Tag Archives: Blogs
And then there were four
Posted on 27. Mar, 2011 by Kenny.
Wow! All I can say is WOW! Round two of the Kidmin Blog Madness competition was intense. I have no more fingernails on one hand. In case you didn’t know, early in this competition I decided to get behind a friend of mine to do whatever I could to get him to the final four. In round one I kept quite publicly and did what I could do to get him into round two. Last week, I told everyone and anyone who would listen to me about the plan and although it literally came down to the final hour, Jared Massey of Small Town Kidmin made it to the final four. Give big props to Andy Johnson though… he fought tooth and nail to the very end. In the end, Jared Massey made it to the final round… the final four.
So, as we enter this last week of competition, I urge you. Please vote for Jared Massey of Small Town Kidmin. Why vote for him? Why am I trying so hard to get him to the top?
- Because he’s just as deserving as anyone else in this competition… maybe even more so. He’s given his heart and soul to serving kids through kidmin, but he’s got to do it around the confines of full time secular work. That alone is simply amazing and worthy of our respect. What I love most about Jared is that he’s using his situation to be a voice and encouragement to other bi-vocational kids pastors. I love it.
- Because there is a principle here. Far too often we live in our own isolated kidmin worlds, taking care of all that we have to take care of. This isn’t wrong… it’s just the way that it is. However, when we press pause for a few minutes on our own stuff and contribute toward something larger than just ourselves and our own slice of kidmin, we can accomplish so much more than one person could do alone. Voting for Jared is a symbol. We don’t have to wait for a publisher or company to fix our problems or make kidmin better. WE CAN DO IT! If we work together, nothing is impossible. No one expected Small Town Kidmin to make it this far, but when we all join together, we’ll see him win the whole enchilada!
So, vote for Jared. He deserves it and when you vote, know that you’re making a statement about what “could be” when we do this thing together!
So here is what I need you to do.
- Vote for Jared. Do it now. Click here.
- Leverage your influence to get Jared more votes. Imagine that if it were you in the final four. You’d email a whole bunch of people and ask them to vote really quick. You’d facebook friends and ask them to help you win the iPad and vote. Just take 3-5 minutes and leverage the influence that you have and get Jared a dozen or so votes that he wouldn’t have ever gotten because you’re united in this effort.
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Orange Week Day 7: Recap
Posted on 05. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
This is it, the last day or Orange Week. Here’s the recap of what was said:
Michael Bayne talks about one of his Orange memories, the talk Nancy Ortberg gave about conflict. Unfortunately, I missed her talk in 2010, but I did experience her conflict breakout in 2008 and I have to say it was one of the most powerful breakouts I’ve ever been a part of. Something else Michael said at the beginning of his posts that’s worth repeating. He said the Orange conference is the only place where your preschool, nursery, elementary, junior high and high school pastor can all come together and be on the same page. He’s right, I’ve not seen anything else like it.
Chad highlights some of his best memories from the Orange Conference last year, including a video he made while flying to Atlanta. Chad’s a really creative guy who puts together amazing videos for both ministry and for his own enjoyment. He also remembers a conversation he had while driving to the tweet up with Sam Luce and Jonathan Cliff. I didn’t know anything about the conversation until he wrote a post about it 8-9 months later. It was a great read.
Then, by request, Chad reposted another great Orange memory from 2009, the “Sam Luce” video. I’d almost forgotten about this one. I have to admit, I laugh out loud every time I see it.
I wrote about my favorite memories from past Orange Conferences. You’ll notice that most of my memories revolve around things outside the conference. No, it’s not a negative toward Orange. The Conference continues to get better year after year and I attend almost every breakout and sessions. But it’s the people I get to surround myself with and bounce the ideas I’m learning off of that makes Orange so spectacular. Some people jump from conference to conference. There’s nothing wrong with variety. However, if you’re just attending a conference for the speakers, then it probably doesn’t matter what conference you attend because most people who speak at Orange will be speaking somewhere else as well. But if you come to connect with other family-focused and like-minded people, then there’s no better place that Orange.
