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blogbypratz · 4 years ago

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How can Marketing be done post COVID?

In these current times you spent more time with your loved ones, not because you chose to do it, but because nature forced you to? These are strange times when we think about what might happen and find ways to cope with the new ways of life that have arised from the ongoing global crisis.

While the Covid-19 Coronavirus is rapidly spreading around the world, regardless of national boundaries, class, or gender, communities around the world are seeing a complete reshaping of "life as we know it." In this time, the marketing, which always focuses on remaining relevant through the use of trending topics, sees itself in a conflict. Not dying to create the Coronavirus could make the sound of the brand out of contact, but talking about the virus for the best of it may find insensitive.

As we move towards unlocking 4.0, more and more companies have started spending on digital media. It's time to catch up with the break-in in the first few months of closure. Consumers have opened up to experimentation and brand loyalty has been negotiated for stock availability. That's where performance marketing comes in. However, the old way of running automated campaigns and offering on the keyword will be sufficient. There will be a demand for performance marketing 2.0 - human-centered strategic performance marketing and not just data and guided platforms.

Change happening in the Marketing Strategies

Research shows that consumers expect more full awareness of Marketing Agency in Mumbai during these test periods when dealing with the bigger problem than being opportunistic. They expect brands to communicate around the company's goals and values. This trend is expected to continue after the pandemic.

It is to be expected that the established brands will switch to empathic communication instead of product push strategies in order to network with consumers on a deeper level. On the contrary, small brands and new-age startups will focus on the lower content of the funnel to push for direct results. Regardless of the brand year, the age of "catching with the smile" has really occurred and alone will determine the success of brands.

Not to put a hold on the ongoing Marketing activities

It is clear that the general public health crisis and the drastic changes in purchasing behavior caused by Coronavirus have led the economy to a slowdown. Indeed, the economic effects of Coronavirus should persist long after the last patient is treated. While businesses have been affected in all sectors, the biggest blow has undoubtedly been to the tourism and hospitality and restaurant sectors. The following graph best illustrates this.

Learning from the experiences in current scenarios

It's about the people. Passionate and innovative teams usually find a way. They are educated on the goal and the energy. So when all systems are in lockdown, one depends on the ingenuity and motivation of the human mind.

The courage and commitment of the professionals on the front line, who ran against time to serve society tirelessly, is unprecedented. This includes factory staff, service and administrative staff, sales and sales staff, and many others who have worked diligently to help produce the products and connect them to the market to help respond to the rise in demand.

Reviewing the pre-COVID campaigns and strategies

Campaigns that would otherwise have been lit in green to present oblique topics and be "off the beaten track" will pause. Human psychology suggests that people like normality, the status quo in practice, but lie moments of victory against adversity. All that seemed banal and boring were the ones we want to find in our lives. The daily course, the administration of these meetings and the conversation with the people in person are what we are looking for. Like the evolution of homosapie, brands will also have to evolve.

Today, the essential needs of food, water, heat and security (if possible digitally provided) are the immediate concerns of the planet. It will take time for normality or the way we lived before to be born. But if it's time, the brands will put themselves in pole position. In the meantime, this is the new normal we will be living in till there is a cure.

Steer clear from scare tactics

With so much false information making the rounds, it is important that the brands remain true to the official facts of the world's major health organizations. Given the enormous reach and influence that each brand has, it is critical that we evaluate every element of information we submit. Brands also need to closely monitor the tone of their communications.

Doomsday-esque news could bring in promotions and engagement, but our responsibility as brands is greater than that. Always include credible sources when you share a post about Coronavirus facts or security advisories. This could be essential to ensure that everyone takes the necessary security precautions to fight the virus.

In a survey of what brand customers expect during the Coronavirus period, 28% said brands should be a reliable source of information, while 27% said brands should attack the crisis and show they can be combated, and 15% said brands should give practical advice to help consumers cope with their new normal. Achieving these three goals can help Brand Activation Agency in Mumbai in much more than sending negative messages.

Safety is the priority

The priority of health and well-being, the fear of unemployment and the disruptions in routine caused by COVID have the idea of saving for a rainy day in the minds of consumers and getting down on their behavior. Brands that tick all the boxes in these times by doing social well-being or enabling a better future will certainly experience an increase in demand and successful results in the post-COVID era. If there was a time when the "highest good of mankind" is above a bogo offer, it is this one.

The New Playbook

Marketing should focus on giving consumers hope, empathy and perhaps laughter, and thanking those who keep us safe. We focus on the sensitivity of the tensions and uncertainties that consumers may experience. And really, since we're living the same thing, it doesn't really require a focus group. We can delve deeply into our own experience and speak with a very real voice to our consumers. We see around us a more user-generated production, more static and faster content rotation.

Two examples of Nestlé India show how we are responding to the current situation: 1) Messages of solidarity and goodwill have been sent by Nestlé professionals to all partners; 2) Because OPDs and physician access are limited under the corporate brand Asknestle.in, we organize Doctor and Nutritionist Connect on questions and answers in the AskNestle community and on live webinars. This is an example of how consumers are being served in these times.

Taking advantage of lockdown to update your brand assets

Are there any existing evergreen brand assets such as e-books and white papers on your website that need to be updated and improved? Or maybe there are long-standing plans to create new guides, a new video or webinar series, or new pages on your site. Most companies have ideas in the pipeline that never live due to a lack of time or organizational bandwidth.

The relative slowdown of the Coronavirus could often lead to a lower workload. This means that you are finally taking all these ideas out of the back burner and actually starting to bring them to life! This time you can use this time as an opportunity to redesign your existing brand assets and create new ones that will be in the results once the Coronavirus

Resilience will bear fruit

The post-pandemic era will test the real strength of brands and their ability to stretch. Those who anchor communication around fundamental messages and quickly guide strategies will penetrate and experience monumental growth.

The only consistent Google search today is the vaccine. It is the hope that drives us to walk around. And hope and positivity are what brands need to shine in these times. It is not the kind of hope that is utopian, but the kind that is rooted in the strong faith and the substance of what they represent. People, despite all the millions of years of evolution, believe in one thing, something we can cling to, perhaps faith or love, or hope for a better tomorrow, and that is what has marked us. It's time for brands to research and convey this message.

In this scenario, brands need to draw up a holistic marketing plan to ensure their public confidence and ensure the safety of their safety. Special promotional activities and offers conducted by Brand Promotion Agency in Mumbai may be necessary to help brands gain popularity.

The sudden spread of the Coronavirus was certainly a shock to consumers and brands around the world. But with the right strategies, brands can get out of this exhausting time, with more brand justice, a more engaged audience, and new powerful strengths. The most important thing to focus on now, of course, is to stay safe until this tide more!

#marketing #marketing practices #covid #covid marketing #How can Marketing be done post COVID?#marketing agency in mumbai #fulcrum resources

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militant-holy-knight · 5 years ago

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10. ISIS establishment of a 'Caliphate' where Christians weren’t welcome

When ISIS began to control territory in 2014 and establish its so-called caliphate, Christian homes and businesses were marked with the nuun symbol, the Arabic-letter-N for “Nazarene” that signified followers of Jesus.

Traditional Christians were offered the choice to flee and forfeit their homes or pay a jizya subjugation tax and remain in the caliphate. Former Muslim converts to Christianity were also given two choices: return to Islam immediately or be killed. Tens of thousands of Christians fled their homes in Iraq and Syria, moving to camps within their nation or in surrounding nations. Many of those are still trying to recover and put their lives back together.

At the height of the ISIS onslaught, I interviewed an Iraqi pastor. As we finished our conversation I asked him how American Christians could pray. I won’t ever forget his first request: “Pray that God will call Christians to stay here.” There were so many good and logical reasons to flee. Many of his church members had left for Europe or North America. But he was asking us to pray that some Christians would feel called to stay and to continue Gospel outreach in their nation.

9. Churches closed in Iran; church explodes in Iran

The church in Iran exploded in growth over the past 10 years as the people of the Islamic Republic have lost faith in their Islamic government — and also in Islam itself. In 2013, Tehran’s Assemblies of God church building was closed — one of the last “building churches” holding services in Farsi that remained open in the country.

Today, all building churches are closed. All Christian meetings occur in private homes, in parks or some other location, and all of them are illegal. House church leaders are arrested, interrogated and imprisoned, yet the Church continues to grow. There are estimates that as many as 1 million Iranians are now following Jesus Christ.

8. Pastor Andrew Brunson arrested, tried and eventually released in Turkey

It is difficult to imagine being more high-profile than having President Trump tweet about your case. When Andrew and Norine Brunson went to the police station in October 2016, they thought they were about to receive permanent resident status in Turkey. Instead Andrew would be held for two years in prison, charged with helping to lead a coup against Turkish President Erdogan.

Since his release, pastor Brunson has been open about the great difficulty he endured in prison; wrestling with his own faith in God and at one point even wondering if he was losing his sanity.

7. Omar al-Bashir removed from power in Sudan after decades of targeting Christians

Bashir’s Islamist government had long targeted Christians in South Sudan; with the separation of that area into a separate, new nation in 2011, Bashir’s government turned more attention to Christians in his new, smaller country.

