The Rock Church in Squamish, BC, is a new expression of a 2,000 year-old movement called ekklesia in the Greek world of that day, but more familiar to us today as—the church.

We are followers of the one true Jesus Christ, who love God, love our neighbors, love Squamish and are excited to be one of the Jesus loving churches in Squamish. We value Jesus above all, authenticity, creativity and generosity and seek to engage our culture with the amazing grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We don’t pretend to have our lives all together, but we do turn our lives over to an awesome God who does.

If you’re a Christian, that’s an amazing thing and apparently rare in this area. Welcome to you. We would ask you to please pray for The Rock Church.

If you’re skeptical about organized religion—good! You’re among friends at The Rock. If you’ve been hurt by, or lost faith in, the ‘church’ or ‘christians,’ well, you’re not alone.

If you’re searching for truth, meaning and community, then welcome to the journey.

If you’ve experimented with spirituality but know there’s something more, well, there is. We invite you to explore the life and teachings of Jesus and find, in Him—the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus is our mission, He’s our example, He’s our leader and He changes everything.

As a new Jesus community we’re in pre-launch phase, which simply means we’re gathering together in homes throughout the week as family and just beginning our Sunday ‘preview’ gatherings with our core group, family and friends. You are welcome to join us!

We believe that the Bible, the inspired Word of God, ‘His’story, transcends time and is as relevant today as it has been for thousands of years. We seek to embrace the inspiration and the authority of Scripture and to teach and live what it says in a way that clearly demonstrates what Jesus had in mind—that we love one another.

The church is the body of Christ living in community. The Bible says that it is his Bride. It is not a building or a place for perfect people. So, come as you are and don’t expect to find any perfect people here.

We believe Jesus meant it when he said that he would build his church. He doesn’t really need us to accomplish that, but he chooses to make us a part of his plan. We look forward to the journey and hope that you will join us.

You see, despite the difficult economic times, doing the opposite thing, the different thing, yea the remarkable thing, even the what your competition would never even think of doing thing—now that's the right thing to do!

Today, Denny's restaurants served a free Grand Slam Breakfast to all comers. One of their franchisees said it best,

Some people were shaking their heads before the event and even more will be shaking their heads from this day forward. Besides the fact that this event will be remembered as a very successful and keen marketing move, this good deed by the team at Denny's will be remembered as much more. It is a great and wonderful thing to do in the midst of one of the hardest times in American history.

It is just right all around.

Good for Denny's!

Glenn

We have been very busy over the past year developing the client side of the business and enjoying a return to the world of print and advertising. Several key clients have come back into our world and it has been exciting. In addition, we have been building some web apps that will get their official releases within client web projects in the few months.

In the meantime, I have started on a new journey which includes being back at school part-time working on a Masters degree. Some of you may be thinking, wow, Glenn’s getting the good old MBA. Well, as big a fan as I am of this coveted degree, it is actually a Masters in Theology that has my undivided attention. More on that at another time.

For now, too many great posts have passed us by on the world of marketing, the web and all things social. There is much that I have to say on some of the developments in social networking and our world’s fascination with brands.

Stay tuned.

Glenn

When a group of experienced designers form a new company, expectations are set high. ChirpMill have come up with the design goods in their first newsletter. They have used an uncommon color combination, but it really works to set the design apart.

This is only a simple introductory announcement, but it quickly shows the style and brand of the new company. We look forward to seeing more from the Mill in the future.

For those of you who are looking for ways to better communicate with your customers, to keep in touch and to offer news, updates and information, well designed email and newsletter campaigns go a long way to building loyalty and a sense of community.

Check out the gallery for yourself and see some more great examples of email and newsletter campaigns.

While looking for that next great business book, I was able to help another shopper find the book Good to Great, a book that I had read last year. Finally, I found the book I was after. From the cover to the table of contents, I quickly became convinced, this was what I was looking for. As I proudly made my way to the checkout, I was happy to see that there wasn’t a line. I walked right up to the first available cashier.

In a blink, the whole experience changed. There, in front of me, stood an attractive young lady, who appeared bright and competent. As I approached I looked for the smile that said, “good to see you, did you find what you were looking for?” Didn’t happen. What I got instead was a clear sense that she wanted to avoid direct eye contact and as quickly as possible move on to the usual drone questions, “do you an awards card… do you want your receipt stapled and in the bag?” Then it all ended with a very warm, “have a nice day.”

What gives? How could someone who works in such a nice store, a store that sells great books to customers who are generally happy to be there, be so obviously disconnected from her customer. Well, don’t blame the clerk. The responsiblity for remarkable customer experiences falls to others within the organization.

If you are are a business owner or store manager or anyone who leads a customer facing business, listen up. You need to be, you must be in fact, just as concerned about the remarkable experience that you provide for your staff, as the one you hope to ultimately provide for your customers. Start thinking of your staff as your best customers. Treat them that way. Give them your best service, pricing, offers, care and value. Make sure that they love what they are doing and that what they do for you and your customers, doesn’t just become a job.

It’s easy if you try.

Seth’s point is that there are now 60 million cameras out there and people are using them to show the good, the bad and the ugly in their world (think Iraqi dictator swinging from a rope). That world also includes your customer’s experience with your company or organization. What is happening here is much more than just an extension of negative word-of-mouth that a messy store may have caused in the past. Back then, you rarely heard back from customers that were saying terrible things about your business. Now, the world gets to read and see for themselves, just how shoddy things are.

Note to Kohls and similarly defective businesses—click—now we see you and now we don’t!