Skip to main content

Posts

What’s In Store For The Future

I have some supply work this coming Sunday, and I’m excited to be in a pulpit again. The OT text is God’s promise to Abraham - how he was to become the father of many nations - that his descendants would be more numerous than the sands on the seashore or the stars in the heavens. That’s a lot of people.  God made this promise so that Abraham’s offspring would be a blessing to the world. Because of the Jewish people we have a great deal of Scripture, and a moral consciousness that raised the world to new levels.  What strikes me about this promise is how many people are involved. God counted on Abraham having so many descendents that they couldn’t be counted. This many people created a critical mass that influenced the rest of the world.  Today in the Church we need another another critical mass. We need a critical mass of people willing to tell their faith stories. We need so many faith stories out there in the public space, to influence people in a positive, respectful way. To do so w
Post a Comment
Read more
Recent posts

Hook, Story, Offer - Internet Work Gives Some Immediate Feedback

 It's been an exciting week.  Just yesterday I released my Free Guide To Christian Storytelling .  I was able to set up a landing page in Mail Chimp, and people are able to obtain a copy in exchange for their email address.  According to the marketing books I've been reading, an email list is the most valuable thing you own, because you can always connect with past and potential customers. At the same time, I've managed to entice five people so far.  Not bad for a few days but I do want a much larger list.  A larger list means I'm helping more people, and more people are interested in this particular ministry.   Thinking back to what I've learned over the past two months, any internet offer comes down to a Hook, a Story, and an Offer.  The hook grabs people's attention, the story engages on an emotional level, and the offer is the actual resource you're providing.  When I looked at my first landing page, I realized it was all offer, no hook, and not really a
Post a Comment
Read more

What I'm Learning On This Journey

Still waiting on my new driver's license.  Perhaps tomorrow I'll take my expired passport to the Post Office to see about the PO Box.  That way I can finally get my email system up and running. Throughout this journey I've certainly learned a lot.  Between three books by Russel Brunson, several webinars, and a focussed way of looking at Social Media I've been gaining some new skills.  Just six months ago I wouldn't have known how to set up a landing page for an email list, and then develop an automatic sequence to welcome the new person into this online community.  But now I have a pretty good idea on how to do it. I was reading through another parish profile today, and saw how one of their goals was to increase communication both within the Church and the wider community.  Heck, that's exactly what I've been learning how to do since December.  I'm scarcely six weeks into this project and I've gained some new skills that I think would really benefit
Post a Comment
Read more

Days Out and Marching Along

Saturday I started some seasonal work.  Just like when I was in seminary, I took a part time job working for Jackson Hewitt doing tax preparation.  It had some mixed feelings.  On the one hand it felt good to put on a tie and go into an office again.  As much as I enjoy my various interests, I find sitting at home pretty agitating - especially when I'm not financially contributing to my family.  At the same time there's this nagging feeling that it's not what I'm supposed to be doing.  I am a minister of Word and Sacrament and haven't found a place to exercise that ministry yet. The storytelling ministry continues to march along.  I'm at the point where I'm waiting for a few moving pieces to come together.  After trying out a few different options for an email list and distributing my free resource, I settled on Mail Chimp.  It's pretty easy, user friendly, and even has a free version.  Even as I scale it's not going to cost me hundreds of dollars ev
Post a Comment
Read more

Snow Delays and Unexpected Grace

Between snow days and half days of school I've fallen behind on my blogging and posting.  It's alright though.  My family and I dug out several snow forts in the various piles that accumulated, and I wouldn't trade those moments for anything.  Even while I was shoveling and my arms began to ache, I looked over my shoulder to see my seven year old digging away at the fresh snowbank I just made on the corner of the driveway.  He was hollowing out a side entrance, and throwing the excess snow right where I had just cleared.  I could have gotten mad at him but the scene was just too cute. Snow kind of gives me another glimpse into what God does in the world.  My favorite time is right after the snow fall, where a layer of pure white blankets everything.  It's so pretty and makes everything look so clean.  Then the plows come through, with the salt and the sand, and a layer of grime gets mixed in with everything else.  Mind you these things are necessary.  We would kill ours
Post a Comment
Read more

Something Exciting Is Coming

Today I pulled the switch and signed up for Groove.cm.  I was looking for an affordable funnel software but this thing has so much more.  Website, eStores, Funnels, Email - it's all in there. I think I've hit the point where I'm a bit overloaded with what to do.  I've been working on my Free Guide to Christian Storytelling for several weeks now, and I feel like I have it in a format ready to release.  It's going to be a freebie, as are many other things at first.  It's strange in this world there are so many opinions and so much advice out there. While I've been working on this free guide I got an email about a Challenge Masterclass.  It was free so I signed up.  It's had some really great content, put on by Russel Brunson at Clickfunnels, and the speaker is really passionate.  He also tells me that Challenges are the only funnel you need.  "Great," I thought, "Now what should I do with all this other stuff I've been working on. The th
Post a Comment
Read more

The Episcopal Church Welcomes You

“Sure,” he said from the other side of the table. “People are going to hear Scriptures that bother them.  I mean I have to hear about Sodom and Gemorrah.” This was 1999 and the man sitting across from me at brunch just came out to me.  Our small college chaplaincy leaned more to the left, and did so while maintaining orthodox beliefs.  I was pretty familiar with the other Christian groups on campus, and I knew I wouldn’t have had this conversation elsewhere. But at The Episcopal Church at Cornell I was able to make a new friend who didn’t fit the typical mold. I appreciated that because I don't fit the typical mold in my own way. As the years progressed he and I became really good friends. Our minds work in similar ways so we would often talk long into the night and forget that time was passing. We developed some code words too. I can remember getting an email about making cinnamon bread - that meant he had just had a difficult conversation and needed company. The bread was warm an
Post a Comment
Read more