Meriam Ibrahim was arrested for apostasy and sentenced to execution. Czech Christian Petr Jasek — my coworker at The Voice of the Martyrs — was sentenced to life in prison for alleged espionage before the Czech government arranged for his release. Two Christians charged with colluding with Petr were also found guilty, sent to prison, and later released.

But late in 2018, Sudan’s people rose up and demanded a change. Bashir’s government was removed from power in 2019, with surprisingly-little bloodshed. The former dictator was arrested and is locked in one of the prisons where Petr was held.

6. John Chau’s martyrdom on North Sentinel Island

It was just before Thanksgiving in 2018 when the world learned that a young American had been killed by islanders on North Sentinel Island, a small island belonging to India whose inhabitants are completely cut off from the world.

The initial news reports painted John Chau as an adventure-seeker or some kind of Christian Indiana Jones. There was criticism, including from many in the Christian community. What was he thinking? What kind of diseases did he expose the North Sentinelese to? Why take such risks?

The details that have emerged since paint a much deeper portrait of a young man who’d been preparing for years to go to the island to share God’s love with the North Sentinelese people. And today, thousands of Christians are praying for the people on an island that they had never heard of before John Chau landed his kayak on the beach there.

5. Hindu nationalism’s rise to power in India

When Narendra Modi was elected Prime Minister in India, he presented himself as the can-do, pro-business leader who’d brought electricity to thousands of citizens in his home state of Gujarat.

What he didn’t talk about as much, but was well-known by India’s voters, was his background in the Hindu-nationalist RSS movement that aims to make every Indian citizen a Hindu and make non-Hindus feel as unwelcome as possible.

After his initial election in 2014, Modi was re-elected in 2019 with an even stronger majority, and he’s keeping campaign promises to his RSS base by ending Muslim autonomy in Kashmir and now offering citizenship to non-Muslims from surrounding countries.

Indian Christians received a clear message as they watched Modi’s government take action: you aren’t welcome, and you won’t be protected. Hindu nationalists also received a message: attacks on Christians or other religious minorities will be tolerated and even encouraged by Modi and his RSS-backed government.

4. Changes in China

The past 10 years have seen an alarming increase of persecution of Christians (and Muslims) in China, spearheaded by Communist Party Chairman Xi Jinping. New laws on religion took affect at the beginning of 2018 and have led to marked increases in church demolitions, arrests of church leaders and control over all religious activities in China. Concurrently, China has created a surveillance state that tracks every Chinese citizen everywhere in China, making underground Christian work significantly more difficult.

Numerous unregistered churches have been closed down, and several well-known Chinese pastors are in prison. In addition to persecuting Christian citizens, China has attempted to force out foreign Christians, with numerous foreigners finding that their visas have been revoked or won’t be renewed.

3. Asia Bibi’s blasphemy case in Pakistan

Asia Bibi’s persecution saga spanned almost all of the decade as she was arrested in 2009, then sentenced to death by a lower court. Her appeal process took years before the Supreme Court of Pakistan finally ruled in October 2018 that there was no basis for the blasphemy charges against her and ordered her release.

But even after their order, it took more than six months before she was allowed to leave Pakistan for an undisclosed new home where her protection can be better insured.

In spite of the eventual just outcome in Asia’s case, the blasphemy laws that sent her to prison and are often used as a cudgel to settle disputes are still on the books in Pakistan.

2. Chibok girls kidnapped in Nigeria, just one chapter in the story of the rise of Boko Haram and Islamist jihadists within the Fulani tribe

The rise of social media in this decade placed this 2014 story of 276 kidnapped girls — many of whom were Christians — in front of millions of people, as thousands — including former first lady Michelle Obama — tweeted the hashtag #bringbackourgirls.

Five years later, too many of those girls are still missing, and the problem of Islamist jihad attacks not only continues in Northern Nigeria but has spread to Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and other nearby nations.

Christians are targeted, and Nigeria’s government has shown neither the will nor the ability to put a stop to the attacks — something that is unlikely to change with the arrival of 2020.

1. 21 men killed on the beach in Libya by ISIS butchers

Like Leni Riefenstahl in 1930s Germany, the terrorists of ISIS clearly understand the power of moving pictures. The group made sure to release a high-definition record of their evil, from the burning of a Jordanian pilot to the beheadings of western hostages.

Images from the 2015 murder of 21 “people of the cross” on a beach in Libya is seared into the memory of millions. The men — 20 Coptic Christians from Egypt and one Christian from Ghana — were hailed as martyrs and heroes back home. The video captured some of them saying, in the final seconds of their earthly life, “Jesus help me.”

Christians around the world were inspired by their courageous faith. They could have saved their lives by accepting Islam. Yet, knowing what awaited them, they chose the way of Christ.

There will be more stories of Christian persecution in 2020 and beyond — Jesus’ promises are always true. And Christians in free nations will have more opportunities to be inspired — and to pray for — Christians who choose Christ over their comfort or even their lives.

#Christianity #news #Martyrs #terrorism #jesus

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pooma-bible · 3 years ago

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Greetings in the matchless Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Topic: The Beginning of Paul’s Witness & His Foretaste of Great Suffering!

Rhema Word: Acts 9:22 (NKJV) “But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.”

Let’s pray. Our Gracious Loving Father, thank you for giving us an opportunity to meditate Your Word today along with your children who have been called to live a holy life Father. I commit everyone who are all meditating this message into your mighty hand Father. Bless them and give them the oneness of Spirit and make their heart as a good land to receive each and every Word which is living and active Lord. Thank You Holy Spirit for helping us to understand the in-depth treasure of Your Word and helping us to live a life as per Your Word Lord. We give all the Glory and Honour to You only Father. We pray in the mighty Name of Your beloved Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saul of Tarsus, the arch-persecutor of the Lord and His followers, after the great encounter with Lord Jesus Christ, became the dominant servant of the Lord - the great apostle to the world (Gentiles). Yes, after the encounter with Lord Jesus Christ on his way to Damascus, he regained his strength and spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. (Acts 9:19)

The Bible says in Acts 9:20 “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.”

The life of Saul, the new convert, is a dynamic example for all. It paints a picture of just what the believer’s life and testimony should be besides how believers should be faithful to God no matter the troubles or trials they undergo during their life journey.

Let us try to understand from the life of Paul, the following today with the help of Holy Spirit:

1] Association with fellow disciples and strengthening physically and spiritually (Acts 9:19):

2] Preaching that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 9:20):

3] Stand as a testimony to the community (Acts 9:21):

4] Be faithful and steadfast and grow spiritually – increasing more and more (Acts 9:22):

5] Be faithful in witnessing despite life-threatening threat (Acts 9:23-25):

6] Be faithful in seeking fellowship with believers despite rejection (Acts 9:26-28):

7] Be faithful in preaching despite facing opposition (Acts 9:29-30):

1] Association with fellow disciples and strengthening physically and spiritually (Acts 9:19):

The Bible says in Acts 9:19 “So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.”

Paul looked after his body and spent three days before the Lord, confined to the Lord’s presence. Yes, he had been (i) shattered spiritually, (ii) drained and exhausted physically, (iii) isolated socially and (iv) made weak physically.

Yes, he had not eaten, not even had anything to drink (Acts 9:9). He was drained and wrung out. Now note what happened: he received food. It seems to read as though he was so weak, he had to be fed. Whatever the situation, he was strengthened both by the food and by the Lord. The Lord as well as the food were actively strengthening him.

The point is that both Saul and God were taking care of his body, strengthening him so he could do what God wanted him to do. Yes, God had a task, a special work for him to do. His body had to be strengthened and made fit for the task.

While recounting his conversion, Paul said in Acts 26:12-18 “While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Yes, our Lord Jesus was having a special work for Paul to do for which his body had to be strengthened and made fit for the task.

While writing to Philippians Paul said in Philippians 1:20 “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”

Paul further said in Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

Paul joined the other believers at Damascus because he was a true believer. His old nature, the old man, had truly died; and he now had the new nature of believers. Yes, Paul wanted to share in their companionship and fellowship, their love, concern and care, their beliefs and principles, their study of the Word, their growth in Christ, their edifying and building up of each other and their witness and service.

Paul also associated and became identified with the church so that the world might know that he was a believer. He wanted to openly and publicly declare that he was now a new creation in Christ Jesus, a follower of “the Way” which he had opposed and persecuted and a true disciple of the Lod Jesus.

The Author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Prophet Malachi says in Malachi 3:16 “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honoured His name.”

2] Preaching that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 9:20):

The Bible says in Acts 9:20 “At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Yes, Paul immediately preached that Jesus is the Son of God, not hesitating at all. He was no longer preaching religion, tradition, ceremony, or ritual. Neither was he preaching himself or his spiritual experiences, that is, his visions of the Lord, his discipline, his fasting and praying. He preached CHRIST and HIM alone.”

While writing to Corinthians Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:5 “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

He further said in 1 Corinthians 1:23-24 “But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

While writing to Colossians Paul said in Colossians 1:27-28 “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.”

He further said in Colossians 2:9-10 “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.”

3] Stand as a testimony to the community (Acts 9:21):

The Bible says in Acts 9:21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”

Paul stood as a testimony to the community. The public as well as the leaders of the synagogue were astonished, amazed, astounded, shocked at what they were seeing.

Yes, they were expecting an inflamed antagonist storming the homes and meeting places of those who “called on the name of Jesus”. They knew he had been sent to arrest and chain not only the men, but the women followers of Jesus, and to drag them back to Jerusalem for treason and death.