Oh, I also published a post about all the great badges you can put on your website to promote Orange. You can read that blog here or just go to the page of badges right here.
Sam Luce posted 10 things he’s learned from Orange Conference pasts. What a great post, fully loaded of inspiring moments and memories that bring a smile to my face. I mus admit, I’m proud that a memory of me made it to the top spot. Lanny, the answer is Tiberius!
Jonathan Cliff has tied me in the number of times he’s attended the Orange Conference. He does a great job summarizing his experiences from each. You should read his recaps, they’re great. It’s true, no Orange Conference is the same, each one unique in it’s own way.
Jared authored another post on Kidmin 1124 about what he learned from Orange last year even though he wasn’t there physically. He talked about Doug Field’s talk on leading and loving your own family and how it should be a privilege to your family that you work at the church. Right now my boy LOVES coming to church with his daddy. I know that it won’t always be that way if I don’t really make his time and experiences there special. Thanks Jared for the great reminder!
Wendy Douglas shares a very personal memory from Orange last year. She reflects on how she wasn’t that mom who truly led her kids spiritually, but ater reading Think Orange and attending Orange, she’s that catalyst for other parents to be that for their kids now. Beautiful Wendy!
One last post on Kidmin 1124 from Theresa Haskins tells her Orange Conference experiences. If you haven’t met Theresa, you’re missing out. One word. Enthusiasm. I don’t think anyone was as excited to be at Orange as she was! Ha! I do like what she had to say about Reggie. I’ve only met him a few times and know him better through other people, but from what I know, he really is the real deal. Humble and unassuming… passionate and a beating heart for what you hear him say.
Nick shared a great post about his two Orange Conference experiences, both in 2007 and 2010. I didn’t realize so many of the great speakers where there in 2007 as in 2008… and 2010. Hope you’ll be there again in 2011!
Dan Scott shares the story of his role at Ada Bible and how they turned Orange and built a Family Experience slowly over the period of five years. This is a very refreshing story as I think most would agree that Ada truly is an Orange church, setting a standard for so many others to learn from. Thanks Dan for giving us a peak behind the scenes.
JC writes about a beautiful experience he had this weekend with his family and his brother-in-law who has Cerebral Palsy. He noticed how his parents serve their son so selfishly week after week, year after year. Seeing this kind of life played out in front of you is humbling and it’s hard not to be affected. JC shares thoughts about serving the community in a similar way as well as serving families with children like his brother-in-law. Don’t miss this one.
Well, I think that’s the end of the road. Another Orange Week in the books. If you’ve been reading these notes, you’ll know that some pretty incredible things were said/written this week. I’m still processing. That is the power of community and collaboration.
Well, expect some Orange Week spill-over this week. With writing all these long recaps, I know I didn’t finish saying everything I intended, so there will probably be a few more coming from me. Also, don’t forget that Tuesday, October 5th is the first day of registration for the 2011 Orange Conference. Do it! Sign up! Don’t wait! I can’t wait t see you there!
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Orange Week Day 6: Recap
Posted on 04. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
So I’m a good 12 hours late posting Day 6 of Orange Week. Not too much was said as everyone was pretty busy with services. So, here’s what I saw.
Michael Bayne shares a quick post about multi-site and his team’s excitement to bring Orange to another community.
I wrote a post about an idea we had recently in adapting one of our adult services to be inclusive of elementary aged kids. The motivation was both out of necessity as well as an effort to be Orange. Although we didn’t have many kids participating, we were pleased with how things turned out.
Over at Kidmin 1124, Wayne writes about his dreams for Kidmin. It’s an encouraging post as most of us in ministry will identify with his dreams. I think penning our dreams is a very effective discipline, one that has to happen before we can expect them to come true. Be sure to check it out.
