Archive for 'Orange'

ReThink ReInvents Family Times

Posted on20. Jul, 2010 by Kenny.

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I must say that I’m very excited about Cue Box, a new resource coming soon from reThink that ties directly into 252Basics. For years reThink has offered virtue packs through Family Times that tied into the monthly virtue. Don’t get me wrong, these are great resources. However, we couldn’t ever really get a lot of momentum behind them. The parents who used them like them, but few committed to using them regularly.

Cue Box is a reinvention of the Family Times virtue packs. The big change is that it’s DVD and Kid driven. Rather than going the route of offering a resource to parents that they “should” use, Cue Box offers a resource that basically does the same thing but because it is Kid-driven, the kids are pushing their parents toward getting it and using it.

Who knows how successful it will be? It probably depends on how you promote it among your parents and how readily available you make it. From what I’ve seen, the production value seems high (personally I think it’s on a significantly higher level than any of their other video content) and I can’t imagine that the content is anything less than excellent.

Click here to visit Studio252.tv and learn more about Cue Box. This resource begins with September’s virtue, so you don’t want to miss your opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

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#Orange10 Day 3: Donald Miller

Posted on03. May, 2010 by Kenny.

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Donald Miller spoke at Orange two years ago in a main session. From that year, I only remember two main session talks, Reggie’s and Donald’s. So, I was excited to get to hear him again. This time it was an interview and not a featured talk. I did enjoy what he had to say. I didn’t take many notes, but really one key concept has stuck with me these last few days. Donald talked a lot about story and what it takes to have a good story. You need conflict and resolution and development. When you don’t have those things, the story is boring. Life is the same way and we need to see our lives as stories. In the midst of our lives, we need to look at what might be missing and make changes so that our story is powerful.
Donald shared a story that I’ve heard Reggie share a few times. It was about dad who was losing his teenage girl. She was dating a trouble maker and disengaging from the family. The dad heard from someone that this “other life” was offering a better story. This dad then made a commitment for his family to raise $20,000 to build an orphanage in Mexico. He was initially encountered with resistance from the family, but eventually everyone jumped on board and everyone brought ideas and excitement to the mission. Within a few weeks, the trouble-maker boyfriend was history. The teenage daughter now had a better story to live and the boyfriend didn’t fit in the context of this “more exciting” story.
Donald shared that is isn’t necessary to win for the story to be great. It’s only necessary to sacrifice. It’s like the movie Friday Night Lights, based on the West Texas football team. In the movie, the team loses the final game (sorry if I spoiled it). The true story is that they won the following year, but that year didn’t seem to take as much discipline and sacrifice as the previous year. The year they lost was a better story. It made for a better movie. In your life, winning isn’t necessary, but the conflict, the sacrifice and costs extracted make the difference of a life well lived or wasted. In II Chronicles 6:7-8 it describes how David wanted to build the temple, but never did. He did well because the temple was in his heart. It was an unrealized dream, but he did much to see that temple become a reality in the life after his. This sounds a lot like Hebrews 11, describing all the fathers of our faith who never realized the promise.
This talk left me with a lot to think about. It’s so easy to measure my life by what I accomplish, but rarely do I look at how we actually live.

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#Orange10 Day 3: Parenting beyond your capacity

Posted on03. May, 2010 by Kenny.