But instead, they were witnessing a man radically changed, that is, a man associating and identifying himself with those whom he had come to destroy besides preaching like a flaming evangel, proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah and the Son of God.

Jesus said in John 9:4 “As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”

While writing to Romans Paul says in Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

Paul further said in 1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

Further he humbled himself while saying in 1 Corinthians 9:16 “For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”

4] Be faithful and steadfast and grow spiritually – increasing more and more (Acts 9:22):

The Bible says in Acts 9:22 “Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.”

Yes, Paul was faithful and steadfast, continuing on with Christ. Just note two significant facts here:

Fact 01: Paul continued to grow spiritually, increasing more and more in spiritual strength. The words “grew more and more” mean to become strong within, to gain inner strength, to increase spiritually.

Paul, while writing to Ephesians says in Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

He further said in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”

While writing to Timothy he said in 1 Timothy 1:12 “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.”

Apostle James says in James 1:4 “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

The Author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God.”

Fact 02: Paul continued to preach that Jesus is the Messiah.

While writing to Corinthians Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:13-14 “It is written: “I believed; therefore, I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself.”

He further said in 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.”

Apostle John said in 1 John 4:15 “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.”

5] Be faithful in witnessing despite life-threatening threat (Acts 9:23-25):

The Bible says in Acts 9:23-25 “After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.”

Paul was faithful in witnessing, faithful despite a life-threatening plot against him.

(a) Paul had apparently been witnessing in Damascus for some time, preaching Christ and proving that Jesus was the Messiah, the Saviour promised by God (Acts 9:20-22). He was strong in the Lord. His spiritual strength was evident and his proclamation confounded those who rebelled against the Lord and His gospel (Acts 9:22).

The Author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Psalmist says in Psalm 126:5-6 “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”

(b) The Jews plotted to kill Paul. They became disturbed – full of anger, bitterness, and enmity. Why? Why did they hate Paul with such vengeance?:

(i) They considered him a traitor to their religion and nation and cause (Acts 9:1,2,20,21)

(ii) Paul was sharper than they were in debate. Yes, he out-argued them and they felt ashamed and embarrassed. They were unable to get the best of him mentally and spiritually, so they set out to retaliate physically.

(iii) The message of the gospel convinced and threatened them. The gospel demanded self-denial, the sacrifice of all they were and had to the Lord Jesus.

What the Jews did was convincing the civil authorities, the governor of Damascus, that Paul was a fanatic, a rabblerouser, a threat to the peace of the city. The Jews were so convincing, the governor sent patrols out on a manhunt for Paul and posted guards all around the city to prevent his escape (Acts 9:23-25).

(c) Paul escaped as the plot to kill him was discovered. Though the patrols and guards were everywhere, the disciples put him in a basket and lowered him down by the wall (Acts 9:25).

Here the important points to be noted: (i) Paul’s faithfulness and his bold witnessing are a dynamic example for all. No matter the opposition, we must be faithful in bearing testimony for Christ. People must hear the gospel, the glorious news that the Saviour has come to give life and to give it abundantly (John 10:10).

(ii) Being a fanatic is often the charge made against the believer and his witnessing for Christ. Just note Paul’s faithfulness and loyalty to Christ despite all sort of opposition.

Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

That is why Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:8 “So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.”

Apostle James said in James 1:12 “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

Apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 2:19 “For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.”

(iii) Remember, God will always make a way to escape, if we are faithful in our witness. He will either deliver us from the difficulty or carry us through the difficulty. He will even carry us through death into His wonderful presence.

While writing to Corinthians Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Paul further said in 2 Timothy 4:18 “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

6] Be faithful in seeking fellowship with believers despite rejection (Acts 9:26-28):

The Bible says in Acts 9:26-28 “And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So, he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out.”

Paul was faithful in seeking fellowship with believers, but they rejected him. Paul fled to Jerusalem. Here, please note the following facts:

Fact 01: Paul tried to join the disciples at Jerusalem. The Greek word “tried” (epeirazen) means to try repeatedly.

Fact 02: Paul’s past as the arch-persecutor of believers haunted him; the believers would not accept him. They did not believe his testimony. They were suspicious, thinking he was an impostor trying to work his way into the circle of believers to spy upon them and to identify all the disciples so he could arrest them.

Fact 03: Paul was befriended by Barnabas. Somehow Barnabas began to sense Paul may be telling the truth. Apparently, he sat down with Paul and had Paul relate his experiences with Christ. Yes, Barnabas became thoroughly convinced that Paul was truthful, and took Paul to the apostles. By apostles is meant Peter and James, the half-brother of Jesus who was to become the pastor of the church at Jerusalem (Galatians 1:18-19). Just note here, Barnabas after introducing Paul to Peter and James, shared three things about Paul : (i) Paul’s conversion – that he had actually seen the Lord on the road to Damascus, (ii) that the Lord had actually spoken to Paul and (iii) that Paul had been preaching boldly in Damascus.

Fact 04: Paul was finally accepted. Peter was convinced and invited Paul to stay with him. Paul did, and he stayed fifteen glorious days, fellowshipping with the man whom the Lord Himself had chosen to be the first leader of His dear people (Galatians 1:18-19). Yes, Paul had not gone for the purpose of ministering, but to learn about Jesus from the leader of the apostolic band. While there, Paul was not sitting around revelling in the fellowship of Peter and James. He still ministered, still bore witness of the saving grace of God. He went out and preached Jesus.

While writing to Romans Paul said in Romans 1:11-12 “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.”

The Author of Hebrews said in Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

7] Be faithful in preaching despite facing opposition (Acts 9:29-30):

The Bible says in Acts 9:29-30 “And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.”

Paul was faithful in preaching boldly, faithful despite facing opposition and an attempted assassination.

(i) Paul preached boldly in Jerusalem. It must be remembered that Paul had not gone to Jerusalem to preach, but to see Peter (Galatians 1:18). In fact, it was dangerous for him to become too visible because it had been only three years since he had been commissioned by the city officials to be the arch-persecutor of the church. So, why was Paul found preaching? There are probably two reasons:

a) He could not keep quiet. Sharing the Lord and the message of the glorious gospel of salvation was in his heart, and he just had to share with all who would listen.

b) He still felt pain over Stephen’s death and ached for the Grecian Jews (Hellenists) he had aroused to murder Stephen. Being in Jerusalem gave him the opportunity to go back to them, confess his wrong, and proclaim Christ to them. He probably went into the very synagogue where he had argued against Stephen, trying to reach the very ones who had helped him stone Stephen.

Here, there is a great lesson: we should try to reach those we have offended or led astray.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

Apostle Paul said in Romans 12:18 “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

(ii) The opposition was fierce. The Grecians refused to surrender to the One called “Jesus”. They rebelled, arguing with Paul. They became so infuriated with him that they determined to assassinate him.

(iii) The believers discovered the plot. But the Lord Himself also warned Paul, instructing him to flee the city and go to Tarsus, his hometown. It was there that Paul was to begin reaching the Gentiles of the world (Acts 22:17-21).

Yes, the major thrust to note is Paul’s unswerving faithfulness to Christ despite terrible trial. A courageous example for all!

Also, please note the four commendable traits seen in Paul throughout these events:

a) A strong conviction in Christ as the true Messiah.

b) An iron determination to be obedient in witnessing regardless of whatever was happening to him.

c) An unswerving perseverance in purpose.

d) A strong, strong stamina and commitment to preaching.

Yes, Jesus told this to His disciples before His ascension in Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The Bible says in Acts 22:14-15 “Then he (Ananias) said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.”

While writing to Titus, Paul says in Titus 2:15 “Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.”

Let us introspect ourselves.

Shall we try to understand our calling and purpose for which our Lord Jesus Christ called us and keep our body and mind fit for the God’s special work?

Shall we always have sufficient courage so that Christ will be exalted in our bodies whether by life or by death?

Shall we try to have fellowship with other believers and share their companionship, love, study of Word, growth in Christ and building up of each other and their witness and service?

Shall we consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together and encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching?

Shall we start preaching CHRIST and HIM alone and what He has done for us on the Cross of Calvary without wasting our precious time?

Shall we not be ashamed of the gospel as it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes?

Shall we have the burning desire to preach the gospel with humble heart as it is woe to us if we do not preach to the unreached?

Shall we continue to grow spiritually, increasing more and more in spiritual strength?

Shall we faithful in witnessing despite life-threatening threats?

Shall we faithful in seeking fellowship with believers despite rejection by them?

Shall we faithful in preaching despite facing opposition?

Let us Pray: Our Heavenly Gracious Father, we thank You for helping us to understand about “The Beginning of Paul’s Witness & His Foretaste of Great Suffering!” today Father. Father, please help us to understand our calling and purpose for which You called us and keep our body and mind fit for Your special work, to have sufficient courage so that Your beloved Son Jesus Christ will be exalted in our bodies, to have fellowship with other believers and share their companionship, love, study of Word, growth in Christ and building up of each other and their witness and service Father. Father, please help us to spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together and encouraging one another as the Day is fast approaching, help us to start preaching Your beloved Son JESUS CHRIST and HIM alone and what He has done for us on the Cross of Calvary without wasting our precious time, help us not to be ashamed of the gospel as it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, to have the burning desire to preach the gospel with humble heart as it is woe to us if we do not preach to the unreached, to continue to grow spiritually, increasing more and more in spiritual strength, helps us to be faithful in witnessing despite life-threatening threats, be faithful in seeking fellowship with believers despite rejection by them besides be faithful in preaching despite facing opposition Father. We give all praise, glory and honour to Your Holy Name. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

God bless you all.