In another post at Kidmin 1124, Barbara Graves also shares her dreams for Kidmin. It’s a powerful post describing that her true dreams move beyond the dream staff, the dream facility, the dream ministry strategy (even if it’s Orange) to something way more important. Great job Barbara!
At CM Buzz, Keith shares some of the Orange ideas he and his team are working on. What I love about his ideas are that they move beyond the church doors and spill out into the community. Good stuff, I hope to hear about success in coming months!
Nice and short. Only one more day of Orange Week!
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Orange Week Day 5: Recap
Posted on 03. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
I had a feeling that this would happen. It’s Saturday and there were only five Orange Week posts today. That’s okay for more than one reason.
- Most are off today and they shouldn’t be working.
- I wrote Friday’s recap earlier today and I’m a little happy that Saturday’s recap is only going to take a few minutes.
So, enjoy the short recap:
Michael Bayne wrote about how his Family Ministry team had a pretty big miss. For years, they avoided a large group gathering for preschoolers for a variety of reasons. Turns out that they had been wrong. Great post Michael, thanks for sharing it.
Today I wrote about ways we’ve missed it when it comes to being Orange. Mostly we’ve seen failure or something less than success when it comes to take-home papers, seasonal outreaches and the way our children’s and student teams integrate.
Jonathan Cliff announced a contest for his blog. Leave a comment or two on any of his Orange Week posts and you’ll get a chance to win a free digital edition of CUE Box.
At Kidmin1124, Barbara Graves shares about a mid-week program that she walked into. A great perspective about seeing what is wrong with a program and going after it. Barbara asks the right kinds of questions.
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Orange Week Day 4: Recap
Posted on 02. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
Well, you can tell a lot of people take Friday off, not nearly as many posts on the 4th day of Orange Week. I’m sure the 12 or so who did wrote theirs earlier in the week, huh? There were still some great posts, so let’s get into it.
We start this one off with a post from Pete Wilson’s blog, Without Wax. Pete starts off with a very strong statement, “There are few things more important to me these days than figuring out how to help our kids and students … I do know that we’ll never figure this out until the church gets more serious about partnering with parents.” The post continues with Pat Rowland (Cross Point’s Family Pastor) talking about his theory about family ministry. He’s got great things to say and I loved how he finished it up by saying:
- Parents need a Clear Strategy, and the Partnership of the Church.
- They need resources, not just a program
- They need to be shown how it works, not just told they should do it
- They need a community of encouragement, not an unattainable image
- They need an environment of integration, not complete age segregation
Michael Bayne talks about a giveaway he’d doing in conjunction with Orange Week. Last year he used a series from XP3 curriculum that greatly impacted his students and he’s giving it away. Be sure to check out his post, leave a comment and hopefully win some free curriculum.
Chad Swanzy wrote about partnering with parents in student ministry. It seems Chad hits what a lot of student pastors get frustrated about concerning working around parents or parents just getting in the way. I think it’s something that student pastors have to come to grips with if they really want t make a lasting impact in the lives of students, working with mom and dad.
Chad offers another great resource on Youth Leader Stash for families of teenagers as well as younger kids. It’s a family scavenger hunt, something a family could do on their own or with a bunch of other families. Check it out, it seems like a lot of families might enjoy this as well as experience great conversations along the way.
Sam Luce starts off his Friday of Orange week with YouTube Friday. This week: Annoying Orange. I have a love hate relationship with this little video series. It’s funny stuff, but incredibly annoying as well. If you’ve not seen it, you should check it out. If you have boys, they’ll love it… but you’ll have to decide if the fruit violence is appropriate. In addition to the humor, Sam shares some ideas he’s working on to empower families and push a gospel-focused vision or every family. He’s dong this through parent directed catechism and family events. Check it out, this stuff is good.
