Phil Cooke
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Starbucks CEO Caves to Gay Community Pressure
Starbucks Corp. CEO Howard Schultz at a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the first open Starbucks in Hong Kong on April 15, 2010. (AP Images/Kin Cheung) As you’ve probably seen in the news recently, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz recently canceled his appearance at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit under pressure from a handful of …
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OpEd: Why Dropping ‘Christ’ Is Not Sign of Retreat for Campus Crusade
“It’s not a Christian organization if Christ isn’t in the name.”I hear that one a lot. In fact, I’ve heard it in relation to Campus Crusade for Christ changing their name recently. Some people are upset that they seem to have dropped the “Christ” part, when in fact it was the “Crusade” word that caused them trouble with certain international outreaches.
But everyone’s a critic, and they had to get upset about something. Campus Crusade announced its name change two weeks ago to “CRU." For those outside the organization, “Cru” is an informal nickname that their campus staff have called themselves for years. It has enormous equity among what’s probably the largest outreach in the organization—not to mention their next generation of leaders—and among the five final name choices, they made that selection.
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What Harold Camping Got Right
Over the last few months, a remarkably tiny group of people have done
a brilliant job sharing their message with the world. Inaccurate,
wrong or wacky—they have told their story far better than major
Christian denominations, mega-churches, and supposed “media” ministries
have done. I travel more than most people, and I’ve seen their billboard campaign in cities like Los Angeles, the full page ads in major newspapers like USA Today, people handing out handbills outside subway stations in New York, mobile advertising, personal word of mouth and more. It may not be the most creative or brilliantly designed, but at least it’s unified and strategic.
All from a fringe radio preacher that 99 percent of Americans had never heard of six months ago.
In the meantime, what has the rest of the Christian world been doing to get their THEIR message out?
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A Christian Guide to Today’s Culture
Your guide to understanding the changes in today’s culture of disruptive media I don’t have to convince you that the world is changing. The media have changed our perceptions. Culture has changed our values. Technology has changed everything. We live in the instant world of mobile phones, text messaging and hugely popular social networking sites such …
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Why We Need the Media
When I'm speaking at conferences and events across the country, I'm often asked why so many ministries use the media. After all, it's a very expensive business. Couldn't we use that money for feeding the hungry or helping the homeless? Wouldn't Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer, James Dobson (and even your local pastor) be better stewards if they spent God's money on more traditional evangelism?All good questions. No one wants to waste financial resources or damage opportunities for reaching the lost. So, my first response to such queries is to study the life of Jesus.
How did He reach people? Where did He reach people? How did He make an impact on them? What can I learn from His life and ministry?
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Unplug the ‘Baby Sitter’
The Kaiser Family Foundation recently revealed the results of a remarkable study that indicated that children from infancy to age 6 spend an average of two hours a day using electronic media. That’s the same amount of time they use playing outside but they spend only one-third as much time reading or being read to. …
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Watch Your Media Diet
by Phil Cooke Mass media such as radio, television, film, newspapers, magazines, books and the Internet have more influence on us than we can imagine. We wake up to music or news on the clock radio, watch morning shows on TV, use headphones while exercising, read the newspaper over breakfast, listen to the radio …
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A Renaissance in Media
People of faith are telling their stories in a media-driven culture.
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Should We Offend?
No one has the right to be stupid in his presentacion of the faith.
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Fundraising: Giver, Beware!
Don’t be a ministry zombie and give on impulse. For most churches and ministries across the country, fundraising is a vital tool used to raise money necessary to make ministry happen. People need to understand that without financial support significant outreach would be nearly impossible for these organizations. But in many cases, the tail is …
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Media Overload
Rethink how much you use the media, and then reprioritize your time.
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The Superstar Syndrome
Christ didn't care about the "stuff" that made Him look good in the eyes of the people.
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It’s Time to Get Real
We need to be transparent in our quest to connect with the culture.
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Confession of a Critic
A new generation of born-again producers is moving in innovative directions.
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Unplug the Baby Sitter
Giving your kids over to a TV set to keep them occupied is a horrifying choice.
