money, meet mouth

I’m a firm believer that it’s unfair to criticize something if you’re not willing to be part of the solution.

For instance, last Sunday the person clicking through the song lyrics and scriptures during the morning service at my church was either high, unable to read, a high schooler, or all three. Sometimes the words never appeared. Sometimes they appeared late. Sometimes we were treated to the chorus during the verses. Eventually I just sang with my eyes closed, which had the double advantage of keeping me sane AND making me seem super spiritual.

To be fair, this rarely happens, and I found out later it’s because the team recently switched systems and is still working out the bugs. But that’s my point—I found that out because I made a beeline to one of our staff people after the service and offered to help.

So, a few weeks ago I wrote a post questioning the NACC’s current mission and calling for “an overhaul of messaging methods and branding.” I can’t fix the mission part, but I already spend hours creating blogs, email updates and social media for other organizations. When Ben Cachiaras, this year’s president, asked me to do the same thing for the NACC I was more than willing.

The 2010 convention has a really strong program, but not enough people know about it. A few months of me sending emails won’t reach everyone or convince everyone, but it’s a good start at spreading the word and, yes, being constructive instead of just constructively critical. (Full disclosure: I am being paid a little bit.)

So over the next week I’ll be developing a weekly eblast that will not only promote the convention but will link to resources: articles, blogs, and videos by the 2010 main speakers and workshop presenters. We’ll also be sharing some of this info via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. I may organize a blog tour in April.

I’m willing to help, but we need you, too. Join our Facebook page and invite your friends. Follow us on Twitter and retweet our stuff. Subscribe to the YouTube page and pass along a video you find interesting. Leave your blog URL in the comments if you’d be willing to write something about the convention on your blog this spring (I’ll even send you sample copy!). And email me (jen@seejenwrite.com) if you want to be added to the weekly email list.

The NACC still needs to address some bigger issues, in my opinion, but I’m willing to help this much, this year. Are you?