Jonathan writes a great post about the family side of all the changes he’s been making. He makes a very important point: “Let me be honest about something.  A family ministry is NOT started with a curriculum change.” Right on! Read how Jonathan has been very intentional with his “take-home” material to truly support families. Some of us might initially be disappointed by the few people engaging, but it’s a positive step in the right direction. One of the best Orange Week 2.0 posts I’ve read this week.
Over on the Ministry to Children blog, Sue Miller guests posts. She addresses the frustration some Kidmin workers feel about the impact they’re making in the lives of kids. She address several of the things the church can do better than the home although there are many things that the home can do better than the church. The great thing about Orange is that its not either/or, but both/and.
At Kidmin1124, Lindsey Whitney writes about how her church has been transitioning to Orange. The biggest yellow initiative they’ve initiated is staff meetings. It sounds kinda weird, but when being intentional, it’s one of the most important things to be done. Check it out to see how Lindsey’s church us using staff meetings to integrate their ministry efforts.
Anthony Prince writes this day about how a curriculum shift helped them become more Orange. They made several changes in their strategy, but their curriculum and Sunday morning strategy didn’t support what they really wanted to do. Their switch to 252 Basics and My First Look help set up ministry for the rest of the week.
Dan Scott invites the Middle School “guru” to post about Yellow Student Ministry. Guru Jon shares about the Cell Family concept he’s been leading for the last ten years. The fact that they’ve seen success in a method/strategy for a decade is worth reading alone, but it seems that they’ve maximized relationships in this model. Check it out, you’ll learn something for sure.
Matt McKee shares his favorite memory from a past Orange Conference. I’m just honored to have been a part of that memory. What you’ll see in the video is 5 friends who’ve only met for the first time a few days before sharing a meal at nearly 2 AM. What you didn’t know what that for at least 90 minutes after that, Matt and I were running Gina back to her hotel which I think was on the other side of Atlanta. Great times.
At Kidmin360, Greg writes about language. As a church, are we speaking the same language as our parents? Are we speaking the language they need to hear?
Another great day for Orange Week 2.0. I eagerly await what is said tomorrow!
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Orange Week Day 3: Recap
Posted on 01. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
Well, I’m a tad behind with this recap. Last night I took my family for a quick camping trip. It was absolutely wonderful, but there wasn’t any way I was writing a recap from my tent. So, here’s a catch up from what was discussed on Day 3.
Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers wrote a great post about the Orange Strategy. He defined for his many readers what the Orange Strategy is and why he plans to attend the conference this year. Great post!
Here’s a fantastic post from Carlos Whittaker, a self-declared “Orange Dad.” What a great perspective he offers, declaring that he needs all the help he can get and he relies on the Orange essentials to help him be a better dad.
Ron Edmondson shared his thoughts about Orange and parenting here. Although a pastor and leader of ideas, Ron writes this post as a parent who has raised children declaring that he was Orange before he knew there was a term. He’s got some great thoughts about the role of the church as well as the role of parents when it comes to passing faith along.
Michael Bayne continues his series of posts, this time focusing on Yellow initiatives… specifically teamwork. He communicates how his church most impacts families by serving families as a team. The Children’s Ministry, Student Ministry as well as the College Ministry mutually serve each other as they reach out to families. I love what they’re doing. If this doesn’t describe the ministry you’re a part of, you should read his post!
Chad Swanzy writes a very interesting post about parents connecting with their kids as well as ministries helping parents engage in what God is doing in that family. He equates it to a climb. We read in the scriptures that Jesus often when away to be with God, but sometimes these locations were treacherous. In the same way, the climb we must take with our families to discover what God is doing is difficult, but a trek worth taking.
On YouthLeaderStash, Chad posts a great resource for parents. It’s a questionnaire where parents can gauge where they are in respect to their relationship to their teenage kids. I think that it’s important to note that if you don’t know where you stand at this moment, it’s difficult to plot where you’re headed. So, this tool should help parents evaluate what needs to be done now before moving forward.
