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Churches miss great opportunity for effective evangelism
Tim Stevens' book 'Pop Goes the Church' makes an inspiring case for leveraging pop culture to reach out to people in the language of their lives, with compelling biblical backing for this approach. He offers a new perspective that give relevance and impact to the church by using popular culture – stories from movies and music – to point people to the gospel.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/10834
Prof. Brian Sturm explains how storytelling actually works
Choose your comfiest chair, make yourself a tasty coffee (or other beverage as preferred) and settle down for a 45-minute journey with Professor Brian Sturm to learn more about story.
Sturm presents storytelling as a way of organizing information, conveying emotions, and building community. A model of storytelling as altered state of consciousness (the story trance) is presented that includes 16 portals to altered states.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/10712
Social media is not optional for non-profits, ministries, companies
The HooteSuite video below, though it is primarily discussing businesses, clearly explains the importance of social media connectedness at every level in any organization – charity, non-profit, ministry – and emphasizes that in the end, it is just people and relationships. Particularly highlighted in this video: social media needs to permeate through the entire organization, and is not something that is just 'done' by the marketing department. Richard Branson is cited as an example of a CEO who is constantly tweeting.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/10322
Free iPad ebook helps Christian writers to communicate better
Two journalism professors from Christian universities have teamed up to make a short iPad-only book that uses interactive content to help new writers snag a byline.
"'A One-Step Guide to a Byline' is designed for new writers who want to know the bare minimum for writing an article for the popular press and it uses roll-over features, an interactive quiz and eight videos to help writers succeed," says Michael Ray Smith, project director and professor from Campbell University in Buies Creek.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/10191
Storytelling - essential for Christian communication
Yet another reminder in this video short, that storytelling is the key to communicating any message, anywhere, any audience, any purpose.
My heart sinks every time I’m exposed to a sermon that contains no illustrations, no personal stories, no imagery, no jokes. Because I know that I will almost certainly have forgotten it by lunchtime.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/9720
Why humor is biblical and communicates so well
I love the self-deprecating New Zealand humor, exemplified by comedy series such as Flight of the Conchords.
Below is the new Air New Zealand safety video, in Middle Earth Hobbit mode. Priceless.
But here's the thing. Have you ever paid much attention to a safety briefing? Did you remember it later? Probably not. But embed something in humor, and you gain instant attention, with high memorability and comprehension.
Humor is biblical. Use it to communicate. Jesus did. Constantly. Creatively.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/9623
Free Kindle book on social networking
Word of mouth has always been the best grassroots way to communicate. And social networking is just digital word of mouth. Here's a valuable new book, free on Kindle today:
Community Wins:
21 Thoughts on Building a Thriving Online Tribe
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/9601
Social networking can be incredibly effective for churches
Check the striking message of the first pie chart in the infographic below, based on a study by Buzzplant. Admittedly, the polled sample of churches was relatively small, and only within one country.
But… see how churches claim that social media was twice as effective as any other means of connecting to the wider community.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/9457
What should happen in your brain during storytelling?
There is, happily, a growing understanding of the significance of storytelling for good communication. The video below explains research into brain chemistry as a response to storytelling.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/9553
Common grammar errors to avoid in your writing: infographic and useful resources
"Oh, no, how did I miss that?"
Unfortunately, in the eyes of many people, that grammatical error will rob your piece of writing of credibility.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/9086