Sermon Branding
I just finished an article for Ministries Today. Here's a rough draft.
One of our sessions at the Buzz Conference will be on sermon branding. If you haven't registered yet you can visit www.buzzconference.com.
Sermon Branding
John 12:52 has always been my preaching mantra. Jesus said, "I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it."
What is sermon content.
How is sermon branding.
I have a core conviction: the greatest truths ought to be communicated in the most unforgettable ways. And when it comes to communicating things in unforgettable ways, how is just as important as what.
Sermon branding is nothing new. It's as old as the ancient prophets using God-inspired props to make their messages stick. Jesus took the Old Testament art form to a new level. No one was better at branding truth than The Truth. His parables are pure genius. Hear them once and you'll remember them forever!
Sermon branding is hard work, but it isn't optional if we're serious about communicating like Christ.
Seven Steps to Sermon Branding
1) Come up with a series title
There is a fine line between catchy and cheesy. The goal is to reduce an entire series to a single word, phrase or symbol that captures the essence of the series.
Book titles, magazine ads, TV shows, board games, and movies are a great source of creative inspiration.
Here are some recent NCC series titles:
The Physics of Faith
Y: Why We Do What We Do
Soulprint
The Game of Life
The Wild Goose Chase
Creed
God @ the Billboards
Wired for Worship
2)Create a series logo
The old aphorism is wrong. A picture isn't worth a thousand words!
According to neurological research, the brain is able to process print on a page at a rate of approximately one hundred bits per second. But the brain can process a picture at approximately one billion bits per second. Mathematically speaking, a picture is literally worth ten million words!
That's why logos are so important. If you studied Greek in Seminary you may pick up on the double entendre. Logos are words made flesh. Jesus is The Logos.
The most powerful logo in the world isn't the Coca-Cola bottle, Nike swoosh, or McDonald's golden arches. It is the cross of Christ. Jesus redeemed the ancient symbol of death and turned it into the logo of eternal life.
Logos are important because of the way the brain processes information. The brain recognizes and remembers shapes first, colors second and content third. It is the sequence of cognition. If you want people to listen to the content of what you have to say, you better think about shapes and colors. If choosing color schemes seems to be void of spiritual significance read the book of Exodus. A dozen chapters are devoted to design. God gives very specific instructions about colors and scents.
Aesthetics are important.
3)Design a series evite and invite
The key to buzz is word of mouth and word of mouse. One way to generate buzz about a sermon series is to send out an evite to your church email list. Encourage your congregation to forward it to a friend.
You can get 5000 invite cards for approximately $200 at psprint.com. Hand out the invite cards a week or two before you kick off the series. Invite cards are one way of turning attenders into buzzers.
4)Brainstorm Big Ideas
Three-point sermons ought to be banned. People will only remember one point anyway! The more you say the less they will remember. It's the law of scope: more is less and less is more. That's why I try to reduce every message into one big idea. Why? Because people only remember one thing! It's the Rule of One.
If you try to make too many points, your message turns into a bed-of-nails. Lie down on a thousand nails and they won't penetrate the skin. Why? The pressure of each point is diffused by all the others around it. Too many sermons are a bed-of-nails. But a single point will penetrate the heart and soul like a single nail.
During The Game of Life series we played off the board game by the same name and used seven spaces to symbolize seven big ideas:
Graduation Day: Enjoy the Journey
Tour Europe: Take Calculated Risks
Night School: Keep Asking Questions Win Marathon: Set God-sized Goals
Start a Career: Pursue God-ordained Passions Get Married: Fall in Love
Pay Day: Pay it Forward
5)Shoot a Series Trailer
One way to brand a series and generate excitement is to add creative video elements. Show a Series Trailer the week before kicking off the series and put it up on your website. You may even want to design a series poster that looks like a movie poster complete with MPAA rating.
For trailer samples, visit http://www.theaterchurch.com/.
6)Add Sermon Props
Jesus used everything from mustard seeds to Romans coins to make his messages stick. He preached from boats, washed feet, and used little children as sermon props.
The reason sermon props make messages more memorable is because they involve more than one sense. The more multisensory your message is the more memorable it will be.
Over the years we've used everything from nails to pop rocks to silly putty to make our messages more memorable. You may even want to design series clothing and accessories. It's a great way of turning your congregation into walking billboards.
7)Add Sermon Staging
It'll take some time and effort, but I'd recommend redesigning your stage for every sermon series. It's a great way of keeping things fresh! A new look will generate new excitement. Have fun with it.
During our annual God @ the Box Office series we literally roll out the red carpet and treat every NCCer like an Oscar Nominee. It gives us an excuse to give them the red carpet treatment.
For information on the Buzz Conference hosted by National Community Church in Washington, DC, May 4-5, 2006, visit http://www.buzzconference.com/.
One of our sessions at the Buzz Conference will be on sermon branding. If you haven't registered yet you can visit www.buzzconference.com.
Sermon Branding
John 12:52 has always been my preaching mantra. Jesus said, "I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it."
What is sermon content.
How is sermon branding.
I have a core conviction: the greatest truths ought to be communicated in the most unforgettable ways. And when it comes to communicating things in unforgettable ways, how is just as important as what.
Sermon branding is nothing new. It's as old as the ancient prophets using God-inspired props to make their messages stick. Jesus took the Old Testament art form to a new level. No one was better at branding truth than The Truth. His parables are pure genius. Hear them once and you'll remember them forever!
Sermon branding is hard work, but it isn't optional if we're serious about communicating like Christ.
Seven Steps to Sermon Branding
1) Come up with a series title
There is a fine line between catchy and cheesy. The goal is to reduce an entire series to a single word, phrase or symbol that captures the essence of the series.
