching for Chicago divorce attorney because she is tired of trying to make her marriage work. What if a Chicago church has SEO content in the first results offering free marriage counseling or advice on how to make a marriage work?

Imagine a teen that is fed up with being the school outcast and begins searching for how to properly slit his wrists. What if a ministry had SEO content offering real time help (a live suicide prevention counselor) or guidance on alternatives to suicide?

What it looks like:

Creating relevant SEO content is not a bait-and-switch tactic. That will only fail.
It is also not about Bible-thumping or aggressive evangelism. That will only turn people off before they listen.

Creating relevant SEO content is providing relevant, helpful solutions to the problems people are searching about online. These solutions may be alternatives to what they thought they would find, but that doesn%u2019t mean these solutions won%u2019t connect with them, help them, and change their lives.

Make your goal to be able to connect with the searcher and offer instant help (i.e., advice, counseling, a team of workers, tangible resources). Equally important is that you make these connections sustainable. Don%u2019t let the relationship die with the initial contact. Provide avenues for you to continue helping and for them to be able to hear the gospel and/or get plugged in to a local church at their own pace as you gradually earn their trust and respect.

Resources to Consider:

Church Web Optimizer
The creators of Ekklesia 360 and Cobblestone Community Network are launching a new church SEO service this year called Church Web Optimizer. From what I understand, it will be a very affordable alternative for churches to hiring a corporate SEO firm. The tools look great, but the tailored advice from a real human is one of the best parts. Features include:

• Google Analytics Installation
• Google Webmaster Tools Installation
• Google Sitemaps Submission
• Church Website Analytics /Pre-SEO Evaluation and Conference Call
• Google Local Search Submission
• Featured Directory Submission on Church Cloud & Sermon Cloud
• Online Targeted Advertising (eg. Google Adwords)
• Social Media Strategy Implementation
• Full SEO Services: Link building, SERPS Monitoring and Custom SEO Implementation

Google Keyword Tool
If your budget is $0, Google offers a nice free keyword research tool that identifies what topics people search for the most and how they word their searches. Relevantly sprinkling a few keywords into your content is one of many factors that will help your search engine results.

SEOmoz
If you want to dive into giving yourself a search engine marketing education, SEOmoz is a great place to start. They have a well-respected blog, articles (some free), and tools (some free).

For Discussion:
- What do you think are some effective strategies for church SEO?
- What SEO tools would you add to this list?

via churchrelevance.com

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