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Don’t judge the rest of this post by my next statement. This breakout was a commercial for the new book, “Parenting beyond your capacity.” However, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. This book is going to be a powerful new resource for parents and I think a lot of people are going to be really excited about it. So, this was an opportunity to hear from the authors about why they wrote this resource . Here are a few of my take-aways.
Most parents DO NOT have a strategy for leading their kids spiritual. Most parents “assume” the church will do it.
Carey equated this to dishes. To many parents see the church or the task of spiritual formation as using the formal dishes. We rarely use them and when we do, its awkward and a little uncomfortable. They don’t really see real life, just those special occasions. The every day dishes are what we’re comfortable with, what we use day in and day out and they experience the joys and pain of life. Spiritual formation needs to be like the routine of using our everyday dishes. The parenting strategy needs to follow the same kind of rhythm.
The book follows the five family values Reggie Joiner promotes in the Orange strategy also found in his book Think Orange.” They include:
  1. Widen the circle
  2. Imagine the end
  3. Fight for the heart
  4. Create a rhythm
  5. Make it personal
One overwhelmingly powerful message that all parents need to understand is that almost every family from the Bible is dysfunctional. Parents often get an idea in their head of what a biblical family is supposed to look like and then feel defeated because it’s impossible to achieve that image. Kids need to get a front row view of what grace and spiritual transformation looks like in their family. Dysfunction is the reality most families live in. God wants to transform lives as he works in our families.
Interesting stats:
  • 75% of parents have attended a church in the last 24 months.
  • 25% of families have both mom and dad living at home.
One thing Reggie said got me really excited about a potentially future resource. The environment I serve in is highly unchurched where most of our families are either not yet following Christ or very early in the process of spiritual formation. This doesn’t mean these parents can’t begin the task of spiritual formation of their kids, but it may require a totally different approach as well as an entirely different resource. Reggie mentioned the idea of writing a resource for this kind of audience. I think it that were developed, it would be my first choice with this book being the next book in the process (but I haven’t read it yet, so I don’t know).

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#Orange10 Day 2: Doug Fields

Posted on03. May, 2010 by Kenny.

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I’ve never had the privilege of reading anything from Doug Fields or hearing him speak in person, but I know that for students pastors around the world, he’s a legend. I’ve known student pastors who have worked for him and others who simply use his resources; however, I’ve never heard anything but GREAT things from Doug Fields. I got to meet him and talk with him for just a minute or two backstage a few hours before his session, not enough to get a full impression. However, after his talk all I can say is WOW! I think I love this guy. Doug came to speak to pastors of students and kids and he chose to focus on the subject of our families, our spouses and our children. Epic talk!

Here are two main truths.
  • In ministry, there is always more to do. Always. We’ll never finish.
  • If I don’t focus on my family, no one else will.
The sad part of all of this is that you may spend the better part of a decade investing in the lives of students, kids and families at your church, but once you’re gone, you’ll be a blip on the radar. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you’re more than that. They’ll find someone else to do what you did. Your replacement might even be better than you. Get over it. It’s the truth. The painful part is that the place where you’ll make the biggest impact is in your own house. Although you can be replaced in your job, you can never be replaced in your role as a mom or dad. Invest where you can make a bigger impact.
Doug made a few suggestions about about your roles as a parent in ministry.
  • What are you doing to make your house fun? Live it up, have fun!
  • What are you doing to make you working at the church a privilege for your family?
This part was funny. Did Doug’s kids get the best small group leaders? Absolutely! Did Doug’s kids have private sleepovers in the church facilities. Yup! Did his kids swim in the baptismal. Oh yeah! Too often our kids get the shaft as a result of our job. Our families pay the price because they get “left overs” dad or mom. We can change that, make it a treat that they get to be a pastor’s kid.
This was a great message for me to hear. I’ve made some changes this last year to put a higher priority on my family. I need to do more. I need to make the time I’m spending with them more focused and more intentional. One thing in particular that really spoke to me was how Doug said he never took work calls on his phone when his family was in the car. Never. I must admit that when I’m driving around town with Titus, I’m on the phone a lot. Titus isn’t really that talkative. We’re not really carrying on conversations; however, that’s not really creating father/son bonding time. I know I don’t want him veggin’ out watching videos, so I need to follow the same example and not “multi-task” at the expense of my family.

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#Orange10 Day 2: Rev Run

Posted on03. May, 2010 by Kenny.

