Conversations

"Every day when I drive on our campus I think to myself the stakes are so high because we're not dealing with dollars, we're dealing with destinies."

Luke Barnett is the Senior Pastor of Phoenix First, one of the largest churches in the country. He is known for his innovative ideas and methods of communication that serve as a model for pastors and leaders around the world. In this interview Luke discusses the history of the American Church, global shift in spiritual hunger, distractions, innovation in the church, making your faith your own, the role of marketing in the Church, and his encouragement to pastors.

"In my head and my theology I would have known that God was Healer, but now [after surviving cancer] I got to know the Healer. It wasn't just words, it became life to my soul."

Holly Wagner is the co-pastor of Oasis LA and the founder of God Chicks. In this interview Holly expresses her passion for women's ministry, the paradigm shift in "pastor's wife", creating an atmosphere at church, and Christian conferences.

"The age of pastor as motivational speaker is done...In many churches today the experience is not much different than going to the mall. There's no mystery, there's no powerful or compelling experience, and I think people are hungry to really be taught serious stuff about the Bible."

Phil Cooke is the founder of Cooke Pictures. Phil has produced media programming in over 50 countries, authored several books, spoke at international conferences, and has consulted countless churches and Christian films throughout the years. In this interview Phil discusses Christian labeling, media in the Church, creative freedom, and raising the bar of quality in Christian entertainment.

"In the old days the finest music came from the Church, the best art came from the Church, still in art books today you see the best stuff is Church related stuff, and then it all went away and we [Christians] stopped doing good art and we were known for crummy art. But I actually see that coming back now."

Jeff Yanovitch is the founder and creative director of Yano Creative, a branding agency based in Scottsdale, AZ. In this interview Jeff offers his insights on consistency in Church messaging, living out the brand, the renaissance of arts in the Church, using marketing tools, grassroots campaigning and much more.

"Jesus didn't die for my sweater or my album, but because we label these things 'Christian' somehow we elevate that thing. We think, 'This Christian key chain is better than a secular key chain because, well, it's Christian.' We've created a culture where we've separated ourselves, unintentionally, but now there's an audience that says, 'Well, if that's Christian, I don't want anything to do with it.'"

Brian Kaufman is the Founder & Creative Director at Tipping Media as well as Triangle. Brian's experiences, perspective, and creative ingenuity have put him at the forefront of Church Marketing and Church Solutions. In this interview Brian talks about Church Marketing, Christian labeling, the Church's need to collaborate, his encouragement to pastors and much more. You won't want to miss Brian's transparent and insightful perspective.