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Your Digital Pastor - Dr. Marcus Cylar

Your Digital Pastor - Dr. Marcus Cylar

By Marcus, Your Digital Pastor

Welcome to the Your Digital Pastor Podcast, where church communications consultant, Dr. Marcus Cylar, delivers daily devotions to encourage you on your journey and weekly insights that equip pastors and their churches with tools and tactics for more effective digital ministry. If you’re a lead pastor, executive pastor, communications director, or media director looking for strategies and conceptual insights, informed by culture and current events, to help you take your digital ministry efforts to the next level, this is the podcast for you!
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010: Speed and the killer feature Twitter needs to add

Your Digital Pastor - Dr. Marcus CylarMay 31, 2018

00:00
14:21
043: Let’s retire the word “virtual”
Oct 26, 202007:55
042: Identifying and maximizing content opportunities
Oct 21, 202027:37
041: Shortening the distance between idea and execution
Oct 20, 202009:48
040: Communication, presence, and progress
Jun 13, 202050:14
Bonus: #BlackOutTuesday: Under the microscope
Jun 02, 202015:56
039: Now is not the time for social distancing
May 30, 202025:08
038: COVID-19 and the new importance of daily impact

038: COVID-19 and the new importance of daily impact

Just a few thoughts — The successful ministry in this new paradigm is not the one who will have the most powerful Sunday experience, but will be the one who will create engaging, God-glorifying content on a daily basis. Churches in this season will best show up online as their own networks.
Apr 18, 202021:53
037: 6 content ideas to connect your church beyond the sermon

037: 6 content ideas to connect your church beyond the sermon

1 - Morning prayer and devotion (at least five days a week) 2 - Podcast (perspective from the pastor on a relevant topic) 3 - Mass text of encouragement (can be six days/week) 4 - 30-60 minutes of live Q&A on FB/IG Live (or you could teach first and then “hang out” for a while) 5 - Robocall (alternate day of the week and time so it’s always unexpected) 6 - Blog post (some do a “From the Pastor’s Pen” bulletin style, but honestly, it’s sometimes mailed in; actually take it seriously and do it on a different day of the week) Let’s talk about this! Holler at me and let me know your thoughts. Which of these will you implement in your church’s content strategy? Digital is going to be our new norm for a while, so I want to take the lead on how we need to be thinking about and executing on digital so we can reach more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Need communications help? Holler at me: http://marcusacylar.com [You can actually DM me as well for the time being...all my websites got hacked and therefore I’m in the middle of transition. 😩]
Apr 04, 202025:34
036: COVID-19: 6 characteristics of digital-first experiences
Mar 28, 202042:51
035: Fighting for your passion when your dreams don’t come true

035: Fighting for your passion when your dreams don’t come true

Some churches were on the forefront of the digital ministry trend, others were later adopters, and yet many more have come to #onlinechurch kicking and screaming over the past few weeks. Those are the churches I want to help in this season.

It pains me to no end that in this ever treacherous season, in these most perilous times, when the global pandemic of COVID-19 has brought us to our knees and relegated us to our own homes, I am not on the #churchcommunications front lines.

At the hour when my gifts and passions are needed most, I am not currently a daily church communicator. It hurts. Badly.

But even though my current occupation is different from what I prepared for, I know I still have gifts and talents within me that I can use to help churches, especially well-meaning but inexperienced ones, navigate this ever-changing digital ministry landscape.

And I plan to do just that. Even if I must do it for free.

I have resolved to start sharing simple church communications tips, in video form, every single day (prayerfully) for the time being so I can help ministries show up best online and preach the gospel at this hour when the world needs the good news of Jesus Christ most.

That’s what this episode is about. It was designed to be an IGTV post, but it’s not letting me post it the way I want to, so I turned it into a well-overdue podcast episode.

If you want to skip the backstory and go straight to the actionable content, feel free to fast forward through the first nine minutes. God bless!

Need communications help? Holler at me:
yourdigitalpastor.co/hire

#YourDigitalPastor
Mar 21, 202013:50
034: This is the XFL: A story of rebranding, reinvention, and redemption
Feb 10, 202052:55
033: A shrewd QR code marketing strategy you’ve probably never used before

033: A shrewd QR code marketing strategy you’ve probably never used before

On this episode, I talk with one of my very best friends, Chris Preston (http://twitter.com/cp_6), host of the podcast “Where Did I Park?” (http://linktr.ee/wdipshow) about a truly innovative idea utilizing a QR code in a way you’ve probably never heard of to market his podcast. Trust me, you’ll want to listen to this one!

