"Sometimes because pastors don't know any better, they don't have any tools, they don't know how to put the pieces together, how to really connect the great story of the gospel to the community. So I felt a burden to do that..." Maurilio AmorimMany of the good people at FBC Jax and other churches that have had their offerings used by their church leadership to pay for Maurilio's services, probably have never seen or heard him. Now you can, and he gives the story of how he was called into his ministry and how he views his role in your church.
Maurilio was brought in day 1 at FBC Jax after Mac Brunson was hired. Maurilio has been a trusted friend and advisor to the Brunson family, as he was a consultant for Brunson at First Baptist Dallas. When he came to FBC Jax, Maurilio played a key role in reshaping the staff, interviewing all ministers to make recommendations on who stayed and who did not, and how the organization should be restructured. He played a very key role behind the scenes the first year Brunson was at FBC Jax. And of course, he along with Trey Brunson transformed the pastor's conference into a marketing bonanza, selling promotions packages that included the selling of messages on the church's screens and actually selling the benefit of having the "emcee" mention a ministry or product from the pulpit.
In the interview Maurilio speaks of how he received the vision from God for his company. Like many of the mighty men of God these days, he received his vision on a mountain top. But unlike Mac I don't think Maurilio's vision occurred while riding a donkey to the top.
I have said before that the premise of his assistance given to churches seems to be standard Marketing 101. We're told by Al Mohler that pastors are "appointed by God", and we're told that pastors are not "hired" but rather are "called by God" himself to pastor a church....yet we also must believe that our called and appointed pastors need to hire a guy like Maurilio to connect the gospel message to the community. I thought the pastor was called, and trained for years and years in seminary on how to teach and reach and preach. But apparently these pastors don't have the tools, or "don't know any better" and they need someone like Maurilio:
"The gospel is alive and there is dynamic things happening. Sometimes because pastors don't know any better, they don't have any tools, they don't know how to put the pieces together, how to really connect the great story of the gospel to the community. So I felt a burden to do that, to become that person, to create a company that would help pastors, ministries, colleges....to help tell their story. But more than that, how to connect the gospel to the community."
Unbelievable. It is so sad that in this day of church marketing, our CEO pastors need to hire a marketer to help them "connect the gospel to the community". I thought that was what they earned MDiv's and PhD's for at seminary.
Perhaps the day will come when our churches stop being run by CEO pastors and their hired marketing consultants to achieve certain revenue and giving unit targets.
Perhaps the day will come when our churches stop being run by CEO pastors and their hired marketing consultants to achieve certain revenue and giving unit targets.
"In the interview Maurilio speaks of how he received the vision from God for his company."
ReplyDeleteMe thinks that folks should no more question his "vision" than should anyone question your "vision!"
Oh, how I wish I could hear Dr. Homer G. Lindsay, Sr or Jr respond to Maurilio. Because for certain Lindsay, Sr. didn't have any tols to "connect" the Gospel to the community. And Lindsay, Jr certainly wasn't "cool" enough to be successful. Yet, they were.
ReplyDeleteOh, I think they both would take Maurilio and chew him up and spit him out!
Kyle
We had better question the vision of those wbo put themselves out there. I guess we should not question Obama's vision? If no, why not? Isn't the truth of the Gospel more important than politics?
ReplyDeleteWhat silly lemmings you all are.
""Sometimes because pastors don't know any better, they don't have any tools, they don't know how to put the pieces together, how to really connect the great story of the gospel to the community. So I felt a burden to do that..." Maurilio Amorim"
ReplyDeleteWhat an insult to Pastors from this young punk. The minute Brunson brought him into FBC people began to react negative and word was spread he was arrogant & cocky. . .the only VISION he has is how to make a dollar off of other people. FBC took a nose dive. All I have to say is gag, gag, gag!
I can tell you what appeals to me and my husband:
ReplyDeletea church based on values vs. beliefs
one that asks for money in a straight-forward, matter-of-fact manner and says something obvious like "we're an organization and must have funds to run this organization"
a church w/ different speakers from the congregation who tell you their name, what they do there, how long they've been there
Turn-offs:
anything that says "we're here to save the world and we must guilt you into giving us your money in order to do so; the Bible says....God wants you to....guilt, shame, the world needs our message, we've got the truth and must share it, we know something they don't know; public prayers.
turn-ons:
well-educated people who truly seem open to others and their thots
people who are friendly in a genuine way and have no hidden agenda
people who accept you as you are and seem to just want you as part of their community, nothing else
I think people are looking for community, respect, and acceptance. They want something genuine, not fake people and Bible stories.
Just my opinion.
Is that an earring Maurilio is sporting? Gag me.
ReplyDeleteNo earring. But he is rocking that skinny black tie.