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Okay, don’t misread me here. When it comes to content, I got the least from Rev Run. I wrote three things down. He had good things to say, just nothing power-packed and life-changing. However, I can’t say that he wasn’t inspiring. What an incredible testimony he’s living to people I may never have influence over. In his talk, he spoke about recent conversations he had with Will Smith or other starts. Rev Run has a powerful platform and from all appearances, he’s living his life right. He and his wife are raising six kids and he’s teaching them to honor God and follow him. What a great and powerful story. I was glad to hear Reggie interview him and this session added to the overall experience. Here were a few things that he said that stuck out.
Absence make the heart and family grow further. It’s not a silly cliche. Spend time with your spouse. Spend time with your kids. Period.
As a parent, you’re going to run into difficult situations. You’re going to encounter issues that you have no knowledge of. That’s okay. If you know the one who knows, then you’re in good company. Spend time with God, you don’t know your kids as well as he knows your kids.

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#Orange10 Day 2: Family First

Posted on03. May, 2010 by Kenny.

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Todd Clark planted a church in California that is truly an Orange church. As the senior pastor of this church, he shares about how to create a ministry where family truly comes first. Here are seven principles:
Orange-ify your Senior Pastor
There are many shades of orange. Helping your pastor see Orange may take time, but just take it step by step. Shades of Orange go from Invite to Interested to Open to Influenced to Involved to Invested.
It is important to pay attention to timing. A great idea at the wrong time is a bad idea. Serve your pastor and his vision first. “Promote your leader’s dreams and they will promote yours.” John Maxwell.
Making sticky decisions (budget and programing)
Create reciprocal stages. For example, allow your artists to play/perform/lead on multiple stages. Just because they sing doesn’t mean they’ll always sing on the main stage. They may bounce around from kids to students to the main stage.
Don’t worry, be crappy
It is better to do something imperfectly than nothing perfectly. Use what you have and do the best you can with that.
Celebrate spiritual milestones
Child dedications and family baptisms. Make a big deal out of these things. Give parents a path to follow, something to work towards.
“For Heaven’s Sake” is a great program offered through reThink for baptisms.
Orange honors staff families
Before we can put our church families first, we have to put our own families first.
Orange often “irritates” parents
It’s likely that your doing something right if your parents are irritated with some of your decisions. It may come from using the word “partnership.” Closing environments 15 minutes after the service begins to honor what happens in the classrooms may frustrate your parents. Asking your parents to choose a service and stick with it may annoy some. Not ever decision you make will be family friendly, but it does put the family first. Your job is not to give parents what they want, it’s your job to give parents what they need.
Family dream session
What if a family gave the same time to planning their family as they do planning their job? Give parents the tools and resources to do this.
There were several great principles that I found helpful to what I’m doing at my church. The biggest for me though was the principle of baptism. Currently, we celebrate child dedication as a milestone in a personal and equipping way for parents. Unfortunately, my church celebrates baptism in a way that isn’t always family friendly or allows the child to truly connect why they’re getting baptized. As a result of this breakout, we’re going to begin transitioning the way we celebrate baptism similar to the way we practice child dedication. I’m very excited about this change.

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#Orange10 Day 2: John Ortberg

Posted on03. May, 2010 by Kenny.

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I love John Ortberg. Although this was the very first time I’ve heard him speak, he’s the author of one of my favorite books. I’ve read it more times than I know. If you haven’t read it, but it now. You won’t regret it.

John started by sharing with the crowd what the fastest growing religion in this generation is. What do you think it is? The first though that came to my mind was the religion of “who gives a rip.” I wasn’t too far off. The fasted growing faith of this generation is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Moralistic Therapeutic Deism states that there is a God. He wants us to be nice. he wants us to feel good about ourselves and other than when we REALLY need him, he’s not involved in our lives. I think I might agree.

What’s caused the growth of this new religion? Consumerism? Careerism? Entitlement? Selfishness? Take your pick. This new religion is the product of our culture.

I’m not exactly sure how John transitioned, but he talked about false views of our “selves” and the “selves” we’re often tempted to become. Here are the four false “selves.”

  • The me I think I should be

This false self is born out of comparison. We see oursleves in the light of how we see others. Comparison kills spiritual growth. God plan is that as we grow, we’ll become more like the person he created us to be. God never creates “throw-aways.” He only rescues. Spiritual growth is simply becoming more like “you.”