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dalyunministry · 4 years ago

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Min. Olusola Babarinde Nigeria

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Praise the Lord. It is time for study. Thanks be to God and the leadership of this platform for the grace given me to share with us weekly. I pray God will keep us growing through his words in Jesus name.

Let us pray: Father we thank you today for another grace to eat to eat from you. We plead that you will help us to capture your mind as you reveal it to us today in Jesus name.

May we not disappoint you Lord. Thank you for answering us. In Jesus name. Amen

Text: Romans 8:35,38,39. What am about to share, is peculiar to our standing in the last days. I pray we all shall be blessed in Jesus name. It is end time. Surely things will be getting harder and harder on our faith.

Because Satan knows he has a very short time. It's end time, complacency will be costly.

This is because just as rain started suddenly when the ark had been locked by God and people were busy playing, partying, marrying, eating, shopping etc, so will Jesus appear suddenly in heaven...

Many of us need to be weaned from terrible habits of:

1. Opening Bible when we like

2. Praying when we like

3. Going to church when we like

(This number 3 started recently for some Christians due to covid but for some it had been their perpetual habit). But it is not even the aspect of spiritual laziness or lethargy that today's teaching is focusing, It is something else. But even if we don't proceed, and I stop here, am sure many of us had gained something..Haven't we?. Surely we have.

The topic as announced to us is: Won't you forsake Jesus?

It is coming like a question to us but a very serious question that is calling for deep sober reflection. Please think and think deep. The alarming rate at which professing believers are forsaking the faith even in the countries that God had once used to spread the gospel globally is calling for we the remnants that are standing to still ask ourselves this pertinent question and sincerely answer it.

Won't you forsake Jesus?. That is the topic.

Some people who are conversant with media will know that a lot of allegations are been laid against ministers of God these days. So surprising even against men of God that I as a person respect.. Sorry to say but pls let me mention one. Just for you to know how serious Satan is coming after our noble faith

And he is using Christians to attack not just preachers but Christianity. Who has heard allegation against Dr. D.K Olukoya? (A great denomination leader in Nigeria). Am not hear to say whether what they said about him is true or false. But my point is this, you as a person, won't you forsake Jesus if the media published something about your pastors with verifiable proofs that he really did those things?. Think deep on this.

Many things had been said against that man and other ministers of God, and like I said,

some may be true. while many may not true.

More things will still be said. And may be true or not true. But won't you forsake Christianity when such news come out against your leader or any prominent believer that you know? Don't hastily say yes, think deep

God forbid your leader will not backlide.

But if it happen or if the news is false, what will be your fate as touching faith?

What will happen if you hear that your Pastor impregnates 3 choir members?

Won't join the company of people whose slogan is; there is no pastor anywhere..

No purity anywhere

No holiness anywhere

No godliness anywhere

No need of going to church

Just have faith in God, u can serve him alone even in your house.

What if they come with proofs that your pastor used church money for his personal affairs?

Some people, even just because the children of their upright pastors are not upright, they have started compromising, how much more if it is now that there pastor that compromise? Such will abandon Jesus..

Are you solid in Christ?

Are your convictions rooted in him or in man of God?

It will be pathetic if the man you put faith in fail or people lie against him..

Your Christianity can become history. God forbid. With many Muslims apologetics, who are giving wrong interpretation to the Holy Bible, won't you be persuaded to forsake this noble faith (Christianity)? Don't just say NO. Many said NO both in UK and US but they are now praying 5 times in the mosque. So pathetic. The present day Turkey was the Ephesus of old. It was predominantly Christian country but today you can hardly see the traces of Christianity in that country. Won't you also pick offence from Jesus and abandoned him at the slightest chance or opportunity?

Romans 8:35,38,39. (KJV); 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Can we all hear from one man of deep and great conviction in the finished work and love of Jesus?. From the text above, the man Paul the Apostle even put us inside his own personal conviction..He said, what shall separate us. He did not say what shall separate me. He spoke for all true believers in Christ not just for himself only. With his deep knowledge of what true salvation is, he knew and opined ahead even on our behalf that nothing should, could, would separate us from the love of Christ. For a true believer, even fake message even when delivered by angels can't move him or her out of the love of Christ.

News about failure of a minister or ministers should not destroy your conviction in Jesus is you are a normal Christian. Only a tomato believer forsake faith when he hears the news of the misbehaviour of another believer....A time is coming and very near. When the hatred of the world for the church will be vehemently revealed and exercise through the media...At that time, what will happen to your faith? Even presently, this terrible media who don't pick news of pastors healing mad men, raising the dead, engaging in charity, but get good time to tell the world about a pastor (he may not even be pastor), who raped 7 years old girl..

Or pastor that bought jet. The same pastor that bought jet because of the great expansion of his work that will not make it easy for him go and que at airport and still meet up with his meeting in another country where he will still leave to go to another conference in another country. Hence for easy mobility, bought jet for his God given assignment.

Meanwhile, that same pastor sent relief materials to the poor in many villages, but the media are blind to that. No time for good news about the church but they are busy with spreading of bad news, with the intention of painting the church black before the world.

Haven't you because of news published by media about pastors buying this and that stopped paying tithes and offering in the church? Haven't online pastors poisoned your mind against giving to God's servant?. "They are enriching themselves with your heard earned money they said" and since then you stopped giving to God. What a pathetic backslider you are!

Let me tell you, if you give faithfully to God in Church with pure motive, the reward you would have received from God will not allow you to be questioning how what you gave was spent. Because you would be busy counting your blessing, so you won't have time to be investigating the way what you gave was spent.

This message is preparing us for the time of intense persecution of the Church and ministers of God through by the media, so that when that time comes for what is in us to be tested by challenges, we won't fail Jesus...

Listen to this as I close, anybody who discuss the sin and error of the church on Facebook or other media is not sent by God but been used by Satan to fault the Church and Jesus..

Except if it is in a very closed group which is only for Christians.

Never join such. Don't encourage their evils.

Even any pastor preaching on air ( YouTube, radio, Facebook, television etc) against other pastors is not doing God's work but possessed by Satan to destroy the faith of people in both Church and Christ. Avoid them..

On air we are to preach repentance and salvation to sinners..

While in conferences or church programmes, we address the inadequacies of the church.

By the time you speak ill of the church before the world, why should the world repent and join the already sick and terrible church that you have painted with very dark oil? If we paint and present church to be sinful, how will the world see a need for repentance? Instead, they will justify their own sinfulness with the error of the church we have given to them.

The message here is that, you don't give the message meant for the growth and perfection of those who have accepted Jesus already (Church) to sinners who are in the world. To such people, we preach repentance and faith in Christ Jesus. Such message will be okay for them. But if we dabble into talking about the error of the church before the world, we will be ignorantly sending men father away from the cross. And God won't take it lightly with us. Finally, the admonition is this: don't forsake the Lord because of news of compromise of ministers or churches either true or untrue. Hold the forth. The Lord will keep us safe in Him.

1. Lord keep me rooted deeply in you no matter what happen to your church and in your church. Thanks for joining the study. God bless us. Till next week. Shalom.

Closing prayer..Lord we thank you for the grace to study your word for our edification. We pray that you will keep us strong in you no matter how Satan tries to dissuade us. We beg you to keep us faithful to the end. Help our heart to resist the false news, and also help us to react positively to the backsliding of believers, so that Satan will not use such news to make shipwreck of our faith. Thank you for answering our prayers. In Jesus mighty name we pray...Amen..

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standtoreason93 · 5 years ago

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Harvester or Gardener?

I have a confession to make. I haven’t led anyone to Christ in over 30 years. I know that sounds unbelievable, bizarre—even borderline lame—but from one perspective, it makes perfect sense.

I want to tell you why I’ve been, by one measure, such a spiritual loser. I also want to show you how what I have to say may radically improve your effectiveness as a voice for the gospel.

First, though, the backstory.

Simple Times, Simple Gospel

I became a Christian during the Jesus Movement in Southern California in the early 70s. Evangelism back then was fairly simple: Share the simple gospel, answer a few simple questions, invite a person to simply receive Christ, pray. And lots did. Not too complicated. Would that were still the case.

That was almost half a century ago. Times have changed. The gospel is not “simple” anymore, nor are the questions people ask. Of course, the gospel is still the gospel. That hasn’t changed, or rather, it shouldn’t change—though more “progressive” types continue to fiddle with it, hoping to tickle postmodern ears.

No, the truth is still the truth. The way people hear it has changed dramatically, though, because the cultural conversation has changed dramatically.

Fifty years ago, Christian words and Christian doctrines made sense to people, more or less, even if folks didn’t always believe them or, if believing, didn’t live them out. Clearly, the doorkeepers of culture back then were increasingly post-Christian, but they had not become anti-Christian, as they are now.

Worse, the hostility nowadays is not just against the gospel—which has always been a “stumbling block”—but against virtually every detail of the biblical view of reality, including what it means to be human, what it means to be gendered, what it means to be moral, even what it means for something to be “true.”