Scripture:
Luke 9:49-50
Jan 13, 202047:22
032: 5 ways to add value when you have nothing to say, pt.2
Jan 01, 202045:23
031: 5 ways to add value when you have nothing to say, pt.1

031: 5 ways to add value when you have nothing to say, pt.1

Scripture:
1 Peter 5: 6-11

Tool:
Speechify app
getspeechify.com

Before getting into the points, I wanted to take a look back to two pieces of content I made—both of which have shown up on past episodes of the pod—about things I went through while I was in the middle of a multi-year storm that wrapped up (thankfully) in 2019 and what I learned in the process. I’m using these throwbacks to set the conceptual stage for what we’ll discuss in the next episode, coming very shortly.

The holiday season is rough for some of us for a number of reasons, and I want to meet those of you for whom this applies right where you are and give you a late Christmas gift to empower you and take you into 2020 victoriously.

Need communications help? Holler at me: yourdigitalpastor.co/hire

#YourDigitalPastor
Dec 28, 201946:02
030: You began your #GivingTuesday campaign too late: 5 reasons why
Dec 08, 201958:43
029: The #BlackFriday edition - Why brand is king
Nov 30, 201935:17
028: 5 types of video seminaries should be creating
Nov 05, 201954:50
027: 5 types of content seminaries should be producing

027: 5 types of content seminaries should be producing

1️⃣ COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT - In every seminary community, which comprises, at minimum, current students, faculty, staff, and alumni, there is a treasure chest of stories to be shared, either of what those seminary family members are doing presently or of the difference the seminary has made in their lives. An institution’s social media team should collect as many of these stories as possible and post them frequently.

2️⃣ BEHIND THE SCENES: IN THE CLASSROOM - What is it like to actually take a course at your school? I remember having some fascinating and oftentimes spirited conversations in my classes during my seminary years, and I can only imagine what kind of online discussion could have been sparked had clips on any of those discussions been posted on social media. Instant engagement right here!

3️⃣ PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE - Among the many hats a seminary president should wear is that of content producer. He or she should have a blog, vlog, podcast, or at least a bi-monthly newsletter where he/she shares perspectives and advances thought leadership on issues of relevance to the Christian community, thereby raising the profile and prophetic witness of the seminary as a whole.

4️⃣ CAMPUS LIFE/IN THE COMMUNITY - Prospective students should not only get a taste what it’s like to take a class at their potential school, but they should also get a glimpse of what being a student on that campus looks like. If the seminary is a commuter school, the focus with this type of content would be less on campus life and more on the programs or projects the seminary taking place in its surrounding community.

5️⃣ CURRENT SCHOLARSHIP - One really good and collaborative way to advance the thought leadership of the seminary would be to discuss the current research of its students and faculty. Prospective students and potential donors could be attracted to the difference-making academic work taking place in the seminary community and want to be a part of it.

With these types of content and others I’ll be discussing over time, a seminary should never struggle to find engaging content to share.

Scripture:
Isaiah 61; Luke 4:16-21

Tool:
Prayer of Examen app from Fuller Studio -
fullerstudio.fuller.edu/prayer-of-examen/

Need communications help? Holler at me: yourdigitalpastor.co/hire

#YourDigitalPastor
Oct 29, 201950:04
Bonus: Kanye’s “Jesus is King” and the “Huffington Post Disease”
Oct 26, 201932:11
026: 5 fundamental principles of #churchcomm

026: 5 fundamental principles of #churchcomm

026: The 5 fundamental principles of #churchcomm

This week’s topic was inspired by @bradyshearer and the #ProChurchTools #podcast. That is to say these principles aren’t original thoughts of mine, but the presentation of them in this way was birthed out of a church communications workshop for a certificate program I was blessed to facilitate in 2018 at my alma mater, @ashlandseminary.

The format of the workshop was to present a fictional scenario based on a pressing issue in the local church and then break off into groups to discuss. I was fully prepared to lead the workshop based on this format, but when the professor and director of the program asked me to talk about who I am and the work I do in church communications, I came off the dome with five quick points.

It wasn’t until I wrote these points down on the whiteboard that I realized I was simply repeating what Brady and @alexandermills talk about on the podcast all the time.

To be able to teach church communications in seminary—my dream—you have to have a theoretical framework to operate off of, a set of principles that will continue to apply even as the communications technology changes. These principles I believe fit that bill.

