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4 limitations every church communicator must understand
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunityIn life there are few truly unlimited things. There's God. But even He's limited to His nature (He can't sin, for example). Often, "unlimited" things come with fine print that controls the expectations. Think about unlimited data for phone services or cloud storage.
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10 commandments for productive church meetings
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityMeetings, often justifiably, get a bad reputation for being a waste of time. That doesn't have to be the case. In fact, a meeting can be a productive and effective tool for accomplishing ministry endeavors. That's not going to happen by accident, though. It requires planning and follow-up.
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Stop preaching to an empty room
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunityImagine your pastor standing behind the pulpit. All the lights are on, the microphone is working nicely, and the doors are unlocked so people can freely come in. He's worked for hours on a great sermon to which he knows many people will respond. He clears his throat and delivers an eloquent message.
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5 safeguards every church finance team should follow
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityEvery Sunday across the country, people put their hard-earned money into an offering plate as it's passed down the aisle. There's an implicit trust they place in church leaders to use that money wisely and with integrity.
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What your church website screams about you
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunityEveryone uses the Internet. Well, almost everyone. According to Internet Live Stats, 86.75 percent of Americans use the Web. Most of us visit the Internet quickly to discover new things, remind us of information, be entertained and/or buy things.
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How to take a vacation without checking email
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityIt's summertime! The kids are out of school, the weather (hopefully) is nice, and it's time for a vacation. Maybe you're planning an epic road trip, heading to a favorite theme park or finding fun stuff to do locally.
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How to take a vacation without being bothered by work
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityIt’s summertime! The kids are out of school, the weather is hopefully nice, and it’s time for a vacation. Maybe you’re planning an epic road trip, heading to a favorite theme park or finding fun stuff to do locally. Whatever adventure your family chooses, vacations are a great time to recharge and reconnect. And by that I mean recharge your batteries, not your electronic devices, and reconnect with loved ones and maybe your pillow. Here are a few tips for really unplugging this summer.
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3 critical church website errors
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunityWhen the world started building websites, people were amazed. I remember my first conference in the mid 1990s that talked about their power. Most of us got caught up in the technical programming complexities and how the tool was actually created. I left wondering if anyone would want the hard work of creating them.
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Defining a culture of philanthropy
Craig Shelley Association ManagementAs I've worked to build this culture either within or in partnership to various organizations, I've come to believe there are seven common elements of a philanthropic culture. By focusing efforts on these items, we can build this culture in organizations where it currently doesn't exist. By holding ourselves accountable to these qualitative metrics we can track our progress.
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3 project management practices that deliver immediate results
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityRunning the day-to-day activities at a church can be complicated enough. Implement these three simple strategies to make managing projects less stressful and more efficient.
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