Book titles, magazine ads, TV shows, board games, and movies are a great source of creative inspiration.
Here are some recent NCC series titles:
The Physics of Faith
Y: Why We Do What We Do
Soulprint
The Game of Life
The Wild Goose Chase
Creed
God @ the Billboards
Wired for Worship
2)Create a series logo
The old aphorism is wrong. A picture isn't worth a thousand words!
According to neurological research, the brain is able to process print on a page at a rate of approximately one hundred bits per second. But the brain can process a picture at approximately one billion bits per second. Mathematically speaking, a picture is literally worth ten million words!
That's why logos are so important. If you studied Greek in Seminary you may pick up on the double entendre. Logos are words made flesh. Jesus is The Logos.
The most powerful logo in the world isn't the Coca-Cola bottle, Nike swoosh, or McDonald's golden arches. It is the cross of Christ. Jesus redeemed the ancient symbol of death and turned it into the logo of eternal life.
Logos are important because of the way the brain processes information. The brain recognizes and remembers shapes first, colors second and content third. It is the sequence of cognition. If you want people to listen to the content of what you have to say, you better think about shapes and colors. If choosing color schemes seems to be void of spiritual significance read the book of Exodus. A dozen chapters are devoted to design. God gives very specific instructions about colors and scents.
Aesthetics are important.
3)Design a series evite and invite
The key to buzz is word of mouth and word of mouse. One way to generate buzz about a sermon series is to send out an evite to your church email list. Encourage your congregation to forward it to a friend.
You can get 5000 invite cards for approximately $200 at psprint.com. Hand out the invite cards a week or two before you kick off the series. Invite cards are one way of turning attenders into buzzers.
4)Brainstorm Big Ideas
Three-point sermons ought to be banned. People will only remember one point anyway! The more you say the less they will remember. It's the law of scope: more is less and less is more. That's why I try to reduce every message into one big idea. Why? Because people only remember one thing! It's the Rule of One.
If you try to make too many points, your message turns into a bed-of-nails. Lie down on a thousand nails and they won't penetrate the skin. Why? The pressure of each point is diffused by all the others around it. Too many sermons are a bed-of-nails. But a single point will penetrate the heart and soul like a single nail.
During The Game of Life series we played off the board game by the same name and used seven spaces to symbolize seven big ideas:
Graduation Day: Enjoy the Journey
Tour Europe: Take Calculated Risks
Night School: Keep Asking Questions Win Marathon: Set God-sized Goals
Start a Career: Pursue God-ordained Passions Get Married: Fall in Love
Pay Day: Pay it Forward
5)Shoot a Series Trailer
One way to brand a series and generate excitement is to add creative video elements. Show a Series Trailer the week before kicking off the series and put it up on your website. You may even want to design a series poster that looks like a movie poster complete with MPAA rating.
For trailer samples, visit http://www.theaterchurch.com/.
6)Add Sermon Props
Jesus used everything from mustard seeds to Romans coins to make his messages stick. He preached from boats, washed feet, and used little children as sermon props.
The reason sermon props make messages more memorable is because they involve more than one sense. The more multisensory your message is the more memorable it will be.
Over the years we've used everything from nails to pop rocks to silly putty to make our messages more memorable. You may even want to design series clothing and accessories. It's a great way of turning your congregation into walking billboards.
7)Add Sermon Staging
It'll take some time and effort, but I'd recommend redesigning your stage for every sermon series. It's a great way of keeping things fresh! A new look will generate new excitement. Have fun with it.
During our annual God @ the Box Office series we literally roll out the red carpet and treat every NCCer like an Oscar Nominee. It gives us an excuse to give them the red carpet treatment.
For information on the Buzz Conference hosted by National Community Church in Washington, DC, May 4-5, 2006, visit http://www.buzzconference.com/.
7 Comments:
It's so challenging and invigorating to read about NCC and the way you "do" church. I am so inspired (!) yet feel, like many people probably feel, that it takes so much just to keep my head above water in terms of technological and creative advances that there seems to be little hope of ever getting an edge...or at least getting to the edge, for that matter! So much to learn, so much room to grow...
Mark, thanks for this post and plenty like it. Like kschmiddy your ministry is a great challenge and creative stimulant to me and our work (we are a plant in Perth, Western Australia).
One day soon I hope to pop over and check out NCC for myself.
Thanks again for posts like this brother.
Mark,
Thanks for the tips. I'm beginning a college worhsip service and trying to think outside the box. These guidelines will definitely help.
Keep it up, my brother!
Pastor Mark,
Thank you for your empowering words. From a small town in the middle of MN, i come to your site to get CHARGED UP.
Thank you again
Thanks for the post. You helped get my creative juices flowing and shored up some questionable areas for me.
I definately like the idea of imitating Jesus in the way He brought truth to us in a visual, tangible way.I have been discouraged in my search for a church home, however ,because I see a lot of gimmiac over substance. This morning's sermon had no scripture reference given at all and it felt rehearsed. I keep asking myself why I am not "getting it" and that my desire for a deeper knowledge of the scriptures seems hard to come by in a church setting. Am I alone in wanting more than entertainment or a good feeling on Sunday? My heart is breaking over this. I am not trying to be pious and I am "youngish" and progressive. I am about ready to give up on finding a church that helps to satisfy my longing for God's word outside of my own devotional time. Can anyone point out what I am doing wrong in searching for a church that helps me grow? Thank-you!
Lori
Lori,
I feel your pain. So frustrating when churches dumb-down or "gimmick the gospel." Not sure where to point you because I don't know the churches in your area. But I sure hope you can find a place that is both biblical and creative. Hang in there! I know looking for a church can feel like a long and lonely road.
Mark
Post a Comment
<< Home