1️⃣ SEIZE THE 167. Out of the 168 hours of our week, the typical believer only spends one of those hours at a weekly gathering (2-3 hours in most black churches 😂). We’re doing our ministries a disservice to focus so much of our attention, programming, and messaging on Sunday, while allowing every other entity to dominate the attention zeitgeist the rest of the week.

2️⃣ WE’RE TELLING THE GREATEST STORY THAT’S EVER BEEN TOLD. If we truly believe the gospel is indeed the greatest story, then we need to be relentless in researching, testing, and developing creative strategies to tell that story. Our story is too important to be romantic about tools and tactics that we used to love that are no longer relevant or effective.

3️⃣ WE’RE EXPERIENCING THE GREATEST COMMUNICATIONS SHIFT IN 500 YEARS. Much in the same way that the printing press made print available to the masses, not just the elite, the internet has democratized the distribution of media, effectively removing the gatekeepers and allowing anyone with a message to have their message heard. the only thing holding us back today is our willingness to use the communications channels available to us and how creative and effective we are in using them.

4️⃣ THE GREATEST COMMODITY A CHURCH CAN POSSESS IS ATTENTION. Far more than money, facilities, a strong worship team, and dynamic preaching, attention is a ministry’s most vital asset, for it is with that attention that we will have the opening we need to preach the gospel and tell this greatest story ever. We must take the
@life.church approach and pursue anything short of sin to get people’s attention and reach them with the gospel.

5️⃣ THE BEST WAY TO GRAB ATTENTION IS THROUGH STORY. Stories grab attention, stories compel, stories spark action. That’s why Jesus used them so frequently to teach heavenly principles. He used parables constantly to communicate what He needed people to understand so they could make different decisions regarding their thinking or lifestyles. Those stories changed lives. And we have the opportunity to do the same.

Scripture of the Week:
Mark 4:35-41

Tool of the Week:
FOMO Fanz Podcast - Brian Fanzo (@isocialfanz on all platforms)

Need communications help? Holler at me: yourdigitalpastor.co/hire
Oct 21, 201942:25
025: 5 reasons #churchcomm should be taught in seminary

025: 5 reasons #churchcomm should be taught in seminary

This week, I’m sharing my #topfive reasons seminaries should offer church communications education.

1 - Just like pastors and seminary professors, church communicators are stewards of the greatest story that has ever been told. To be a good steward over something, you must be trained to handle it. While seminary is not the only place for training, it is definitely beneficial to be undergirded with theological training. You’re so much more than a flyer maker; you’re a minister of the gospel, and being trained as such can only help you do your job better.

2 - Receiving at least some of the same training a pastor receives can help the communicator and pastor get on the same page. On the flip side, offering at least a church communications survey course can help one preparing for pastoral ministry to see things from the eyes of the communicator. Not seeing eye to eye with the senior leader is one of the biggest pain points for church communicators, and seminary churchcomm instruction could help mitigate that.

3 - The Director of Communications is increasingly becoming a senior-level position in strategy, weight, and responsibility (or at least it should be). The communicator should therefore have theological training that is on par with senior religious leaders. One functioning in this role is best served when he/she has the trust of the senior leader and is granted some level of authority over strategic decisions regarding how the mission and vision of the ministry are communicated and the day-to-day execution thereof. If pastor and communicator are receiving at least somewhat similar training, then perhaps that trust will be granted.

4 - Offering church communications training can shorten the learning curve for a communicator just starting out. You hear many stories about communicators accidentally finding themselves in that role because they were young or because they were working with youth and the role was placed upon them, and they therefore had to learn on the job. Of course, communications is changing all the time, especially on the digital side, but establishing a standard baseline of training can provide a solid body of knowledge the communicator can start with and build from.

5 - Communicators can find themselves in pastoral roles through community management or responding to social media mentions, comments, DMs, and emails. Having at least some pastoral training would allow you speak with a pastoral voice or perhaps even gain enough trust and buy-in from your pastor to speak on behalf of the ministry when you’re engaging others online.

Scripture of the week:
Mark 14:32-35

Tool of the week:
My Twitter list - Seminaries
Connect with me or subscribe to the list @pastorcylar

Need communications help? Holler at me:
yourdigitalpastor.co/hire
Oct 14, 201901:01:09
024: 5 Seminaries killing it digitally in 2019

024: 5 Seminaries killing it digitally in 2019

One very important aspect of church communications that is never discussed is the communications efforts of the institutions responsible for equipping the leaders of the church. I am uniquely qualified to provide value on this subject.

