This blog is for people who want to be cool and for campus ministers/pastors who want their “youth services” to be cool in the eyes of young people. Read On…

What’s cool? How can you say if something (a person, youth service, church) is cool? What’s the benchmark? And why does it matter? I read an interesting (secular) book that can help answer this questions.

Here are some excerpt from the book “chasing cool.”

“How do we make things cool? Everyone, it seems, especially people with a brand to manage, wants to be cool. But why? What, exactly, makes it such a desirable commodity? Simple: Cool cuts through. Its the ultimate point of difference. When brands (or a person) evoke the characteristic of cool they are more likely to stand out in today’s cluttered marketplace.”

As part of their quest (the authors) to provide some genuine takeaway to the “how do we make this thing cool?” question, they interviewed nearly a hundred innovators from influential industries: music, architecture, design, film, art, fashion, advertising, film, internet, consumer brands, and nightlife. And spent hours with the likes of Vera Wang, Tommy Hilfiger, Christina Aguilera, Tony Hawk, etc…

Here’s what they discovered: “None of these people chased anything. They trusted their guts, put their names on the line, and followed their personal passions. Whether or not these individuals are “cool” is a matter of opinion, but their work is indisputably relevant to a particular audience, and thus its members perceive them as such. They pursued a vision, and, then, somewhere down the road, cool found them…. We believe that cool is not the outcome of a chase but rather the province of a tasteful visionary who maintains a personal, authentic point of view.”

Their Conclusion
“What becomes glaringly apparent is that it doesn’t matter what any particular person might say about someone else’s work. It doesn’t matter what each of us thinks. In the final analysis, cool is really about achieving relevance- to a particular group, small or large. Christina Aguilera is the coolest thing ever to her fan base, as is Tony Hawk to his. Whether you think they’re cool or not is immaterial.
This is precisely why chasing someone else’s notion of cool is the biggest mistake one can possible make. Our taste change as consumers. Our culture shifts. What worked in one place might not work in another. Fact: There is no objective definition for what makes something cool. Never was. never will be.
The only way to build a true communion with an audience- to a point where they might deem you or your work “cool”- is to follow a personal vision and stay true to that vision no matter what. And if your completely off-the-wall idea gets old, come up with another one. “

Some of our conclusions in our ENCM discussion:
-We are a church- not MTV, not a coffee shop, etc..; our youth services is not a noontime show or a concert …. so let’s not try to be one or else we will be perceived as a cheap imitation rather than cool. Be excellent and relevant instead of chasing cool!

-Services: Instead of chasing cool, let’s be who we are and do what we are suppose to do, with excellence and touch of relevance to the people we’re reaching. Our primary “product” should be excellent and relevant worship and the word, not intermission numbers, games, costumes, videos, props, etc.. this should all highlight worship and the word, not the other way around (I’m not saying  stop using props, videos, etc… just make sure it won’t be the main attraction)

Any additional insight?

Tags: Church, Youth Ministry
Posted in Mix