Bestseller lists frequently feature rhetorically powerful offerings challenging virtually every aspect of the Christian worldview. Consequently, in the thinking of the rank and file, the smart folks have weighed in and found Christianity wanting, so they have no reason to give our message a second thought.

Worse, for many, the words of hope we offer are taken as words of veiled hatred of outsiders—bigotry towards those who don’t believe our spiritual views or obey our moral convictions.

In short, the culture has moved on. Unfortunately, our methods have not. They’ve remained largely static. We continue to be dedicated to outdated devices, using Christian language largely unintelligible to non-Christians. People don’t understand our ideas, so they don’t understand our message—which to them seems obsolete, antiquated, and irrelevant.

And that confusion can be spiritually lethal, as Jesus points out.

Road Kill

In Matthew 13, Jesus relates the famous parable of the sower. The first seeds sown, He says, fall beside the road, and birds swoop down and eat them. No mystery here. Hard ground, no growth. Some people just won’t listen. Not too complicated. But that was not Jesus’ point.

In His clarification to His disciples, He explains what He meant. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom,” He says, “and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road” (Matt. 13:19).

The seed is sown, true enough. It’s “in his heart,” Jesus says. Yet it’s not understood, so it’s easily snatched away by the devil.

By contrast, Jesus tells them, “The one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty” (Matt. 13:23).

So here is the question. According to Jesus, what is the chief difference between the first and the last, between the faithless and the faithful, between the one who bears nothing and the one who bears an abundance? The difference is this: The second understands the message; the first does not. As a result, they’re road kill.

This insight is central, I think, to Paul’s exhortation in Colossians 4:5–6:

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

Vital to my point is Paul’s last phrase. Circumstances are unique, and people are individuals. They sit at different places along the continuum between total rejection and complete surrender. If our personal evangelistic game plan emphasizes only the end of that journey—the harvest—then we are not following Paul’s directions because we are not crafting our communication uniquely to each person.

The cookie-cutter approach that worked so well 50 years ago now leaves listeners mystified, dumbfounded, confused—in a word, without understanding—so that the seeds scattered are easily snatched away. The evil one steals the word we have sown because the message itself is largely incoherent. It is not intelligible to many given the unique cultural circumstances we find ourselves in.

I’d like to offer an antidote based on an insight that suggests a more fruitful approach.

Spadework

I want you to think about an aphorism that’s not especially profound in itself but has profound implications for our approach to sharing the gospel. It’s a truism that has completely transformed my approach to evangelism. Here it is:

Before there can be any harvest, there always has to be a season of gardening.

Fruitful harvest, in other words, is always dependent on diligent spadework: sowing, watering, weeding, nurturing. Here is how I put the point in the new, expanded edition of Tactics:

Before someone ever comes to Christ, there is always a period of time—a season, if you will—when they are thinking about the gospel, mulling it over, wondering whether it might be true. They may be putting out little probes by asking questions. They might even be fighting back a bit. But still, they’re wondering—maybe praying secretly, God, are you real? [1]

That’s what I was doing as a college student at UCLA in 1973. I was testing the waters, asking questions, pushing back, and—eventually—listening. “When this happens in someone’s life,” I concluded in Tactics, “it’s an opportunity for you and me to do some spadework, what Francis Schaeffer called ‘pre-evangelism.’”[2]

The night I finally trusted the Lord—a Friday night, September 28, 1973—my younger brother Mark came to my apartment for a visit, intent on continuing his efforts to bring me to Christ. I cut him off.

“Mark,” I said, “you don’t have to tell me about Jesus anymore. I’ve already decided I want to become a Christian.” It took me a few minutes to peel him off the ceiling, then I bowed my head, confessed my need, pled for mercy, turned my life over to Jesus, and began walking with Him.

There is something in this exchange I do not want you to miss. When I was ready, I responded—no fuss, no pushback, no hesitancy. That’s the way it is with ripe fruit. It’s easy to pick. All it takes is a little bump, and it falls into the basket. The gardening came first; that was the hard part. In evangelism, when the spadework is done well, the harvest pretty much takes care of itself. The first makes the second possible.

This is precisely Jesus’ point in a familiar Gospel text.

Two Seasons, Two Workers

Consider Jesus’ comments in John 4—the well-known woman at the well passage. I want you to notice something Jesus says after that famous conversation that teaches an important lesson that is not so well known.

The disciples arrive on the scene just as the Samaritan woman leaves for Sychar to tell others about the amazing man she’d met at the well. Here is what Jesus then says to the twelve:

Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor. (Jn. 4:36–38).

I had read this passage for years without noticing a critical calculus of evangelism embedded in that conversation. In this exchange, Jesus identifies one field but distinguishes between two different seasons—sowing and reaping, gardening and harvesting. He identifies one team but distinguishes between two types of workers—those who sow and those who reap, those who garden and those who harvest.

For Sychar, the reaping season was at hand. Someone else had done the heavy lifting, but the disciples now had the light labor. They were going to gather the low hanging fruit, the easy pickin’s. Again, the harvest is easy when the crop is ready.

Go for the Gold?

Some Christians are convinced we should try to get to the gospel in every encounter. Go for the gold. Press for the decision. Close the deal. I think the impulse is right-hearted, of course, but it’s wrongheaded; there are problems with this approach.

One, I’ve already alluded to. I suspect we are not spending enough time listening to people long enough to learn their cultural language, so to speak. If we do not first listen to understand their views, how will we be able to communicate in such a way that they will understand ours? If we speak words of truth, but they fall on uncomprehending ears, there will be no understanding. Those precious gospel seeds will get whisked away and, in that conversation at least, the devil will have the day.

There’s another problem. What happens when a massive number of Christians gifted as gardeners rather than as harvesters are presented with a harvesting model of evangelism that’s inconsistent with their spiritual temperament? I’ll tell you. They sit on the bench, inactive, out of play. The idea of pressing someone for a decision—especially in today’s hostile environment—is simply too unsettling, too disconcerting, and, frankly, too frightening.

I sympathize completely. The fact is, most of us are not good closers. Consequently, we never get into the game. And when gardeners don’t garden, for whatever reason, then the harvest suffers. Remember the sluggard from Proverbs. He did not plow after autumn, so he had nothing when harvest time came ’round (Prov. 20:4).

Please do not misunderstand me. Harvesting is critical. There would be no kingdom expansion without it. But there would be no harvesting without good gardening, so without the spadework, there’s no kingdom growth, either. Remember, one sows; the other reaps.

This is why I do not feel compelled to sprint for the finish line if the circumstances don’t warrant it. Instead, I have a different goal.

Lowering the Bar, Raising the Impact

When I’m in a conversation I hope will lead to spiritual matters, I never have it as an immediate goal to lead that person to Christ. I make no effort to get them to sign on the dotted line. I don’t try to “close the deal.” In fact, I don’t have it as a goal to even get to the gospel, though I may end up there.

Do I want that person to come to Christ? Of course I do. Is the gospel necessary for that? Again, of course. It’s the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16).

Getting to the gospel is not the issue, though. Returning for a moment to the parable of the sower, the problem is the ground the seed falls on. There’s no understanding. The hard ground needs tilling first before the seed has any chance of taking root.

I have adopted, therefore, a more modest goal when I engage others in conversation. It’s one I communicate clearly at the outset of virtually every talk I give to a secular audience. Here’s what I tell them:

I’m here tonight because my life has been deeply changed by an ancient teacher. His name is Jesus of Nazareth. Decades ago while I was a student at UCLA, I began to think more carefully about the claims Jesus made about Himself, the claims He made about the nature of reality, and the claim He made on my own life. After thinking hard on the issues, asking a lot of questions, and doing a lot of arguing, I finally came to the conclusion that Jesus got it right, that He saw the world the way it really was. I realized the smart money was on Jesus, so I began to follow Him.

Then I say something they do not expect to hear. I tell them I’m not there to convert them. “I have a more modest goal,” I say. “I just want to put a stone in your shoe. I just want to annoy you a little bit, but in a good way. I want you leaving this auditorium with something I said poking at you, something that gets you thinking, because I think Jesus of Nazareth is worth thinking about.”

Then I move forward with my talk, whatever it happens to be. I make it clear to them that I’m not in harvest mode. Instead, I’m gardening.

At this point you may be wondering, Does this guy ever get to the gospel? The answer is simple: Of course I do. Then the next question: When do you get to the gospel? Here’s my answer: I get to the gospel whenever I want.

I know that may sound cheeky, but here’s what I’m getting at. I do not feel forced to squeeze the gospel into the conversation in an artificial way simply because someone told me I have to. Jesus didn’t even do that.

Jesus took His time. He carefully weighed His words to be sensitive to His audience and to the unique circumstances He faced. Lots of times He went only halfway. He gave the bad news then let it weigh upon His listeners. Only later—after they were exhausted from shouldering the crushing weight of their own sin—did He say, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Rest from what? Rest from the burden of the bad news, from the hopeless load of living according to the law. Yes, He got to the good news, but first He gardened.

In the many years I have taught this concept publicly in front of audiences, I’ve watched carefully when I tell them about the importance of gardening before harvesting. I can see in their eyes something slowly beginning to dawn on them.