In this 4th quarter of 2019 (and beyond, prayerfully), I’m taking a chance on myself (more on this later) and doubling down on what I’m called to do and what I’m passionate about. I’m going to create much more content on #churchcomm this quarter with a heavy emphasis on (1) how seminaries are (and could/should be) using digital media and (2) building a case for church communications education in seminaries everywhere.

On this episode of the podcast, I present my top five seminaries killing it digitally in 2019. Here they are:

1: Princeton Theological Seminary - IG: @princetonseminary; Twitter: @ptseminary

2: Southern Baptist Theological Seminary - IG: @southernseminary; Twitter: @SBTS

3: Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary - IG: @midwesternseminary, Twitter: @MBTS

4: Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary - IG, Twitter @SEBTS

5: Fuller Theological Seminary - IG, Twitter: @fullerseminary

Honorable mention:
Harvard Divinity School - IG, Twitter: @harvarddivinity
Dallas Theological Seminary - IG, Twitter: @dallasseminary

Two key takeaways:
(1) These institutions have been standouts for me online either (a) because of the quality and volume of content they create, (b) the way they make use of their scholarship, (c) how they engage their followers, or (d) the way they emphasize their students and alumni more than themselves. Every theological institution ought to be emulating these qualities online and offline for the growth their school and, more importantly, for the glory of God.

(2) Every seminary needs the following to increase its digital footprint and grow its enrollment and impact: (a) a content publishing hub, above and beyond its website and online/on-campus curriculum; (b) a weekly live or audio/video broadcasted chapel service; (c) a framework for sharing the stories of its students, faculty, alumni, and community.

Scripture of the week:
1 Chronicles 12:32

Tool of the week:
Linq - digital business cards
app.mylinq.co

Need communications help? Holler at me: yourdigitalpastor.co/hire

#YourDigitalPastor
Oct 07, 201956:45
023: #LeadingFromTheBottom: How to add value when you don’t know the answer
Jul 01, 201932:39
YDPshort007: Pray for your boy + the power of playlists for your life and ministry
Feb 25, 201916:14
YDPshort006: Involving more people in the content-production process
Feb 11, 201912:04
YDPshort005: Apple vs. Everybody and why it’s important to be everywhere on social media
Feb 08, 201916:31
YDPshort004: Super Bowl ads: What message would you convey with all that attention?
Feb 04, 201909:41
YDPshort003: Enhancing your ministry communications through Facebook Messenger bots
Feb 01, 201914:27
YDPshort002: Life & leadership lessons from the NFL postseason
Jan 26, 201924:25
YDPshort001: To free or not to free? That is the question!
Jan 16, 201911:17
022: My 2018 #bestnine: The power of shaping your own narrative
Jan 03, 201901:06:28
Devotion20180921: Galatians 6:10 MSG
Sep 22, 201803:31
Devotion20180920: Hebrews 13:8 MSG
Sep 20, 201803:31
Devotion20180919: Matthew 6:34 MSG
Sep 19, 201803:33
Devotion20180918: Proverbs 27:5-6 MSG
Sep 18, 201803:31
Devotion20180917: Isaiah 40:29 MSG
Sep 17, 201803:32
Devotion20180916: Psalms 18:30 MSG
Sep 17, 201803:31
Devotion20180915: John 7:38 NASB
Sep 17, 201803:31
Devotion20180914: Psalms 73:26 NASB
Sep 17, 201803:31
Devotion20180913: Colossians 3:2 NASB
Sep 17, 201803:31
Devotion20180912: Ephesians 6:10 NASB
Sep 17, 201803:31
Devotion20190911: 1 Chronicles 16:11 NASB
Sep 17, 201803:31
Devotion20180910: Psalms 16:8 NASB
Sep 10, 201803:31
Devotion20180909: Psalms 34:8 NASB
Sep 10, 201803:31
021: Launching your book to maximize ministry impact
Sep 09, 201839:16
Devotion20180907: Ecclesiastes 3:14 CEV
Sep 07, 201803:31
Devotion20180906: 2 Thessalonians 3:5 CEV
Sep 06, 201803:31
Devotion20180905: 2 Corinthians 4:18 CEV
Sep 05, 201803:31
Devotion20180904: Proverbs 17:22 CEV
Sep 04, 201803:31
Devotion20180903: Psalms 28:7 CEV
Sep 03, 201803:31