gdp's Comments

Collide Magazine Blog : What Marketing Makes of You

Mon, 7 Mar 2011 16:26:40 +0000

Can the extravagant church effectively teach about stewardship? - Extravagant, like Solomon's Temple? Extravagant, like David's worship? Or is a more accurate phrase "excessive for the sake of effect"? I've been to some churches where extravagance is evident in their ministry efforts, the worship and the facility - and still witnessed (and experienced) true generosity and humble stewardship. Can the pastor whose face is plastered on everything effectively teach about humility? - Though I hear (and generally agree) with your description of the "rock star" pastor syndrome, associating a face with a name isn't inherently bad. Perhaps what you're pointing to is the excessive pastor-celebrity promotion. I can only imagine that people who had heard of Jesus heard what is the net effect of "his face plastered on everything". The difference is that Jesus made it about the message, not about his personality. Can the church that caters to the whims and attention deficits of consumers effectively teach about dying to one’s self? - Reaching specific demographics means knowing how to relate and communicate with that people group. If a demographic is focused on their kids more than their marriages, then placing a significant amount of effort on reaching kids is also an effective way to engage the parents who have to bring them. If a worship is authentic and vertically-focused and the message is revelatory and not merely informational, then does it need to last for 2+ hours to be effective? Or could 60 to 75 minutes be right for that local church? Can the pastor who attracts attention with buffoonery effectively teach about matters of life and death? - Actually, yes, but not because of the buffoonery, but because God can (and often does) use people in spite of themselves and not because of their antics. Having said that, is it wise to be about the "wow factor"? Probably not. I appreciate your line of thinking that gives us pause to consider the efforts of the local church. In fact, I tend to agree with what you're saying; but I've also learned that God uses the foolish to confound the wise. I also have come to understand that in order to reach certain people groups - and though I may not be attracted to every kind of church - there are those being reached that I could not reach. In the end, like you, I want to help churches be effective Keep raising good questions, Scott!

Destiny in Bloom : The Power of Desperation

Fri, 3 Dec 2010 15:45:18 +0000

As a husband, I used to feel the self-imposed responsibility for being the provider for my home. After a season that sounds all-too-familiar to what you described above, my heart learned that I am not the provider - God is - but that he will most often use me as the instrument of provision for my family. The pressure is off, but the responsibility to seek Him and diligently work to be an instrument of provision has changed my perspective entirely. I pray all of us (especially us men) learn to pray what you wrote in the closing of this authentic and impassioned article and find peace in all circumstances. Finally, as a husband, let me say thank you for honoring your groom with these words: "My precious husband." It's easy in times of trial to not pray over and honor the husband when financial/job trouble happens. These words exemplify your heart for supporting and encouraging your groom. When his circumstances were not favorable, your words were. Blessings and thanks, Anthony

Destiny in Bloom : I Am Making Everything New

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:25:03 +0000

Love the insight, my bride. "Since God has given me a passion for writing, it is my responsibility – and joy – to write as He reveals." Pastor Robert preaches only from divine revelation; your writing comes from divine revelation. So proud to see your obedience. Lub, Your groom

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : The power ballad worship song.

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:52:59 +0000

Maybe it was because they did it in Glee, but on the video you shared, do the singers have to hit their marks or else? If they don't, is there some sort of brutal back stage retribution? If not, I'm not entirely sure about the "5,6,7,8, and move to stage left" thing going on.

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Win a free iPad from Charlie St. Cloud.

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:54:14 +0000

I love blatant expressions of Capitalism, Jon! Here's to Newsies 2 and at least an opening premier in the dollar theatres. Thanks Charlie St. Cloud. Now pay Jon some more royalties.

Anthony Coppedge Blog 2.0 : Church Technology: Support, Efficiency, Impact

Fri, 9 Apr 2010 15:29:55 +0000

Without a doubt, Impact would be the most important; but it first requires Support and Efficiency. However, to answer your questions, Support is most prevalent - only because many churches fail to see value beyond simply using tech as support.

Collide Magazine Blog : Technology Is _______: A Contest

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:55:07 +0000

...what simplifies our processes by complicating our lives.

Anthony Coppedge Blog 2.0 : Something from Nothing

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:43:46 +0000

Thanks, fellas. When you're next preaching at Gateway, I'll be sure to come up and high-five ya, Rick. Keep killin' it for the Kingdom! Anthony

Anthony Coppedge Blog 2.0 : Four C's of Growth: Part 1

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:35:28 +0000

Mark, There are two parts to the Four C's and both are up on the blog right now. Simply type in "Four C's" in the search box up in the top right hand corner and you'll get both of them. Thanks, Anthony

Anthony Coppedge Blog 2.0 : Perfect Fit: Revealed

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:46:06 +0000

Thank you, Drew. I hope it's obvious to all that while I've struggled at times during this journey, God gets all the credit and glory.