ReplyDeleteIf you think they teach a pastor how to connect with his neighborhood in seminary you are sadly mistaken. There isn't a course to teach that so I guess Maurillo actually does have a point.
ReplyDelete"how to connect the great story of the gospel to the community"
ReplyDeleteMaybe part of the problem is that many don't believe the story is true, OR they find it depressing or confusing. I'm just saying that to some of us, it's not good news. It's depressing, confusing news. Or simply seems unlikely.
Can't you just imagine this young kid going before a Fortune 500 board of directors & casting his vision to make them a more effective business - I turned off the video within the 1st minute & half as it was nothing but nonsense talking - btw, it does look like he has a hole in his ear but without the earring.
ReplyDeleteOur federal government desperately needs to eliminate wasteful spending to get our economy back on track. Our churches need to follow in the same direction. And that means no more spending on wasteful marketing advisors like this guy and their unnecessary "tools". Do we really need to fork over thousands of dollars for someone to tell us we can use twitter? No. I could have told them that.
ReplyDeleteOur churches need to follow in the same direction.
ReplyDeleteThey need to remove the scabs, Follow the cross and not the flags.
Anony saith:
ReplyDeleteMe thinks that folks should no more question his "vision" than should anyone question your "vision!"
Thanks for enlightening us on that,
Mr. Maurilio. Just send in your invoice for the time spent here.
He's a international man of mystery. ROFL..
ReplyDeleteIs this guys green card up to date?
ReplyDeleteGuys,
ReplyDeleteIn case you haven't noticed, churches advertise as much as any other entity out there.
Why?
Because not only do we have to compete with the imagery of the world, but not we've set ourselves up in competition with each other.
Listen to your pastor for six months.
I guarantee you that you'll come across at least a couple of references to which their church is either a better church or the best church for X reason(s).
That's why you don't see churches partnering too much anymore. Each church wants to say that they did it with their name on the placard.
However, the problem that people like Maurilio don't realize is that advertising campaigns don't connect the story to the community.
People connect the story to the community. That's why the Great Commission is given to the believers and not just some marketing hacks who have enriched themselves in a niche market.
Maurilio is hardly alone in this field. He has just managed to hitch his career (hardly a ministry) to one of the largest churches in the country. To be honest, this field is often more cutthroat than secular marketing firms because everyone has the same vision from the same mountaintop.
For a church to have some expert help in focusing it's advertising dollars to make sure people's tithes aren't wasted on ineffective marketing isn't wrong. It becomes wrong when the church becomes all about the marketing and less about the actual connection of the story to the community.
It's the people in the congregation who make the connections. Not signs, videos, commercials, and mailouts.
So, let me see if I have this right: the Omnipotent, Omnipresent God who "calls" pastors to various churches is completely incapable of gifting those pastors or giving those pastors a "vision" for ministry in their communities. Is that about right? This dude, Maurilio, is just some wanna-be managerial-type who has read a little Collins and Bridges, stirred in a dash of Welch and a pinch of Covey, then mixed it together and served it up to lazy (I meant "busy") CEO pulpiteers as a surefire way to do business in the competitive world church growth. If it weren't so grossly offensive, it would be downright funny.
ReplyDelete"So, let me see if I have this right: the Omnipotent, Omnipresent God who "calls" pastors to various churches is completely incapable of gifting those pastors or giving those pastors a "vision" for ministry in their communities."
ReplyDeleteHis "vision" is outlined in the NT. And it is for every single true believer.
....Even the "janitor" who is a believer
"Can't you just imagine this young kid going before a Fortune 500 board of directors & casting his vision to make them a more effective business "
ReplyDeleteAre you serious? Where do you think churches get the ideas? From business! I have met a ton of Maurilio's out there in the business world. Why do you think they are importing Indians to be our computer geeks?
Watchdog,
ReplyDeleteLove your site. However, if Maurilio were consulting with the church across town, would you be feeling this holy rage...or is it just because he worked with Brunson? I ask because I feel this is a slippery slope.
I cannot but wonder if the Bible version Brunson uses will come under attack next, or if the places he shops for his suits will get a post. This is coming off more snarky than I meant it to be. I just wanted clarification on why Maurilio is bad.
Derek - this is not holy rage. If you want to know why Maurilio is a topic on this blog, you have to do a blog search on Maurilio and see many of the other articles I have written concerning church marketing in general, and Maurilio at FBC Jax in particular.
ReplyDeletewell, I think maurilio is funny on his twitter. and when somebody says they are an international man of mystery, thats funny.
ReplyDeleteAnon. 3:51. You get my point!!
