Advertise on podcast: Communicate On Purpose

Creative solutions are often most powerful because of the tension they create. But rarely does a speaker want to leave their audience in a prolonged state of tension. So how can we resolve this?

Matt and Aaron discuss the different things you get when you hire a Graphic Designer or a Communications Director for your ministry. Which should you hire first? Well, it depends. What do you think? Which hire fits best for your ministry?

Is graphic design really a preference driven industry? Is there such a thing as objectively "good" graphic design? In this episode of the Creative Bites podcast, I talk through that topic. I also provide tips for both pastors and designer to have meaningful conversations about the work that is being produced. 

I wanted to update you on the new schedule for the Creative Bites Podcast. I'm moving it to every other week instead of weekly. I also wanted to share two new resources I've created for anyone spending time doing graphic design as part of their job. The first is a free bundle called: 3 Design Secrets that Will Save Ministry Leaders Hours of Time. In order to get done the workload assigned to me early in my career, I had to develop some strategies to make myself dramatically more efficient. It worked, and I'm sharing them with you to help you save time. The second is an online class that goes even deeper: Help! I'm Doing Graphic Design for my Church! This course will teach you the foundational principles of graphic design so you can make faster design decisions. This will help you spend less time doing graphic design so you can spend more time investing in your ministry. For listeners of the podcast, I'm offering a 25% off coupon - CREATIVEBITES. The coupon is good through April 21.

As the potential of online ministry becomes more and more clear, should social media move outside of the Communications team and under pastoral leadership instead? Matt and Aaron discuss the pros and cons of each approach.

The promise innovation never seems to stop. Worse, if you aren't running on the treadmill of what's next, you are declared (by some) to be missing the opportunity of a lifetime. But God is working at His pace and in His way. So how can we balance taking advantage of opportunity while also avoiding becoming overwhelmed?

This is the last episode of the Communicate on Purpose Podcast. What a ride it has been! But the podcasting is going to continue. Here is a bit of the backstory - I've started  my own business named Lunchtime Heroes. My goal with it is to help the church communicate clearly effectively, and with integrity. There are two belief that have really stood out to me in my time in ministry. Pastors need to spend their time pastoring people, not managing details.Pastors and comm people need to be in the same conversation.The focus of Communicate on Purpose was to help church staff bring their industry to the church. That will still be happening, just a bit more focused on the creative side. The focus of what's coming will be on helping ministry leaders have more time to fulfill their calling. A bit about the new format: I'll unpack an issue or topic, then talk to both sides about it. A message to those serving in comm, and a message to those serving in pastoral leadership.  Hearing different sides of the conversation is important.I'll also be introducing a new format for some episodes that are Church Communication Hot Takes. A friend and I will navigate some of the common challenges in the church comm space an work through the perspectives. The goal with these episodes is that you are able to listen and decide where you stand.

One of the most effective ways to implement change in your organization is by building the next solution before you remove the previous one. People rely on the tools you create and the way you communicate. If you transition between tools too suddenly, you stoke fear. But beyond that transition, fear expresses itself in many ways. The communications role has a unique seat to see much of it, and to help others have more peace than they would have otherwise.

In the church and non profit space, we are told to be on board with the mission or get off the bus. This is a dangerous message. It adds stress to our lives, and it ultimately leads to division - more division than we realize. In order for you to be effective in your role, you need to keep balance between all the different responsibilities in your life.

Jobs in the creative industry tend to be pretty high stress. They involve complicated work, tight deadlines, and high pressure clients looking for results. As you spend time in the industry, you develop skills to handle the stress, learn tactics to help get work done, and gain perspective that every emergency isn’t yours. As you excel in the execution, there is a good chance you’ll be given the opportunity to lead people. People stress is different. All the tricks you learned to navigate projects and deadlines simply don’t apply. I’ve spent plenty of time stewing over behavioral decisions made by those that report to me. If they miss the mark, I stress about it. How can I help them improve? How do I challenge them well? Did this have a negative impact on the organization? Will I be on the hook for this? Acknowledging that the stress is different is key to you being able to respond well to it. You can start identifying this even if you aren’t leading people.

This may seem like a silly realization, but for many years I thought of myself as the communication expert for the organization. I was hired into the communications role, therefore I was supposed to be the final authority on all things communication. The problem, however, is that nearly everyone on a church staff is a communicator. Every department is broadcasting a message. It varies wildly, but emails are sent, volunteers are called, messages are preached, announcements are shared. There is an unfathomable amount of communication that happens. And it doesn’t all belong to you. In fact, I would argue that there is more communication happening outside of the Communications role than inside. Once I realized this, my countenance changed dramatically. Rather than having to be the answer man that needed to do everything myself, I could shift my focus toward empowering and equipping others to grow in their ability to communicate. Now they could leverage something I didn’t haver in their communication - passion. I went from the sole communications person to one of many! What a refreshing change!  You are surrounded by people that are much more similar than you think.

The communications role is uniquely positioned to see the little areas where those in your ministry lose sight of what they believe. They announce confidently that God is in charge, but they get frustrated when your promotional strategy isn't yielding the results they want. Obviously we need to be doing our due diligence in our trade, but we also need to be modeling faith even in these little things.