Here is what the expression on their faces tells me they’re thinking: I can do this. And they are right, of course. They can. Yes, I’ve lowered the bar a bit for them. But a lower bar gets them off the bench and into the garden, and that means a bigger harvest in the long run.

Who’s in Your Garden?

Which brings me back to my original confession, the one that made me sound like a lame Christian, an evangelism loser.

Years ago, I realized I was not a harvester but a gardener. My efforts for decades—on radio and at public events, speaking in churches and at universities, writing books and articles—have all been, largely, to serve a single end: gardening.

The reason I haven’t personally prayed with someone to receive Christ in over three decades is I haven’t really tried. I’m not in harvesting mode because I’m not a harvester; I’m a gardener. And so, I suspect, are most Christians. They just haven’t thought of themselves that way since the option was never really open to them.

There’s something else you need to know, though. You need to know who’s been in my garden.

Does the name J. Warner Wallace sound familiar to you? He’s the legendary cold-case detective who, as an atheist, applied his considerable investigative skills to the eyewitness reports in the Gospels. In the process, he became a believer, then an apologist, and then a bestselling author. You might have read his books: Cold-Case Christianity, or God’s Crime Scene, or Forensic Faith.

Or maybe you’ve heard of Abdu Murray, former Muslim now Christian apologist and current senior vice president with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. You might have read his books, too: Saving Truth, or Grand Central Question, or Seeing Jesus from the East.

You may know of them, but here’s something you probably don’t know aboutthem: They were both in my garden. When J. Warner Wallace was still an atheist, he was listening to our broadcast. When Abdu Murray was still a Muslim, he was listening to me on the radio. And I’ve met many other Christians just like them.

Do you realize what happened? I was patiently—and unknowingly—doing spadework on Jim, and Abdu, and the others, then somebody went into mygarden and harvested my crop. Do you think I care? Of course not; we’re all on the same team. Schaeffer’s “pre-evangelism” was the gardening essential for that bountiful harvest.

Bringing in the Sheaves

In the Body of Christ, different people have different gifts.[3] When it comes to working the field, some sow and some reap—as Jesus taught.

If what I have written so far really bothers you—if you think I’m letting people off too easily and I’m not pushing them to get to the meat of the matter quickly enough—you’re probably a harvester. And I’m glad you are. We need you.

If, on the other hand, what I’ve said encourages you, if you’re thinking, “I can do that,” then you are probably a gardener. That would be most Christians, I suspect, and we need you, too.[4]

If that’s the case, if it’s beginning to dawn on you that you might be a gardener like me, then make it your modest goal to try to put a stone in an unbeliever’s shoe. Focus your efforts on giving him just one thing to think about. That’s plenty good for starters.

Don’t worry about the endgame. Instead, get busy doing some spadework. Think about getting into conversations using the game plan outlined in the new, expanded edition of Tactics to help you start gardening effectively.

Remember, you don’t have to swing for the fences. You don’t even have to get on base, in my view. All you have to do is get into the batter’s box, then let the Lord take things from there. That’s the secret—and the beauty—of gardening.

If you do that—if you get off the bench and get into play in simple ways that are friendly yet moderately challenging, I think you’re going to see a dramatic difference in your impact for the gospel.

Don’t ever forget, the more gardeners we have, the bigger the harvest is going to be. Then both “he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together” in the bountiful result.

__________________________

[1] Gregory Koukl, Tactics—A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, 10th Anniversary Edition, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019), 18.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Both 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 make this point clearly.

[4] For those concerned that my approach may miss opportunities, keep in mind that the “praying to receive Christ” practice is not part of the New Testament pattern. It entered the life of the church only a few hundred years ago. In Acts, people simply preached persuasively and listeners believed. The Holy Spirit brought conviction that led to humble faith. The closest thing to an altar call in the New Testament was a baptism, but that came after faith, not before it.

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christianpublishinghouse-blog · 7 years ago

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When we are communicating with another, we need to know what our purpose is and stay focused. This will help us with the preparatory work that goes into good communication as well. One of the best ways to have confidence in our success is to know the subject well and care deeply for the ones with whom we share it. If we are a serious student of God’s Word, who passionately talks about it with friends and family, always sharing new things that we have discovered, half of our battle is over in becoming a good communicator.

When sharing a biblical message informally with a person that we have never met, it is more beneficial to begin the spontaneous conversation on a current event so that we can build a little rapport. This generates a minor emotional bond or friendly relationship between us and the other person based on mutual liking, trust, and a sense that we understand and share each other’s concerns. We may be sitting in the doctor’s waiting room, and lean in and ask the lady next to us, “have you seen the news about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting?” Spending a few minutes talking about the issues of that tragedy, and then transition to the Bible, by speaking of a time when those things will be no more. In addition, our current event need not always be a tragic one.

When going out into the community to share our faith with others, we will come across a variety of responses to our Christian message. Some will be interested; other will be uninterested, while a few will be quarrelsome or even aggressively confrontational. In the case of the last two, we must keep in mind that our evangelism purpose is not to win debates with strangers. If the person we are communicating with becomes argumentative, it is best to leave on a respectful note. It is not our goal to push ourselves, or our beliefs on another, as it will only further upset and alienate them.

REVIEW QUESTION: Explain why we need to know our subject well. Why is rapport important? How should we handle people who become argumentative?

Speaking With Purpose

If we are going to garner the respect of the person we are speaking with, he needs to feel that we have the knowledge about what we are discussing. He needs to feel like we are the expert in the conversation. If he periodically asks questions about the Bible, and we are coming across in a hesitant, unsure way, he is not going to have confidence in our purpose for being there. We need to empathize with how the other person is viewing us. Do we come across as believable? If they are going to accept our words as true, we have to establish credibility with them at the outset, conveying confidence.

One way to establish that we are honest about the truth is, do not rationalize, justify or minimize anything that we know is true.[1] If they make accusations that we know are true, admit them, and go on from there. Keep in mind that reasonable answers are not the same as rationalizing justifying or minimizing. For example, rationalizing is an attempt to justify irrational or unacceptable behavior (i.e., make excuses). If someone has stayed away from Christianity, because of all the scandals, he has seen in the news, and we say, “Well, we do our best. These things happen in an imperfect world.” This will come across as though we are dismissive of their feelings, appearing as if we are not troubled by immoral, unscrupulous activity. It would be better to show our righteous indignation and be troubled over the scandals.

Another way to keep our credibility intact is to be a person of our word. If we have a good visit at a person’s home and ask if we can return, and they agree to something like, ‘the same time next week.’ If we fail to follow through and do not return for another two or three weeks, this will remove our credibility. The person may have avoided doing something else because he knew we were coming, and is now angry for being stood up. He is now wondering if he should give us a second chance. If they have given us permission to come again, ask for a phone number, in case we have to cancel. Also, if we are fortunate to start a regular weekly Bible study with them; be there consistently, because inconsistency corrodes credibility as well.

Being truly genuine is another way to keep our credibility intact. We have chosen to visit the people in our community because of your love for God, and our love for neighbor. It just makes sense that we are going to be sincerely involved in their feelings and issues, making them important to us. They should be able to see this by our tone of voice, our facial expressions, and our body language. It is another mark of respect when they can see that we are truly listening to their concerns, which gives them confidence that our biblical counsel (i.e., guidance) is going to be beneficial after all.

Another way to gain or lose credibility is failing to provide evidence for the claims that we make. No one is expected to have an answer for every biblical issue, but one too many, “I do not know,” “I am not sure,” “I will have to look into that,” and they will begin to doubt the credibility of the Bible itself. Regular inabilities in our defense of God’s Word will erode the credibility of the Bible and Christianity. As the apostle Peter said, ‘always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.’―1 Peter 3:15.

REVIEW QUESTION: How should the person you are evangelizing feel about how you understand the discussion? Why is it important to be a person of your word? How can you be genuine and why is it important?

Roadblocks to Successful Communication

At times, there will be occasions when we will have to offer constructive criticism to the person we are speaking with, be it a person we just met, a person we have been visiting for some time, or a person we have been carrying on a Bible study with. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the constructive criticism is directed toward the issue, not the person. If it is a Bible student of ours, do not offer any constructive criticism in the beginning. Take a moment to have some social discussions about things that set the mood as friendly, and then offer the feedback. If the person is relatively new to us, simply be as kind and as tactful as we can, and our love and concern will shine through. If there is a Bible verse, read it, and let it do the speaking for us, because people are more receptive to the Bible counseling them. Constructive criticism can make one wise and is necessary for growth, but too much of any good thing can have the opposite effect. If a person is excessively barraged with constructive criticism, he may just give up altogether, wondering why he should even try.

The way we express, ourselves will be a determining factor in our success at times. If we are one who tends to use positive ways of saying something, we are likely to elicit positive results. While some authors use the second person pronoun “you,” this is not an effective way to offer advice or feedback in a conversation because it is as if you are pointing your finger at them. For example, “you unsuccessfully, “you ignored,” “you assert,” “you say that,” or “you state that.” These same statements could have started, “May I recommend that ” “one possibility open to us is,” “we can,” and “what could be considered is.” When we use pronouns that include “you,” leaving out the second personal pronoun, it generates more of positive atmosphere.