ReplyDeleteAnon. 3:55. These guys are getting their information from the business world. Problem is, they don't keep up. Just a few years ago, every major company in America had a "Vision Statement" and a "Mission Statement." Sounds to me like Maurilio hasn't continuing reading. Were he to depend upon the Gospels as his primary source, his methodologies would not become so out-of-date, so quickly.
I don't think Mac Brunson is getting the bang for our buck out of this man. Church attendance and giving are down, attendance at the Pastors Conferance is dismal and staff members are coming and going like nothing I've seen since I've been going to First Baptist. The public community has no respect for this preacher as evident from recent newspaper articals concerning the recent mayors race and the incidents using the detective to obtain watchdogs identity. What a waste of church members money.
ReplyDelete" I just wanted clarification on why Maurilio is bad."
ReplyDeleteYou want to know why a church marketing consultant is bad?
If you do not know intuitively on your own, nothing anyone says here will help you understand.
(Oh, I forgot, Apollos was a church growth consultant and worked with Paul on customer service issues when planting churches. Oh, and I forgot about that special promotion with free giveaway of Paul's papyrus letters to bring them in )
SHEESH! And we wonder why the church is in trouble and so very shallow.
One of the main ways to gauge how effective the leadership of church is staff turnover.
ReplyDeleteIf a church is rapidly churning over in it's staff, the problem isn't with the staff that's leaving.
Also, it's very common for churches to bring on a business manager/administrator to run the day to day operations of a church. This person will run the church exactly like a business which means numbers dictate success/failure for ministries.
If the staff of FBC Jacksonville are coming and going with frequently regularity, look at the administrator who rules the kingdom in the king's stead. I guarantee you that you'll find a culture of fear among the staff.
anon 6:28-
ReplyDeleteI remember attending the pastor's conference the first year after Dr. Brunson became pastor with a pastor friend. He and I came to the conference every year since 1998. We had gotten to know the staff and volunteers pretty well.
He commented to me after going to a couple of the seminars that (certain members of the staff) looked scared to death for their jobs. He said they had a "deer in the headlights" look about them. By the way Trey was in that particular seminar, he was referring to.
So you may be rght, there may just be an atmosphere of fear amongst the staff.
The Staff at FBC stand 100% behind our Pastor.
ReplyDeleteWe love him, respect him, and honor him.
He is not perfect but he is our God-appointed Pastor and we love him with all of our heart.
LEAVE HIM ALONE
"He is not perfect but he is our God-appointed Pastor and we love him with all of our heart."
ReplyDeleteQ.E.D
"I guarantee you that you'll find a culture of fear among the staff"
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty much the norm for mega churches. People forget that as religious institutions they are not under any of the Federal labor laws. Many do not even have unemployment. They can fire for anything and you are out on the street with nothing.
That is one reason you see so many sychophants on staff. It is job security.
Staff turnover at mega's is huge. They usually call it restructuring or reorganizing to hide it at upper levels and to give it meaning other than just high turnover. But they do not really care about high turnover. AFter all, who cares about efficiency in mega world? They don't have to earn money nor are they accountable for quality. If the show is good, who cares?
ReplyDeleteIn fact, mega's restructure more than any organization I have ever seen in the non profit world or even the for profit world.
At some megas you have the "cake people" and the no-cake people.
The cake people are the ones that left on decent terms. The no cake people just leave and NO ONE ever mentions them again. Many are afraid to.
Most decent people do not last in a mega structure. They cannot stand the "bad barrell" and know if they stay, they will become a rotten apple, too. The mega system is designed to produce those who go along with bad things to keep their job and then justify it as being submissive.
People in business do this all the time. The difference is that they do not do it in the Name of Jesus Christ.
"The Staff at FBC stand 100% behind our Pastor.
ReplyDeleteWe love him, respect him, and honor him.
He is not perfect but he is our God-appointed Pastor and we love him with all of our heart.
LEAVE HIM ALONE
June 1, 2011 8:25 AM
Oh really, why do some of them (and deacons) talk behind their beloved pastors back? Just asking!
"Oh really, why do some of them (and deacons) talk behind their beloved pastors back? Just asking!"
ReplyDeleteYeah, why do these godly Christians and church leaders find it necessary to go out and gossip about their pastor?
I think there may be more wrong with a gossiper than the one being gossiped about.
"If you do not know intuitively on your own, nothing anyone says here will help you understand."
ReplyDeleteIn other words if people refuse to wear the color tinted glasses you wear and see the world through your lenses they are in trouble and shallow?
Now that's shallow.
Jon L. Estes has too much time on his hands.
ReplyDeleteAren't local churches like businesses? They need customers to come and buy what they are selling. To me, that's just a fact. Nothing wrong with it. They are an organization. All organizations need money to operate.
