Gospel or Gimmick?
One of the plumblines for our First Impressions Team is that the gospel is offensive, but nothing else should be (follow the link for a more detailed explanation). That means we intentionally enter into each...
Category: First Impressions
Your Best Is Only As Good As Your Worst
Last night was a fun moment in the life of the Franks family, if you define “fun” as torture + horror x infinity. Jacob and Austin’s school was playing basketball against a school in Wake...
Flashback Friday: She Got It
I ran across this old post, and it brought back great memories not only of a Durham Performing Arts Center event nearly three years ago, but a reminder of how incredible the DPAC staff was...
Meet ’em in the Middle
Last week Merriem and I celebrated our 20th anniversary. We capped the day by visiting a swanky steakhouse here in Durham (not because I’m lavish, but because somebody gave us a gift card). We’d been...
Taking The Guesswork Out Of Guest Services
Hey campers: I’m working on a new blog series that’ll debut soon, and I need your help. If you’re a small church, big church, or in-between church, chances are your guest services team needs tweaking....
Cheeseburger in Paradise
My friend and first impressions guru Mark Waltz has undeniably drilled in my skull the importance of “wow!” moments: small or large gestures designed to communicate to guests, customers, or friends, “You matter.” A few weeks...
Flashback Friday: Reasons I Love My Church, #216
In the words of that great theologian Huey Lewis, “Is this the 50’s or 1999? …Gotta get back in time.” At the First Time Guest Tent last Sunday, a guest filled out one of our...
Dancing with the Elephant: Debrief the Event
We’re wrapping up a three-day series called Dancing with the Elephant, where logistical nerds cackle with glee about how to pull off a large scale event in the guest services realm. Never fear, non-logistical nerds:...
Dancing with the Elephant: Develop Your Systems
In yesterday’s post, I talked about the importance of defining the win when it comes to pulling off a large scale event. Knowing the event’s nature, the budget you have to work with, and the...
Dancing with the Elephant: Define Your Win
In my role at the Summit, one of my hats is to help run point for some of our larger-scale events. Things like Church at the Ballpark, The Gospel Summit, and Christmas at DPAC fall...