What is our purpose in evangelizing our communities? It is to carry out the Great Commission that we have been assigned, to make disciples for Jesus Christ, to bring persons into the faith, who will become our spiritual brother or sister. For a person, rightly to become a disciple Christ, it is essential that he clearly understands what he is being taught. It is also essential that we make ourselves available to teach.

Romans 10:14-15 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how will they hear without someone to preach? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who declare good news of good things!”[2]

1 Corinthians 9:16 Updated American Standard Version

16 Now if I am proclaiming the good news, it is no reason for me to boast, for necessity is laid upon me. Really, woe to me if I do not proclaim the good news!

REVIEW QUESTION:

Why should you limit the use of the second person pronoun “you”?

Evangelism Opportunity: While sitting in the doctor’s office, reading the Bible, the woman next to you leans in and says, “The Bible is a good moral book but is not the inerrant word of God like you people say.”

You ask to clarify, “So you believe it is just, or should I say only a book by men, with humans only writing?”

She replies, “Yes, I have read evidence that it is filled with errors and contradictions: historical, geographical, and scientific errors, as well as contradictions.”

You respond, “…”

[1] The person we are speaking with may have reservations, because of all the scandals within Christianity. On the other hand, he may not accept Christianity, because of its history in the Crusades and Inquisitions. Another may have had real issues within the church of their past. These should not be quickly dismissed. Rather, they should be dealt with appropriately in the conversation, with empathetic, active listening, and righteous indignation over any injustice. Again, some may bring up (1) the Inquisitions, (2) the Crusades, (3) Christian nations going to war, (4) sex scandals in the churches, (5) hypocrisy and worldliness of the church, to name just a few.

[2] Quotation from Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15

APOLOGETIC EVANGELISM – Quality of Purposefulness When Sharing God’s Word When we are communicating with another, we need to know what our purpose is and stay focused.

#Apologetics #Christian Apologetics #Christian Evangelism #Evangelism #Preevangelism #The Work of an Evangelist

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tainghekhongdaycomvn · 8 years ago

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The Case For & Against Attending Marketing Conferences

Posted by randfish

I just finished reading Jan Schaumann's short post on Why Companies Should Pay for Their Employees to Attend Conferences. I liked it. I generally agree with it. But I have more to add.

First off, I think it's reasonable for managers and company leaders to be wary of conferences and events. It is absolutely true that if your employees attend them, there will be costs associated, and it's logical for businesses to seek a return on investment.

What do you sacrifice when sending a team member to an event?

Let's start by attempting to tally up the costs:

Lost productivity – Usually on the order of 1 to 4 days depending on the length of the event, travel distance, tiredness from travel, whether the team member does some work at the event or makes up with evenings/weekends, etc. Given marketing salaries ranging from $40K–$100K, this could be as little as $150 (~1 day's cost at the lower end) to $1,900 (a week's cost on the high end).

Cost of tickets – In the web marketing world, the range of events is fairly standard, between ~$1,000 and $2,000, with discounts of 20–50% off those prices for early registration (or with speaker codes). Some examples:

CTAConf in Vancouver is $999 ($849 if you're an Unbounce customer)

Content Marketing World in Cleveland is $1,195 (early rate) or $1,395 later

Pubcon Las Vegas in $1,099 (early rate), not sure what it goes up to

HubSpot's INBOUND is $1,299 (or $1,899 for a VIP pass)

SMX East is $1,795 (or $2,595 for all access)

SearchLove London is $890 (or $1,208 for VIP)

MozCon in Seattle is $1,549 (or $1,049 for Moz subscribers)

Cost of travel and lodging – Often between $1,000–$3,000/person depending on location, length, and flight+hotel costs.

Potential loss of employee through recruitment or networking – It's a thorny one, but it has to be addressed. I know many employers who fear sending their staff to events because they worry that the great networking opportunities will yield a higher-paying or more exciting offer in the future. Let's say that for every 30 employees you send (or every 30 events you send an employee to), you'll lose one to an opportunity that otherwise wouldn't have had them considering a departure. I think that's way too high (not because marketers don't leave their jobs but because they almost always leave for reasons other than an opportunity that came through a conference), but we'll use it anyway. On the low end, that might cost you $10K (if you've lost a relatively junior person who can be replaced fairly quickly) and on the high end, might be as much as $100K (if you lose a senior person and have a long period without rehiring + training). We'll divide that cost by 30 using our formula of one lost employee per thirty events.

Total: $4,630–$10,230

That's no small barrier. For many small businesses or agencies, it's a month or two of their marketing expenses or the salary for an employee. There needs to be significant return on those dollars to make it worthwhile. Thankfully, in all of my experiences over hundreds of marketing events the last 12 years, there is.

What do you gain by sending a team member to an event?

Nearly all the benefits of events come from three sources: the growth (in skills, relationships, exposure to ideas, etc) of the attendee(s), applicable tactics & strategies (including all the indirect ones that come from serendipitous touch points), and the extension of your organization's brand and network.

In the personal growth department, we see benefits like:

New skills, often gained through exposure at events and then followed up on through individual research and effort. It's absolutely true that few attendees will learn enough at a 30-minute talk to excel at some new tactic. But what they will learn is that tactic's existence, and a way to potentially invest in it.

Unique ideas, undiscoverable through solo work or in existing team structures. I've experienced this benefit myself many times, and I've seen it on Moz's team countless times.

The courage, commitment, inspiration, or simply the catalyst for experimentation or investment. Sometimes it's not even something new, or something you've never talked about as a team. You might even be frustrated to find that your coworker comes back from an event, puts their head down for a week, and shows you a brilliant new process or meaningful result that you've been trying to convince them to do for months. Months! The will to do new things strikes whenever and however it strikes. Events often deliver that strike. I've sat next to engineers whom I've tried to convince for years to make something happen in our tools, but when they see a presenter at MozCon show off another tool that does it or bemoan the manual process currently required, they suddenly set their minds to it and deliver. That inspiration and motivation are priceless.

New relationships that unlock additional skill growth, amplification opportunities, business development or partnership possibilities, references, testimonials, social networking, peer validation, and all the other myriad advancements that accompany human connections.

Upgrading the ability to learn, to process data and stories and turn them into useful takeaways.

Alongside that, upgraded abilities to interact with others, form connections, learn from people, and form or strengthen bonds with colleagues. We learn, even in adulthood, through observation and imitation, and events bring people together in ways that are more memorable, more imprinted, and more likely to resonate and be copied than our day-to-day office interactions.

A gentleman at SearchLove London 2016 gives me an excellent (though slightly blurry) thumbs up

In the applicable tactics & strategies, we get benefits like:

New tools or processes that can speed up work, or make the impossible possible.

Resources for advancing skills and information on a topic that's important to one's job or to a project in particular.

Actionable ideas to make an existing task, process, or result easier to achieve or more likely to produce improved results.

Bigger-picture concepts that spur an examination of existing direction and can improve broad, strategic approaches.

People & organizations who can help with all above, formally or informally, paid as consultants, or just happy to answer a couple questions over email or Twitter.

Purna Virji at SMX Munich 2017

In the extension of organizational brand/network, we get benefits like:

Brand exposure to people you meet and interact with at conferences. Since we know the world of sales & marketing is multi-touch, this can have a big impact, especially if either your customers or your amplification targets include anyone in your professional field.

Contacts at other companies that can help you reach people or organizations (this benefit has grown massively thanks to the proliferation of professional social networks like those on LinkedIn and Twitter)

Potential media contacts, including the more traditional (journalists, news publications) and the emerging (bloggers, online publishers, powerful social amplifiers, etc)

A direct introduction point to speakers and organizers (e.g. if anyone emails me saying "I saw you speak at XYZ and wanted to follow up about..." the likelihood of an invested reply goes way up vs. purely online outreach)

But I said above that these three included "nearly all" the benefits, didn't I? :-)

Daisy Quaker at MozCon Ignite

It's true. There are more intangible forms of value events provide. I think one of the biggest is the trust gained between a manager and their team or an employer and their employees. When organizations offer an events budget, especially when they offer it with relative freedom for the team member to choose how and where to spend it, a clear message is sent. The organization believes in its people. It trusts its people. It is willing to sacrifice short-term work for the long-term good of its people. The organization accepts that someone might be recruited away through the network they gain at an event, but is willing to make the trade-off for a more trusting, more valuable team. As the meme goes:

CFO: What if we invest in our people and they leave? CEO: What if we don’t and they stay?

Total: $A Lot?

How do you measure the returns?

The challenge comes in because these are hard things for which to calculate ROI. In fact, any number I throw out for any of these above will absolutely be wrong for your particular situation and organization. The only true way to estimate value is through hindsight, and that means having faith that the future will look like the past (or rigorous, statistically sound models with large sample sizes, validated through years of controlled comparison... which only a handful of the world's biggest and richest companies do).

It's easy to see stories like "The biggest deals I've ever done, mostly (80%) came from meeting people at conferences" and "I've had the opportunity to open the door of conversations previously thought locked" and "When I send people on my team I almost always find they come back more inspired, rejuvenated, and full of fire" and dismiss them as outliers or invent reasons why the same won't apply to you. It's also easy explain away past successes gained through events as not necessarily requiring the in-person component.

I see this happen a lot. I'm embarrassed to say I've seen it at Moz. Remember last summer, when we did layoffs? One of the benefits cut was the conference and events budget for team members. While I think that was the right decision, I'm also hopeful & pushing for that to be one of the first benefits we reinstate now that we're profitable again.