ReplyDeleteBut then, you mix in the Bible, and it gets crazy. And confusing. If you're looking at this from the Bible, it seems the local church would be more like the synogague was in the Bible-with all the same problems related to money??
If people are wanting to be Christ-like, they'd be out somewhere busy visiting the sick, the prisoners, helping their neighbor. They'd spend very little time and money on the church itself.
Does this make sense to anybody? (And, btw, I'm Lynn. I changed my email and somehow got a different name.)
To me, all the Christian stuff could be accomplished w/o a paid pastor and staff. With the way it is now, the church truly seems more like a country club where you go to a performance once a week. Why not eliminate that and meet in each others' homes. Don't the Amish do it that way?
ReplyDelete"If people are wanting to be Christ-like, they'd be out somewhere busy visiting the sick, the prisoners, helping their neighbor. They'd spend very little time and money on the church itself."
ReplyDeleteYep, we got off track when Christianity became acceptable in Roman society in the 3rd century and started adopting their customs.
"To me, all the Christian stuff could be accomplished w/o a paid pastor and staff. With the way it is now, the church truly seems more like a country club where you go to a performance once a week. Why not eliminate that and meet in each others' homes. Don't the Amish do it that way?"
ReplyDeleteThat's the way that the first century Christian church operated also.
Jon L. Estes has too much time on his hands.
ReplyDeleteJune 1, 2011 10:23 AM
He is a pastor. What do you expect?
I think there may be more wrong with a gossiper than the one being gossiped about.
ReplyDeleteJune 1, 2011 9:43 AM
Guys like Jon, as pastors, think all negative truth they do not like is gossip. Oh, and slander.Never mind their goal is to be very public. They crave adulation.
"In other words if people refuse to wear the color tinted glasses you wear and see the world through your lenses they are in trouble and shallow?"
ReplyDeleteActually Jon, that is exactly what you communicate here about yourself. Funny how that works. Psychology calls it "projecting".
"In other words if people refuse to wear the color tinted glasses you wear and see the world through your lenses they are in trouble and shallow?"
ReplyDeleteJon always tries to make it about the other person. It's called an ad hominem attack.
It's a lame attempt to distract from the fact that he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.
If you ask him to back up his rediculous contentions with biblical support, he will start digging up proof texts like "touch not mine anointed" completely out of context of course.
When you ask logical follow-up questions, he will employ verses about silly questions - again out of context.
When it becomes clear that he is wrong, instead of thanking another for teaching him something, he will claim that you think you know it all and have a problem because you are so desperate to have him agree - even though he is also trying to get you to agree.
When all else fails, he will fall back on the old reliable - you are wrong because you are anonymous scheme. It has nothing to do with the topic, but it is a nice distraction.
Bottom line: When Jon starts with the personal attacks - you know that he has run out of ideas and is in desperation mode.
God has used Maurilio to help Pastors further the Gospel.
ReplyDeleteJesus caught a fish with a coin in its mouth because it takes money to fish for men.
Maurilio helps Pastors to cultivate gifts....he told me once...'there is gold in them pews!' It is the Pastors responsibility before God to "mine" what's mine!
I thank God for men like Maurilio that are not afraid to go after what is God's....God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and I pray he cashes in one for me!!!
"God has used Maurilio to help Pastors further the Gospel."
ReplyDeleteWell, he has certainly done a poor job here in Jacksonville - attendance very poor!
God has used Maurilio to help Pastors further the Gospel.
ReplyDeleteWARNING WARNING WARNING WILL ROBINSON.
TROLL ALERT
"Jesus caught a fish with a coin in its mouth because it takes money to fish for men."
ReplyDeleteI spewed my tea with this one. You must attend the same seminary Jon Estes did.
And here I thought that happened to teach Peter after he obliged Jesus to pay the temple tax: The sons are free.
I'm sorry, but if you have to twist scripture to justify your position within the church or your own "ministry" in the field, odds are that your perceived ministry isn't a ministry after all.
ReplyDeleteTo corrupt passages like the fish with the coin in its mouth is heresy.
As in you are a heretic.
Scripture interprets scripture and this flies in the face of so many other passages.
I'm sorry. But if you believe that it takes money to fish for men, then you have just made money more powerful than the Holy Spirit. You have just elevated money above our Lord and Savior.
You are a heretic. Live with that.
But then again a den of thieves is probably far more comfortable to you than a House of Prayer...
anon 6/1/2011 8:25 am
ReplyDeleteIts funny that you put that out there.. if the staff at FBC was behind him, then they wouldn't talk about him, walk around like robots, and of course we are in a terrible economic recession, therefore you have to say that!
What happened to Jim Smryl? Why isn't he the executive pastor and yet John Blount, a construction company owner with no formal church/seminary education is?
Did Smyrl say something wrong?