On Thursday I snuck in a handful of new posts for Orange week. My first post (technically written on Wednesday, but after I’d already written the recap was about Defining the Red. Parents need to know what a family is supposed to look like. Too often they get their definitions from the media or what they see around them. Secondly, I wrote a post Defining the Yellow. Even as someone who has been heavily engaged in the Orange Strategy, I’ve gotten distracted or have at times forgotten what it means for the church to be Yellow. I wrote yet another about deciding between Red and Yellow, personally how I’ve had to decide to not do really good things because it didn’t equip families. Last of all, I wrote a quick post of an idea I had to help pain the country orange, by using the new site imakidmin.com to display that you’re Orange. That way others in your community will know who else thinks like they do.
Jonathan Cliff writes a great post about how his church made the transition to using My First Look curriculum for the Early Childhood area. He shares about his space layout and room order so you get a picture of what he’s dealing with and how he uses the material to suit his needs. If you’re looking to use My First Look or tweak how you’re using it, this is a great post to grab ideas from.
Gina writes another stellar post. I caught myself nodding in agreement at several points. Either parens haven’t done any spiritual training in the lives of their kids or they’ve probably fumbled through it. Parents like anyone tend to not do things they’re not good at. Gina spoke on how to get parents to pick up the reigns… again. Here’s a fantastic idea she’s done for some time on helping parents engage in the most important thing they can do as parents.
Over on Kidmin1124, Jarred Massey (on of my favorite bi-vocational Children’s Pastors) talks about how they structured their Easter services to span multiple generations in a very Orange way. The service was a hit and probably responsible for the grow they saw weeks after Easter. Really great thoughts Jarred!
Nick Blevins builds on his previous post in talking about the importance of relationships. His church has specific environments designed to engage kids, but they put all their effort into creating a place where kids can have relationships with their leaders. This is the most important thing!
Anthony Prince gets my vote for favorite post of the day as he relates the Yellow part of the Orange strategy to yellow snow (reminds me while in college a few friends and I rewrote the entire song of “let the river flow” to “don’t eat yellow snow.” Thats all I could think of when reading this post. Ha!). It’s a great post, you should read it. Anthony continues with another post about calling something that’s Orange that isn’t really Orange. I loved the post and I think he’s got a great point. Don’t start a family service because it’s what Orange ministries do. Just because you hand out refrigerator cards or God-time cards doesn’t make you Orange either. You need to know and understand what it is you’re trying to do and carry out initiatives that help you find success in your context. Too bad the laser couldn’t shoot oranges.
Leave it to Dan Scott to knock another post out of the proverbial park. He interviews the coordinator of the special area at his church. It’s obvious that a special needs ministry MUST be orange. Great thoughts if you need help in better ministering to these families. Also, Dan also created a video of him and his son talking about CueBox. I love it and I need to get my hands on one of these!
JC wrote a very short post on Yellow initiatives. This will be short as well. What stuck with me was once line: “If the gospel is just a part of your ministry, you need to re-evaluate.” BAM!
Matt McKee writes another great post, basically about how bad the church is at being Yellow. Really, it’s a great post. It truly is the Grace of God and his desire to see people come to faith that we’ve made any traction this last 200o years. Good post Matt.
Henry Zonio echos so many other thoughts from this same day in being Yellow. The church needs to illuminate Christ, point people to the story of God. It’s about transformation! Good stuff Zonio.
Greg Baird brings a great point to light during this Week of Orange. In this whole effort of helping parents lead their kids, the goal is never for parents to become perfect or even more perfect than they are not. It is them allowing God to tell the story of restoration in their family which is what transforms. Beautiful and well said!
In this day’s post, Keith talks about parents owning up to their shortcomings and understanding that they’re not going to do everything right. When it comes to passing on faith, there is not a cookie cutter approach. He also provides some great and simple things parents can do to produce faith in their kids.
Okay, that does it for day 3′s recap. Looking forward to all the additional information to come!
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Orange Week Day 2: Recap
Posted on 30. Sep, 2010 by Kenny.
