Bad News Redeux

First Family Church in Kansas City had a really bad day on Sunday. A huge front page piece in the Kansas City Star raises serious questions of financial irregularities, issues of nepotism, and a lack of accountability and transparency in the business of the church. It is a major, multi-month investigation on the church. They make no comment on the church's doctrine or theology. It's entirely focused on the financial questions. The story has already hit the blog world.

I'm not going to comment on the substance of the questions. I will say that the stories, on their face, are fair. First Family is given ample opportunity to comment and explain. Most of the questions raised are brought not by the paper, but by others. The reporter, Judy Thomas, then goes to national experts for opinion on whether the practices in question are standard in churches, and if they represent any ethical problems.

Overall, it's a solid piece of reporting. Full disclosure... Judy and I are old friends, and I will tell anyone who asks that she's one of the most careful and thorough reporters I've ever seen. I can also tell you she's a person of faith, who would not attack a church, simply to attack a church.

Let's take a look at the response of the church. Not stellar. They did make the Senior Pastor Jerry Johnston available to answer questions on two occasions. That's good. Then they handed it off to an external consultant. OK, but don't eliminate access to the principals. They promised documents, and then never delivered them. In the end, they cut off communications with the reporter.

That's bad.

Pretty clear that First Family is dealing with a "bad news" situation here. The article makes it pretty clear, they don't think there's anything wrong.

I've said before that the first rule in dealing with bad news is to get it out FIRST, FAST and WIDE.

Maybe that's not the first rule. Or maybe it's simply predicated on an assumption, namely, that you have high integrity, you're going to tell the truth and acknowledge when something is wrong.

In any case, even if you don't think you've done anything wrong, there is nothing to be gained by cutting off communication with a reporter. That just makes you look guilty. The public will assume you have something to hide. It chums the water and encourages a reporter to keep looking for dirt.

Can We Do Billboards that Don't Suck?

Yet another integrated billboard/web campaign. This time it's local. Gracepoint United Methodist Church has billboards going up that proclaim "Church Doesn't Suck." It's a teaser to point you to a web site.

I sure agree with the sentiment. Not so sure about the specific tactic. A couple of quick points.

Gracepoint has used a tagline saying they're for "people who don't like church" for a long while now. This goes another step in that direction. It think maybe it's TOO far. I'd rather you tell me who you are, than who you aren't. If you're going to tell me who you aren't, do you have to bag on others to do that?

Second... the website. Wish they'd have spent the 20 bucks to get a specific domain name for the campaign... instead of parking it on the video streamers URL. How's someone going to say "hey did you see 360 Wichita dot com slash churches slash Gracepoint?" ChurchDoesntSuck dot com, net and org are all available.

I haven't seen the billboard... but apparently it points to the main church web site. And.. uhhh... it doesn't link to this video. I'm confused.

And finally... the message. Again... lots of negative. Lots of slams on church and tradition. As I've said before, stories are powerful. The web video is OK... but I wish it was about story. Personal, real stories about people who are connecting with God at Gracepoint. That makes it about who you area. Instead, we find out who you aren't.

In his E-mail introducing the campaign, Pastor Bryson Butts says he's sure the campaign will offend some people. Well, he's probably right. I think this is better than Satan's billboards. I hope it's successful.

I just think it could be even more effective.

He's Back!

It may be the biggest comeback since the very first Easter!

OK, that's an exageration, but it's big, big news. Terry Storch is back in the blogging world. For the uninitiatied, Terry was one of the first on the blogging bandwagon in the church world, and is the co-author of a certain book on the subject.
For reasons still unexplained, he dropped off the face of the earth, and then moved to Oklahoma. I think he was actually being held in a Chinese prison, after being captured while doing espionage on the side. Others say he was shot in the shower during the last episode of the season, but then it all turned out to be a dream. Who knows the truth?
Whatever it is, he's back. And, according to FeedBurner, I'm his first subscriber. I wonder if I get a prize!

Billboards that Work - LifeChurch and Satan

LifeChurch.tv has a new integrated billboard/web campaign out today. It's the latest in a series of billboard based campaigns that attempt to capture interest with something a bit outrageous, and drive people to sample a web site.

This set purport to quote Satan, who says he's not all that fond of Craig and crew.

It's fairly clever, but I'm not sure it will be effective.

I think it will generate lot of heat among church folks. Just like the PureSex series at Granger, it will get big buzz from churches and church marketers all over the country.

What I'm not sure is whether it will drive anyone who isn't already a church person through the door (or into cyberspace to check out the Internet campus).

The question to ask is this: Will it be effective with the unchurched, the nominally, or previously churched, and with a post-modern culture that's pretty gimick savy.

My guess is not so much.

I could be wrong, but I would go another way.

Take a look at this campaign done by Lover's Lane UMC in Dallas. A different tack.

The billboards were simple. You matter. Joy is possible. You Can Change the World. They all pointed to the website with the slightly ungramatical question "WannaKnowWhy?"

The website simply tells stories. Stories about real people who encountered God at Lover's Lane. Then, they were pointed into a nice entry portal on the church's regular site.

I think stories are a lot more powerful than gimmicks.

One thing I am glad about. Terry, and Bobby and Craig at LifeChurch are all very smart guys. They'll measure the results, and I'm also guessing they'll report the results. Time will tell if this campaign is effective in bringing people through the doors who are interested in taking another step toward Jesus.

When Bad Things Happen

Dealing with bad news is a tough nut for a professional communicator. In the best possible situation, it’s painful. But bad news rarely presents itself in a convenient way.

It’s generally wrapped up in emotion. It can lead to panic individually and as an organization. Leadership in the organization may want to hold the bad news tightly. Or respond slowly. Or only admit what they have to.

That, unfortunately is exactly the WRONG response.

Read more here...

Grace Where You Need It - 100 Posts

I didn't even notice the milestone... but my last post was number 100. I'm both pleased and appalled that it was about scary clowns.

Stacey had a great note today...

"Grace doesn't happen when we're at our best; it happens when we're at our worst. That's when we need grace. That's when we appreciate grace."