Ep. 208: Phil Cooke: The Loyalty Obsession – Why It’s Hurting Churches and Ministries

An important part of what we do here at MinistryWatch – especially with these “Extra” episodes -- is to bring to you important thought leaders who have important things to say both to donors and to ministry leaders.  That’s why I’m pleased to have back on the program Phil Cooke. Phil got his start in media working on the television program of Oral Roberts, while he was still a student at Oral Roberts University.  Over the years Cooke has become one of the nation’s experts on the use of media in a Christian context.  He has also been outspoken on the need for men and women of integrity in Christian ministries.  Though he got his start working for one of the most famous televangelists in history, he has also been a thoughtful critic of televangelists.  And even though he is a media and marketing expert, he says that evangelical Christianity doesn’t have a marketing problem.  It has a character problem. Phil Cooke is a working producer in Hollywood who also has a Ph. D. in theology.  He’s the author of a half-dozen books on media and marketing and has been a contributor to Fast Company, Forbes, and The Huffington Post.  He is also a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as well as the Producer’s Guild of America. Phil spoke to me from his studio in California. You can find the article we discussed today, The Loyalty Obsession – Why It’s Harming Churches and Ministries – by going to the MinistryWatch website. Before we go, I’d like to remind you that MinistryWatch is donor supported.  We take no money from ministries.  All of our content is free.  No paywall.  That means we couldn’t do what we do without faithful donors.  You guys are the real heroes of this enterprise.  So if you’d like to join that heroic group by pitching in to make sure that MinistryWatch remains a viable endeavor, you can go to MinistryWatch.com and hit the “donate” button at the top of the page. And if you give during the month of September we’ll send you a copy of a book I co-wrote with The Colson Center’s John Stonestreet.  That book is:  “Restoring All Things:  God’s Audacious Plan to Change The World Through Everyday People.” The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.   We get database, technical, and editorial support from Cathy Goddard, Stephen DuBarry, Christina Darnell, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. I’m Warren Smith, and you’ve been listening to the MinistryWatch podcast.  Until next time, may God bless you.