by Clarence E. Stowers | May 24, 2016 | Encouragement, Communication, Empowerment, Motivation, Social Media, Technology, Web/Tech
I have a confession: I’m a certified geek pastor and make no apologies.
I’ll admit, I wasn’t happy when Facebook made live streaming available to celebrities and those with verified pages (pages with those little round, blue checkmarks right next to their names). Immediately, I Googled every possible phrase to find an alternative and found nothing except Periscope.
Recently, Facebook added the ability to live stream on Facebook Profiles, in Groups, and on Pages. So what does all this mean for churches, pastors, and church leaders who rely on Facebook to communicate with their Facebook communities? A lot!
I use Facebook live to make the sermon stick past Sunday. You can read more about why I chose this format to engage our congregation beyond Sunday HERE. Find a quiet place and take copious notes while I explain how to live stream using Facebook Live. (more…)
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 19, 2016 | Encouragement, Christian, Christianity, Empowerment, Leadership, Social Media, Sunday Worship Experience, Technology
Leading a church in Chicago, IL is tough.
It’s even tougher during our brutal winters. So what does a pastor to do when the temperature dips below zero, and the wind chill factor dips to double digits? Cancel service? Oh no! We’re the City of Broad Shoulders, and we don’t dare cancel services due to inclement weather.
Imagine making your sermons stick past Sunday? Imagine a proven strategy to get members and guests engaging with your messages long after Sunday. Are you interested? If so, read on.
My generation experienced the election of the first African-American President, the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, Desert Storm, Iraq War, historic government bailouts, the passing of healthcare reform, and the greatest economic downturn since The Great Depression. However, in my opinion, the greatest shifts are happening now! (more…)
by Clarence E. Stowers | Oct 5, 2015 | Empowerment, Leadership, Motivation, Networking, Self-Leadership, Servant Leadership, Social Media, Success, Vision
I love adding value to church leaders, pastors, and marketplace leaders.
In an effort to add value to their lives, I decided to attend Pastor E. Dewey Smith’s One Day Leadership Summit in Atlanta, GA.
It’s no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of John Maxwell. In fact, his 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, along with Bill Hybels’ Leadership Axioms travel with me everywhere I go. Attending conferences that equip me to influence the influencer fulfills John Maxwell’s 15th Law – The Law of Contribution – Growing Yourself Enables You to Grow Others.
I must confess that in the beginning, my motivation for personal growth was selfish. I wanted to grow, so I could be successful. There were goals I wanted to accomplish and milestones I wanted to achieve. But along the way, I made a life-changing discovery. My progress in personal growth also opened the doors for others.
Therefore, I’d like to share the top leadership lessons from one of the greatest leadership minds in Christianity, Dr. E. Dewey Smith, Jr. (more…)
by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 3, 2015 | Christian, Christianity, Easter Weekend, Social Media, Technology, video, Vision, Web/Tech
Every generation experiences change.
In a relatively short amount of time, the Internet has moved from an occasional tool to one of the principal ways we communicate, entertain ourselves, and do work. Staying up-to-date on emails, social media and other means of online communication is a bigger time requirement than people may realize.
New research has found that the average user spends 23 hours a week emailing, texting, and using social media and other forms of online communication. Since people are already online, we decided to launch an online campus and guess what – it’s biblical.
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 6, 2014 | Communication, Empowerment, Internet, Social Media
“When God provides a tool, He expects us to use it for His glory and the redemption of His people,” according to Pastor Brandon Cox.
If Jesus, His Disciples, or The Apostle Paul were here, they’d log on to Facebook and Twitter. Why? It’s today’s tool to reach people far from Christ. Currently, I use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and The Urban Pastor Blog. Today, I’d like to share why I use Facebook and Twitter.
photo credit: Social Media via Social Media Marketing (more…)
by Clarence E. Stowers | Jan 19, 2013 | Communication, Computers, Current Affairs, Decisions, Internet, Social Media
There really is such a thing as too much information.
There are things that you don’t want to know, even about your spouse or significant other. Yet people seem to like to share these things online. Before you do, think about whether you’d want your parents, grandparents or even kids to see the post. It seems today that everyone is using social media.
Blogs, Facebook and Twitter are popular and powerful tools. And like most tools, they could be helpful if used correctly or dangerous if used inappropriately.
The bottom line principle is that you are responsible for what you write. The Internet is a public forum, and writing something is the same as speaking it from a stage. Even if you delete a blog post, RSS feeds will still contain your post. Once something is published, it’s impossible to take it back, so think before you update, and be responsible for your words.
Recently, I decided to rework our social media policy and send it to our ministry leaders to share with their teams. Additionally, I used Facebook to encourage our members to connect with their ministry leaders and read the policy. Surprisingly, many pastors and ministry leaders sent inbox messages and emails requesting our policy. Yep, I sent it to them…free of charge!
I want to be a blessing to the Kingdom of God. Therefore, I decided to post it on my blog for all to glean. Here’s what it says: (more…)
