Chris, I'm glad to hear you watched the TED talk and are thinking through the concepts.

You wrote "a lot of the time that people buy because image and emotion rather than pure specs of products." Are you thinking "the why" = "image and emotion" whereas "the what" = "rational?" If so, I don't think that's quite accurate. Image is very superficial, but an organizations "why" - its purpose - is deep to the core. Image is about manipulating people's emotions, but starting with why is about connecting with people who share your mission. The end result of "starting with why" is a deep emotional connection with those who share a passion for your mission.

While there is a strong emotional component to "the why," I don't think it's necessarily uninformed or irrational. I think it’s a matter of looking beyond “what’s in it for me” to a higher purpose. So, when it comes to the local church, I agree with you that it’s important to for people to understand the rationale behind the why. I’d like to go more in depth on this, so I’m going to write a blog post applying the “Start With Why” concepts specifically to the local church.

Thanks for provoking more thought on this!

Thanks Rev. Burnham. It makes total sense and yet so few organizations do it.

Awesome! Let us know how it goes, ok Oluranti?

Thanks Mark! I appreciate the comment.

That's pretty much where I am with G+ as well, Jessica. I haven't found much of a need for it so far, but now I feel like we're forced to use it to so we won't see a drop in search traffic.

Thanks for your comment, MaryKate, and your support for the "Stop SOPA" movement. The current SOPA bill is now dead, but there will be another one introduced soon. We must continue to be vigilant to ensure the rights of both media producers and those who facilitate collaboration and sharing are protected.

Hi James, the cost depends on the functionality you'd like built into your website. If you go to http://www.ourchurch.com/design/ and complete the consultation request form, we can schedule a time for you to discuss the goals you have for your website and the cost of a new website.

Amen!

Thanks Josh!

Hi Kati, yes, we don't blog specifically about faith issues. We blog to help Christians accomplish their missions online so we blog about how to apply technology in ministry.

How can Christian Retailers do it better? That's a great question and a very big question that can't fully be addressed here. My first suggestion would be to find retailers who are using social media well. Don't copy them, but watch them closely and see what you can learn from them and experiment with.