Lexi Mills at Turing Festival in Edinburgh

Over the years of my event participation, first as an attendee, and later as a speaker, I can measure my personal and Moz's professional benefits, and come up with some ballpark range. It's harder to do with my team members because I can't observe every benefit, but I can certainly see every cost in line-item format. Human beings are pretty awful in situations like these. We bias to loss aversion over potential gain. We rationalize why others benefit when we don't. We don't know what we're missing so we use logic to convince ourselves it's ROI negative to justify our decision.

It's the same principle that often makes hard-to-measure marketing channels the best ROI ones.

Some broader discussions around marketing event issues

Before writing this post, I asked on Twitter about the pros and cons of marketing conferences that folks felt were less often covered. A number of the responses were insightful and worthy of discussion follow-ups, so I wanted to include them here, with some thoughts.

If you're a conference organizer, you know how tough a conversation this is. Want to bring in outside food vendors (which are much more affordable and interesting than what venues themselves usually offer)? 90% of venues have restrictions against it. Want to get great food for attendees? That same 90% are going to charge you on the order of hundreds of dollars per attendee. MozCon's food costs are literally 25%+ of our entire budget, and considering we usually break even or lose a little money, that's huge.

If you're a media company and you run events for profit, or you're a smaller business that can't afford to have your events be a money-losing endeavor, you're between a rock and a hard place. At places like MozCon and CTAConf, the food is pretty killer, but the flip side is there's no margin at all. Many conferences simply can't afford to swing that.

Totally agree with Ross — interesting one, and pros/cons to each. At smaller shows, I love the more intimate connections, but I'm also well aware that for most speakers, it's a tough proposition to ask for a new presentation or to bring their best stuff. It's also hard to get many big-name speakers. And, as Ross points out, the networking can be deeper, but with a smaller group. If you're hoping to meet someone from company X or run into colleagues from the past, small size may inhibit.

For years prior to MozCon, I'd only ever been to events with a couple keynotes and then panels of 3–6 people in breakout sessions the rest of the day. I naively thought we'd invented some brilliant new system with the all-keynote-style conference (it had obviously been around for decades; I just wasn't exposed to it). It also became clear over time that many other marketing conferences had the same idea and today, it's an even split between those that do all-keynotes vs. those with a hybrid of breakouts, panels, and keynotes.

Personally, my preference is still all-keynote. I agree with Greg that, on occasion, a speaker won't do a great job, and sitting through those 20–40 minutes can be frustrating. But I can count on a single hand the number of panel sessions I've ever found value in, and I strongly dislike being forced to choose between sessions and not sharing the same experience with other attendees. Even when the session I've chosen is a good one, I have FOMO ("what if that other session around the corner is even better?!") and that drives my quality of experience down.

This, though, is personal preference. If you like panels, breakouts, and multi-track options, stick to SMX, Content Marketing World, INBOUND, and others like them. If you're like me and prefer all keynotes, single track, go for CTAConf, Searchlove, Inbounder, MozCon, and their ilk.

I agree this is a real problem. Being a conference organizer, I get to see a lot of the feedback and requests, and I think that's where the issue stems from. For example, a few years back, Brittan Bright, who now does sales at Google in New York, gave a brilliant talk about the soft skills of selling and client relations. It scored OK in the lineup, but a lot of the feedback overall that year was from people who wanted more "tactical tips" and "technical tricks" and less "soft skills" content. Every conference has to deal with this demand and supply issue. You might respond (as my friend Wil Reynolds often does) with "who cares what people say they want?! Give them what they don't know they need!"

That's how conferences go broke, my friends. :-) Every year, we try to include at least a few sessions that focus on these softer skills (in numerous ways), and every year, there's pushback from folks who wish we'd just show them how to get more easy links, or present some new tool they haven't heard of before. It's a tough give and take, but I'm empathetic to both sides on this issue. Actionable tactics matter, and they make for big, immediate wins. Soft skills are important, too, but there's a significant portion of the audience who'll get frustrated seeing talks on these topics.

Hrm... I think I agree more with Freja than with Herman, but it's entirely a personal preference. If you know yourself well enough to know that you'll benefit more (or less) by attending with others from your team, make the call. This is one reason I love the idea of businesses offering the freedom of choice on how to use their event budget.

There were a number of these conflicting points-of-view in reply to my tweet, and I think they indicate the challenge for attendees and organizers. Opinions vary about what makes for a great conference, a great speaker or session, or the best way to get value from them.

Which marketing conferences do I recommend?

I get this question a lot (which is fair, I go to *a lot* of events). It really depends what you like, so I'll try to break down my recommendations in that format.

Big, industry-wide events with many thousands of attendees, big name keynotes, famous musical acts, and hundreds of breakout session options:

INBOUND by Hubspot (Boston, MA 9/25–9/28) is a clear choice here. If you craft your experience well, you can get an immense amount of value.

Content Marketing World (Cleveland, OH 9/5–9/8) is always a good show, and they've recently focused on getting more gender-diverse.

Dreamforce by Salesforce (San Francisco, CA 11/6–11/9) has a similar feel to INBOUND in size and format, though it's generally more classic sales & marketing focused, and has less programming that overlaps with our/my world of SEO, social media, content marketing, etc.

Web Summit (Lisbon, Portugal 11/6–11/9) is even broader, focusing on technology, startups, entrepreneurship, and sales+marketing. If you're looking to break out of the marketing bubble and get a chance to see some "where are we going" and "what's driving innovation" content, this is a good one.

SMX Munich (Munich, Germany 3/20–3/21 2018) is one of the best produced and best attended shows in Europe. This event consistently delivers great presentations. Because of its location on the calendar, it's also where many speakers debut their theses and tactics each year, and since it's in Germany (or, more probably because it's run by the amazing Sandra & Matthew Finlay), everything is executed to perfection.

Mid-tier events with 1,000–1,500 attendee:

MozCon by Moz (Seattle, WA 7/17–7/19) I'm obviously biased, but I also get to see the survey data from attendees. The ratings of "excellent" or "outstanding" and the high number of people who buy tickets for the following year within a few days of leaving give me confidence that this is still one of the best events in the web marketing world.

CTAConf by Unbounce (Vancouver, BC 6/25–6/27) Oli Gardner, who's become an exceptional speaker himself, works directly with every presenter (all invitation-only, like MozCon) to make sure the decks are top notch. In addition, the setting in Vancouver, the food trucks, the staging, the networking, and the kindness of Canada are all wonderful.

Inbounder (Valencia, Spain 5/2018) This event only happens every other year, but if 2016 was anything to judge by, it's one of Europe's best. Certainly, you won't find a more incredible city or a better location. The conference hall is inside a spaceship that's landed on a grassy park surrounding an ancient walled city. Even Seattle's glacier-ringed beauty can't top that.

ConversionXL Live (Austin, TX 3/28–3/30) Peep Laja and crew put on a terrific event with a lovely venue and clear attention paid to the actionable, tactical value of takeaways. I came back from the few sessions I attended with all sorts of suggestions for the Moz team to try (if only webdev resources weren't so difficult to wrangle).

SMX Advanced (Seattle, WA TBD 2018) I haven't been in a couple years, but many search marketers rave about this show's location, production quality, panels, and speakers. It's one of the few places that still attracts the big-name representatives from Google & Bing, so if you want to hear directly from the horse's mouth a few seconds before it's broadcast and analyzed a million ways on Twitter, this is the spot.

Outside The Inbounder Conference in Valencia, Spain

Smaller, local, & niche events with a few hundred attendees and a more intimate setting:

SearchLove (San Diego, Boston, & London 10/16–10/17) It's somewhat extraordinary that this event remains small, like a hidden secret in the web marketing world. The quality of content and presentations are on par with MozCon (as are the ratings, and I know from other events how rare those are), but the settings are more intimate with only 2-300 participants in San Diego & Boston, and a larger, but still convivial crowd of 4-600 in London. I personally learn more at Searchlove than any other show.

Engage (formerly Searchfest) The SEMPDX crew has always had a unique, wonderful event, and Portland, OR is one of my favorite cities to visit.

MNSearch (Minneapolis 6/23) One of the exciting up-and-coming local events in our space. The MNSearch folks have brought together great speakers in fun venues at a surprisingly affordable price, and with some killer after-hours events, too. I've been twice and was very impressed both times.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and I'm certain there are many other events that give great value. I can only speak from my own experiences, which are going to carry the bias of what I've seen and what I like.

Help us better understand the value of conferences to you

Two years ago, I ran a survey about marketing conferences and received, analyzed, then published the results. I'd like to repeat that again, and see what's changed. Please contribute and tell us what matters to you:

Take the survey here

I look forward to the discussion in the comments. If the Twitter thread was any indication, there's a lot of passion and interest around this topic, one that I share. And of course, if you'd like to chat in person about this and see how we're doing things at Moz, I hope you'll consider MozCon in just a few weeks in Seattle.

Roger's note: *beep* Rogerbot here! I think Rand forgot an important benefit of one conference: At MozCon, you can hug a robot. If you're considering joining us in Seattle this July, we're over 75% sold out! Be sure to grab your ticket while you can.

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christinesumpmg · 8 years ago

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The Case For &amp; Against Attending Marketing Conferences