  • The me other people want me to be

This false self is born out of a need for approval. We have to be willing to disappoint someone. Who cares about someone’s approval. For everyone else, truly the best give you could ever give anyone is to not expect them to be anything other than the very best they can be.

  • The me I’m afraid God wants me to be

In our Christian culture, we’ve inaccurately defined spiritual growth or maturity. We truly have to find a way to gauge spiritual growth where the pharisees don’t always win. Spiritual growth isn’t about what I’m doing. Rather, it’s about what I’m becoming. What’s a sign that you’re growing? You’ll experience less worry and become less irritated.

  • The me that fails to be me

We have largely reduced grace to the salvation from sins. That’s only part of the picture. Saints are meant to grow in grace, run on grace and live by grace. There is a you that you are becoming and it’s God’s grace that you’ll become the you that God created.

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#Orange10 Tweet up

Posted on02. May, 2010 by Kenny.

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On Wednesday night after the opening session of the Orange Conference, ministry leaders were in full force at the official Orange Tweet up at Coffee Perks in Duluth, GA. There were easily 50 people crowded into the quaint little coffee shop/cafe. Everyone got free coffee (or smoothie for non coffee drinkers like me)! Yum!

There was no structure or order to things, just two hours of mingling and getting to know each other. I got to meet a lot of people I’d been looking forward to connecting with. Some who’ve left comments on my blog for years yet we’ve never met as well as people with blogs I read on a regular basis. I found myself jumping from table to table, diving into conversations about ministry, a little bit of technology and whatever was going on in life.

Eventually we were kicked out of the coffee shop and a few remaining stragglers hung out another 20-30 minutes at the tables on the sidewalk. This is some of my favorite parts of Orange. It was so encouraging to see so many people come out, especially at this hour. I’d love to see it grow even more next year, or multiply. If you missed out this year, make sure you take the time to participate next year. You’ll be glad you did.

Thanks so much to Bree and the reThink team that put this together! Great Job!

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After my Kidmin/Orange marathon, this is how I feel

Posted on02. May, 2010 by Kenny.

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Every year I look forward to my week at Orange. Rather than just take in a few days of conference, I try to get the biggest bang for my buck. I get to Atlanta a few days early to see some family as well as visit North Point Church or some other church so I can observe and learn from what others are doing. Then the conference begins and I typically have every minute booked. In addition to attending the conference and breakouts, I’m meeting people having conversations and learning from others. Typically, every meal is booked and I’m rarely back to my hotel room before midnight.

I love it; however, I think I’m done with marathon conference tours for a while. Next time I’ll come in for the conference and then I’ll go back home. It’s a lot of time to be away from my family. I miss them. It’s an entire week to be away from my team and my work. Although I usually come back from these conferences pretty pumped up and ready to charge forward, I just feel it’s a little too much.

So, it was fun. I’m looking forward to processing all I’ve learned, both from Orange and from the churches I’ve visited. I’ve also got a project or two that I’m ready to tackle. I’m kind of excited about those too. Today’s my last day in Atlanta, I’m going to enjoy it the best I can and then get back to my real life tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who made this year’s Kidmin/Orange marathon a total blast!

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Drinking from a fire hydrant

Posted on30. Apr, 2010 by Kenny.

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So, Orange 2010 is officially over now. Unfortunately, I’m not even done blogging my experiences from the first day. More than any other year, Orange has been like drinking from a fire hydrant. Creative ideas and challenges from breakouts. Powerful message content from the main stage. Incredible people to meet and talk to in the hallways. Early mornings and late nights hanging out with staff and friends. On top of all of this, my brain is running at 100 MPH thinking about all the things I’ve learned and want to process.

That’s why I’m about two days behind.

Don’t worry, I’ll catch up. I’m not going home until Monday morning, so I should wrap up all my Orange posts before Monday morning. However, I’m sure you’ll be reading Orange inspired thoughts from me in the near and distant future.

My hat is off to the reThink group for another amazing conference (and I don’t even wear hats). It was that good!

If you didn’t come in 2010, make plans to come next year. Hey look, you can even register here.

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