ChrisMoncus.com

During my first year of college I started attending First Baptist Brunswick, GA. There I met several ministers who so graciously sowed into my life and really affected the direction of my life. Over those five years I took away so many good tips, experiences, and ideas for ministry that I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them. One tip in particular has application throughout all areas of ministry and secular events.

“Kill it before it dies”, Waller Boyer said to me one night while he and I were leading a Disciple Now down in Jacksonville, FL. “Leave them wanting more.”

That statement rocked me.

So I started the implications of doing just that with different areas of ministry. How many sermons, music sets, dramas, videos, _____insert ministry here_____ have started out strong but the end perception was boredom or disinterest? Ministers, have we “lost” our audience and wondered why? This could be the answer.

When writing sermons, blog articles, and tutorials I try to use the “kill it before it dies” method. I get rid of all the extra stuff and try not to repeat myself unnecessarily. When possible I provide pictures to illustrate my point so I don’t have to beat the point to death. I try to write a 30 minute sermon, condense it to 15 minutes, and then when I go over (like usual) the message ends up being 25 minutes - the perfect length. I believe that I should be able to illustrate my point within the alloted time. If not, there’s probably too much “extra” stuff that could be removed, condensed, or otherwise better said. I also believe that a sermon should rarely be finished at church. There should always be some takeaway for the audience to have to work through and thus finish the sermon in their hearts. Leave room for that. Leave room for God to work.

Application to worship music? We need to keep a bead on the crowd and not let the songs go on too long. Luckily I am in a situation where that doesn’t happen much. If anything I want more. I could stand another 10 minutes of music easily, but maybe that’s the point. Leave me wanting more. Force me to seek out that satisfaction.

In my line of work it has applications on the non-sermon side of things as well. When being approached by someone to build a website I pass on a tip to them regarding their site content. I tell them, “Write what you want to say to the reader. Come back the next day and get rid of half the words. Then come back the next day and get rid of half of what’s left. You are then left with all the information you wanted to communicate in a smaller and easier to digest package.” It is more likely to be read and remembered if there is less to read and remember.

So that’s my little takeaway. Apply this to whatever you do in ministry and I believe the perception thereof will be more pleasant and engaging.

Please comment and let me know your experiences with this. Good or bad. Did this click with you? Do you disagree? Let’s talk.

Tonight Amanda and I went to the local mall to do a little shopping for Christmas. We decided to look in Sears just to check if there were any deals to be had. Good news! There was!

We went to the appliances section to look for scratch-and-dent items. We’re not cheap, but we avoid retail prices like they were the plague. Truth be told, an appliance with a dent works just as well as an appliance without a dent in most cases. So why not save a few (hundred) bucks?!

We asked if there were any chest freezers with cosmetic defects and guess, what? A 9 cubic foot freezer with a dent on the lid was right there begging us to take it home. Not to show too much emotion I asked a couple questions and moved on down the aisle. I wouldn’t want to look like I had taken the bait and fell in love with it, would I?

The first pass put the originally $299 freezer at $209. In other words, a $90 dent. I thought that dent was worth more. I also found out that Amanda’s dad said he would pay for part of it as a Christmas present. Good news for us.

Second pass with the sales associate I asked if he could sell it to me for $150. I knew it was a low-ball, but it got the negotiations going. He said $209 was the lowest he could go. I said “Oh well”. Then he decided that he might could go lower. The might ended up being another $20 off. Good. We’re at $189 now. Still not good enough. So I decided to take another lap around the store just to think about things and to break off the flow of the associate. It’s a game I know, but it’s fun to play.

Third pass about thirty minutes later he told me that $189 was his cost. Yeah right. My hesitation sent him to the back offering another $10 off. $179 it is… sold! So I got a brand new 9 cubic foot chest freezer for 40% off. Not bad. I might could have gotten more off but that would have taken other tactics I didn’t feel like going into. I’ll settle for $179 for a $300 freezer.

Thank you, Dave Ramsey, my mom, and my small group, for helping me learn these things. I seriously suggest that anyone who can go through Financial Peace University or read The Total Money Makeover (both by Dave Ramsey) do so. The things I learned through it let me save tonight over twice the cost of the course and materials.

So next time you are faced with a retail *gasp* price, ask for a better price. Trust me, there is one.

Any good money saving stories out there?

In the post I wrote yesterday on a volunteer reproducing himself, Fred left a comment that I wanted to pass on. He said…

Let them sit with you while YOU do it …
YOU sit with THEM while THEY do it …
YOU get out of the booth, and let them DO IT ALONE.

My mom later commented with a quote she heard. It’s how she taught me and I KNOW it worked. Thanks mom. LOVE YA!

Tell me and I’ll know
Show me and I’ll remember
Involve me and I’ll understand

Though Fred was applying this to media during a church service, I believe this works everywhere - nursery, receptionist, youth, etc. Think about it. How can we apply this to our ministry areas?

Just remember that it should be our goal to train our replacements. Anytime we do a ministry task, we are potentially removing the opportunity for someone else to do that ministry. Feeling overworked? Reproduce yourself.

Not sure it will get done without you? Stop right now and pray for God to give you a dose of humbleness and ask Him to forgive your pride. Remember, you once were not very good at the thing you are now holding so tightly to. Think of the multiplication and the potential of having two of you in a sense. Or even ten of you.

I was the kid who got to sit with some great people who then let me try with them who then let me fly solo. I wasn’t good at sound for the longest time. I used to be horrible at graphic design. But people gave me a chance. Thanks to Adam, Adam, Adam, Lynn, Anthony, Curtis, Scott, and Larry - who right now I can think of did just that. Ten years later I am doing those things professionally in the church. Had I not had the chance who knows where I would be?

Have you experienced that?

Friends, be fruitful and multiply.

Nothing long here today. Just a few things I want to point out in case we have forgotten what it is like to be a newbie in the Christian Culture.

New Christians do not know what “Ps.”, “Rev.”, “Hab.”, and “Zech.” mean. Neither do those who have yet to meet our Savior.

When placing references to verses on screen or in print, PLEASE write out the entire book name. It also helps to hear things like “Turn to Psalms, it’s right in the middle near Proverbs.” Or “Turn to John. It’s right after Luke and before Acts in the New Testament.” It’s the little things that can make or break a new believer or seeker.

We do want these newbies to understand, right?

That’s all for now. Now go and do likewise.

Any other areas we need to improve on in regards to newbies? Leave a comment and let’s hear.

Just a brief stop in to drop this link to a pretty cool photography tutorial.

Photojojo has a tutorial on how to change the shape of the aperture for your blur/fuzzies/bokeh in photos. It’s pretty simple as far as I can tell and has great results.

Care to read more? Head to Photojojo and see what’s up!