Show your Love

We are pleased to announce that all of next week will be LOVE WEEK. We want to focus on the love of Christ, and what that means in our lives. And what better way to do that then give away lots of free stuff.

Here’s how it will work:

1. We will ask you a question.
2. You will answer that question.
3. One person a day will win one our Love Merch Packs.
   Each pack has all of the items above. I know, it’s a lot.

So get ready to show your love on Monday, and don’t forget to tell all your friends.

Break From Busy

It’s been a busy week here at The Plow! Lots of projects going on and deadlines quickly approaching. Though I’m always drawn to simplicity and minimalism in art/design/life, it’s a much needed breather from busy and chaotic times likes these.

Corey and I have been digging the awesome art direction and pure simplicity of this stop motion music video for Oren Lavie’s song “Her Morning Elegance”. Watch the video, enjoy the simplicity, and ask yourself, “Why can’t I come up with something totally awesome like this!?!?”

Driscoll on Dateline

Check out the video of Mark Driscoll on dateline. This is really a great interview and worth the time to watch. So watch it now!

Marketing & The Bible: Viral Marketing

By Mike Anderson. You all remember Mike right? He was the one who started this blog, and he is a great brother to me. Mike is now working at Mars Hill Church, and is heading up The Resurgence.

Viral Marketing: Jesus was the first viral marketer

Viral Marketing Steps of Jesus

Jesus has a Message: The term Gospel literally means the good news. Jesus spent his ministry teaching his disciples about the Kingdom, grace, warning of sin and hell, and much more. The message of Jesus is clear. He is the King coming to build his heavenly Kingdom, and he will make his enemies his people.

Jesus makes the message understandable: The Truth of the Gospel is so deep that angels spend eternity in awe, but Jesus uses parables so that common fisherman can understand.

Jesus starts an initial core: The Disciples knew the message of the Gospel, and were given the tools to spread it through word of mouth.

Jesus set the pattern for replication: At the bottom of this post you can read Jesus’ words to his disciples from Matthew 28.

Extra Steps for Christians

The Spirit empowers: This is one thing that we must trust God in. The message that we have as the Church is the Gospel.

Prayer is Essential: We are sinful people. When we tell people about Jesus and his grace, we need to make sure that we are doing it honestly and in faith. Pray that God would guide you, the Spirit would work in you, and that he would allow you to repent.

Tools we have as God’s people

The Bible: The Word tells us what a Church is, it tells us who Jesus is, it tells us to honor and fear God, and tells us to repent of our sin

The Spirit: The Holy Spirit empowers us to repent of our sins, to be sanctified, and to fuel the preaching of His Word.

Prayer: God says that he is a Father who listens to his children and gives them everything they need to do the work that he calls them to.

Matthew 28

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Lessons in Church Viral & Social Marketing

As you may know we recently launched LiveAmped.com — a microsite promoting the current sermon series at EastLake Church in California. We’ve been really pleased to see the steady stream of traffic hitting the site leading up to the first week of the series (this past Sunday).

Our marketing plan of attack was to push traffic to the website using viral/social networking tools. We created a Facebook page specifically for the series, posted videos on YouTube, had individuals post on their blogs & Twitter feeds, and used good old fashion email by allowing microsite visitors to send eCards to their friends and family.

Here are two great lessons we’ve learned in the first nine days since the site and campaign have launched.

1.) Viral/Social marketing works for churches! EastLake had record attendance this past weekend for the start of the new series. The hype and promotion created around this new sermon series got people excited! By providing them with a variety of resources (the microsite, Facebook, YouTube, eCards) they were able to share their excitement with their friends and family and invite them to come to church through familiar, fun, and non-threatening mediums.

2.) Remember, it’s about WAY more than the stats! As we vigilantly monitored site visitors on Google Analytics, eagerly counted Facebook “fans”, and anxiously awaited feedback from the church we realized there is a whole lot more at stake here than just the numbers. When working with churches and ministries on projects like this it’s easy to forget that we’re working for changed hearts and changed lives—not just butts in the seats. We at The Plow feel unbelievably blessed to be a part of this campaign, knowing that there were more people at EastLake Church than ever before, that heard the good news of our Lord preached this week!

Love is in the air.

With the stores filling up with chocolate hearts and sappy greating cards, it got us thinking, maybe we should do another totally awesome, blow your mind giveaway. So, keep your eyes peeled kiddos, cause next month the merch with be rolling.

I Love You More Than…

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:34

I Ran across I Love You More Than Blank yesterday and fell in love with the simplicity of it. The idea behind the site is to use real life objects as a measuring stick for our love. Spend some time reading through the items that people used, they are great.

Now, look at yourself in relation to what you place your love in. Can we make these same statements to God. Do I love God more than I love my home? Do I love God more than I love my security. Do I love God more than I love my RSS feeds? The question may sound simple, but to me it is not. Where is my heart, and where do I spend my time? My love needs to be to God first. Everything we have in our lives are gifts, and we should never love the gifts above the giver.

But enough with the negative, lets celebrate our love for God. What real life item do you love God more than?

We’re all gonna die!!!

You have to check out the new project by Simon Høgsberg, “We’re all gonna die - 100 meters of existence.” The image is freaking large too, 100 meters to be exact. The photo, taken in Berlin, was constructed over 20 days and features 178 people.

What I love about this is the diversity it shows. Young, old, trendy, not so trendy, and everyone in between. This photo shows life. Take the time to look at every person and remember what Christ tells us. We are to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” This photo tells me that I have that opportunity every minute of the day.

Found at: DirtyMouse

Free Fonts for Designers

100% FREE handpicked fonts for graphic designers. All with commercial-use licenses.

I came across this great resource this morning and thought I would share. There are plenty of places to download free fonts online, but for the most part you have to wade through tons and tons of really ugly ones to find the one that’s right for your project.

Font Squirrel offers a great collection of fonts (300 families and growing). Maybe the church newsletter is ready for a new type treatment—go check them out!

www.fontsquirrel.com

How To Steal Without Losing Your Soul

Anyone who’s worked in the world of church communication/marketing knows that churches can be some of the biggest thieves out there. We are constantly ripping off the latest hit television program, blockbuster movies, or corporate brand to create promotional materials that severely sell the heart and mission of our church short—”LOST? Do you know where you’re headed?”

In my opinion, the worst form of church thievery is when we steal ideas and our style from other churches. Under the deceptive idea that “they must be doing something right,” we borrow the graphics, messages, and “environments” that seem to be filling the seats across town, all the while wondering why our congregation isn’t experiencing the same growth.

The answer, I believe, has to do with soul. It’s not that the gleaning inspiration and cultural relevancy from pop-culture, art, or other churches is inherently evil (though I do think verbatim rip offs show a real lack of creativity and a whole lot of cheesiness on the part of the church), it’s the fact that, most likely, these stolen pieces don’t have any soul, authenticity, or relevancy when it comes to your congregation!

Here’s a quote from Jim Jarmusch, a secular independent filmmaker. I think he does a really great job of explaining the right way to creatively beg, borrow, and steal.

Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, painting, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.

Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.”

So, as we continue to create and communicate for the glory of our God, let us not lose sight of the collective heart and soul of our individual church. When we find our selves in the act of creative theft let’s always remember to ask ourselves “where is this from—and where am I taking this to?” Hopefully, when all is said and done, everything that we do will point back to the Son.