Phil Cooke
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Masculinity Is Under Attack in Our Culture—Here’s How We Must Respond
Emily Hibard is a Renaissance woman. After studying modern political thought at Oxford University, she earned a graduate degree specializing in nonprofit management from California State University, which culminated in a successful book series for launching nonprofit organizations called “Starting Your Nonprofit.” She’s also held public office in Los Angeles, climbed Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, kayaked
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Tips to Sharpen Your People Skills While Working From Home
In my opinion, “people skills” are just (if not more) important than the skills it takes to do your job. Colleges and universities are filled with brilliant scholars who can’t get along with their peers, I find business leaders who are remarkably gifted, but make enemies at every turn. And even in churches, ministries and
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Understanding the Next Generation’s Perception of Church
I had the opportunity this year to speak at a leadership event at Ivy Church in Manchester, England. The pastor is Anthony Delaney, who’s done a brilliant job building a multi-site church in a city that’s experiencing enormous growth in business, media and education. As a result, Ivy has a great number of millennial members, and it’s making
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How to Shine the Light of Christ on Social Media
I find it fascinating that many people who handle social media (SM) for very large churches and ministries find it difficult to share their faith on their personal SM platforms. And others do it in an incredibly obnoxious way. Every new technology gives us another possibility for telling the greatest story ever told, but we have to
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6 Ways to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
The greatest secret to making New Year’s resolutions work is understanding the power of change. Want to lose weight? Get a better job? Go back to college? Find a spouse? Get closer to God? Whatever it is, understand that real change is one of the most difficult things we’ll ever do. In fact, even the
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Is Christianity Making a Comeback? It Is in Hollywood
Everywhere we turn today the “New Atheists” are proclaiming that religious belief is dead. After all (as they say), no one in their right mind could actually believe in God anymore. But while nonbelieving cultural elites in media, academia and entertainment may be the loudest voices in the room, a new Pew Research Study indicates
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WATCH: Hillsong ‘Let Hope Rise’ Trailer Will Inspire Your Heart
I’ve been privileged to be an Executive Producer on the feature film Let Hope Rise, that tells the story of the world’s most popular worship band—Hillsong United, based at Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. The picture is finally locked, and as Deadline Hollywood reports, Relativity Media will be releasing the movie to theaters nationwide starting May 29. We’re
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The Surprising Key To Successful Men’s Ministry
Over the years, reaching men with the gospel has been an important but challenging effort. From the early days when Edwin Louis Cole launched the Christian Men’s Network, to Coach Bill McCartney’s Promise Keepers, hundreds of thousands of men have been transformed, and yet momentum has been difficult at best. But now, a local pastor
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Why I’m Recommending Christians See the Film ‘Noah’
You’ve probably heard the controversy about the upcoming Paramount Pictures movie Noah. In the last few weeks, I’ve seen numerous blogs, social media posts and commentaries on the movie—usually criticizing it and detailing how far it strays from an accurate biblical portrayal. But I’m one of only a handful of people who’ve actually seen the movie, which
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LifeChurch.tv Leader Bobby Gruenewald Talks Church Innovation in a Digital Age
It’s not often that a local church leader is listed by Fast Company magazine as one of the 100 most creative people in business. But that’s exactly what happened in 2011 to Bobby Gruenewald, innovation leader, pastor and a member of the directional leadership team at LifeChurch.tv, based in Edmond, Okla. Working with lead pastor Craig Groeschel,
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Thousands of Pastors Are Leaving the Ministry Each Year
Editor’s Note: The following is an interview by Phil Cooke with Ministry Lab founder Mark Brewer. Mark Brewer is a motivated pastor to say the least. He’s founded and led multiple congregations—some starting in a living room and growing into the thousands each week. But something in the distance kept calling him, and after dealing
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Is Christian TV Still Relevant?
The morning of 9/11, I had a brainstorm. Watching the horror unfolding at the World Trade Center, I immediately sent a fax (remember faxes?) to every owner or manager of every Christian television station I knew. I begged them to interrupt their regularly scheduled programming and start reporting on the tragedy in New York. Obviously, they didn’t
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Pastor Keith Craft Focuses on Helping People Discover Their ‘Divine Fingerprint’
Keith Craft is senior pastor of Elevate Life Church in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas. After building what many are calling a “European-style cathedral” in Frisco, he’s just released a highly acclaimed new book, Your Divine Fingerprint: The Force That Makes You Unstoppable. Recently, media producer and consultant Phil Cooke asked Craft about his life,
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Should Donors Be Upset That New Crystal Cathedral Owners Removed Their Names?
Now that pastor Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral has been sold to the Catholic Church, big changes are happening. For instance, it’s being reported that a walkway constructed of bricks with engraved names of Crystal Cathedral donors is being pulled up to make way for new landscaping. Although the new owners are making the bricks available
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Is ‘Preachers of LA’ Reality Show a Setback for the Church?
Here’s the promo reel for the new show on the Oxygen Network Preachers of L.A. I don’t have anything to do with it, but I’d be curious about your thoughts. Is this going to help the cause of engaging the culture? Will this be a move forward or a setback for the church? One big question