Anthony Coppedge Blog 2.0 : GUEST BLOG: Skip Moen - St. Paul Diet

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:15:18 +0000

Skip, I truly believe that God is using you through your writings to impact more people than you ever could have in even the highest echelons of the business world. What I love about you is the genius insight you provide balanced with a large dose of true humility. Unlike most people, you've been to the top of the mountain and to the bottom of the valley. Through it, you've lost everything and gained the most valuable of all. I truly love that I get to call you a friend and have access to a man of God who is helping me see through the lens of history, culture and context to better know and understand Yeshua. Thank you dearly, Skip. Your brother, Anthony

Anthony Coppedge Blog 2.0 : Helping "Carl" with Burnout

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:41:13 +0000

Thanks for chiming in, Anne. I agree, most of the time the confrontation happens when we're hurt the most and emotions are high - that's a dangerous place to be! Thank you for your excellent book, too!

Anthony Coppedge Blog 2.0 : Helping "Carl" with Burnout

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:06:46 +0000

I agree. Anne wrote a terrific story in "Mad Church Disease" and I recommend that book!

Anthony Coppedge Blog 2.0 : NEW TECH ALERT: The Atem Switcher

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:51:22 +0000

Not yet as I've not had any hands-on time with the unit. I think (assuming here) that it's not the same as a production switcher, but rather like a big multi-engine scaler with a production interface. Again, I need time to play and see the unit. :)

Godvertiser.com : The Church Tech Mashup Shakes Out 7 Picks

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:09:06 +0000

Blatant plug: www.anthonycoppedge.com/problog :)

Anthony Coppedge Blog 2.0 : Communicating Information vs. Building Community

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:03:54 +0000

Not exactly, but LifeChurch.tv is doing both a very compelling Internet Campus and a new service called OPEN (http://open.lifechurch.tv/), which is a free resource for churches. Take a peek and see if that's the direction you're envisioning.

Anthony Coppedge Blog 2.0 : A Conversation With "Carl"

Fri, 29 May 2009 19:50:09 +0000

It is a too much of a generalization, David. The idea that \\"either ignore him as a person, or worse, secretly resent the fact that we need to rely on him\\" is not the either/or. It\\'s possible that those two things happen (and they do, sadly), but the either/or proposition would look more like: \\"Because we don\\'t understand techies, they\\'re often not understood as a person. Sometimes, the differences are so large that leaders may even resent being forced to rely on a person they don\\'t understand or know how to communicate with due to the technical needs of churches.\\" There are leaders (I\\'ve met more than a few) that truly value, appreciate and honor their tech arts staff and volunteers. This particular post reflected on the pain of one person who represents many in churches that do not value, appreciate or honor their tech arts staff and volunteers.

ChurchCrunch : The Reason Your Church Must NOT Twitter

Sun, 1 Feb 2009 18:05:17 +0000

I appreciate a differing perspective, but hope to help set a few things straight: 1) I didn't realize I should have been a Twitterati before trying to help the average non-Twitterati church leader. ;) Seems to me that not coming at it from the pinnacle of Twitter success makes a stronger case for Twitter than from the techno-elite; 2) I make the case throughout the e-book that Twitter doesn't REPLACE anything; it simply creates alternative communications methods AND helps reduce email spam (even the stuff we sign up for from our churches); 3) Why use a service like Tatango when allows for non-Twitter users to follow? Free is free is free; and over 750% growth means Twitter will likely be around when others won't; 4) I fully disagree (but in love, bud!) with John's assessment that adoption is harder with Twitter. I'd almost agree with that if I couldn't simply type in 40404 from my cell phone and type in "follow username". But, I can. And more to the point, when it's that easy, you're REMOVING barriers to entry rather than creating them. Again, I'm totally cool with this review. Yes, I did pick a title that used the imperative word "Must". But, as John points out, marketing is still a part of the equation and making a strong statement provides both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Good press; bad press. It's still press. And, when it all comes down to it, people will make up their own mind anyway. It's my hope that by keeping it very simple and straightforward that it'll do what Terry Storch says in the Foreward: "It'll lead to a conversation that needs to be had." THAT is the success factor for me. Blessings, Anthony

Tony Steward:. Blog : How could a church use twitter?

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:57:24 +0000

i know this is an older post (Aug '08), but thought I'd go ahead and toss out the three reasons I see: Twitter as a Megaphone Twitter as a Conversation Twitter for Pastor Perception www.twitterforchurches.com"target="_blank">http://www.twitterforchurches.com