I think people had a busy day today, a few less posts today. However, there were still a bunch (still going to take me way too long to write this recap) and they were pretty awesome posts! So, here they are:
Michael Bayne wrote another stellar post today, this time about engaging with parents of students. He talks about how students at this phase in life are pulling away from parents, but through intentional conversations, parents can stay connected to their kids and continue to have influence. You as a ministry leader can help parents start these vital conversations.
Chad Swanzy wrote a similar post yesterday pointing to a powerful resource that he repeated today. He made a great point. How can you impact students if you don’t even know what the pulse of the home is from his/her perspective. This resource helps you figure out exactly what it is.
I wrote about my struggle of really defining what it means to be red. For the past two years I’ve though so hard about being Orange, I think I’ve somewhat neglected championing for parents what it means to be red. Here’s a reminder.
I don’t know what box to put today’s post from Sam Luce in. It has read in the title, but it talks more about the church being yellow. Putting this aside, I think it’s one of the best posts I’ve read from Sam in a long time. Sam writes really good stuff, but this was powerful. I’m probably going to reference this in one of my posts soon… but read it now, it’s that great!
Jonathan Cliff continues telling about his transition to Orange Curriculum. Today he writes about how he uses 252 Basics. It’s a great and practical post for those using 252 or those looking into it. I know that it’s going to help people, one of my most popular posts is when I wrote about how we used 252 several years ago. However, we all know the most popular post involved chainsaw juggling clowns.
Over at Kidmin1124, Barbara Graves wrote about the influence parents have on their kids and how kids typically mirror the faith of their parents. Barbara surveyed several parents to find out what they did to live out their faith at home for their kids. Tons of practical advice here!
Nick Blevins posted a great resource on his blog today. First of all he showed a diagram of how his church lives out Orange, Yellow and Red strategies. Very specific and helpful. In addition, he posted a video that teaches parents how to use God Time Cards and Refrigerator Cards. If your kids are like our kids, most of these cards end up as floorboard and parking lot trash, but this video is a great tool to show parents how to use them.
Anthony Prince provides an incredible example of and event that allows families to spend time together. I heard something at a conference breakout 6-7 years ago that has never left me. The speaker said that our greatest successes in ministry are when we create spaces for kids and their parents to simply be together. I heard this before Orange Mania swept the land and even today it still holds true. Anthony tells about this great event for moms and their sons. Also, props to Staci for using the word “rocktackular.”
Dan Scott posted an amazing post on his blog about seeing red. He shares about how through all the years of leading Orange in his church, he never asked a parent to tell him from their perspective what it means to be a part of an Orange Church. I love what she had to say. Seeing what she verbalized makes me want the parents at my church to say the same thing. I need to get on that!
Earlier this week Dan Scott poked fun at me for the number of blog posts he assumed I’d write this week. I just want to point out that this blogging maniac will probably come in second. He wrote a killer post about how he and his team made age specific events more family friendly. Scott, you’re brilliant… or at least someone you work with is. I must admit, I like the yellow, pinkish and salmon color references. I laughed out loud and when I did I remembered how much I liked your laugh… contagious. Looking forward to hanging with you again soon!
JC wrote a great post about how families were the fabric of creation. I love how he communicates this through the genealogies in Matthew 1. JC, great perspective here and extra points for your creativity!
Matt McKee wrote about Reggie’s “Stock Family.” This is one illustration that I’ve heard Reggie use that I’ve repeated more than anything else. Families aren’t perfect. We need to stop trying to read out to the perfect family. We need to recognize that God loves the imperfect family and that it’s through whacked out crazy families that God has done some of his greatest works!
Henry Zonio wrote a phenomenal post about the heart of Orange, which is families. He powerfully described how many parents fail and how often times we get frustrated and blame them. Instead, we need to come along side them, encourage them and build relationships with them. Zonio hit the nail on the head when he said that these parents will always love their children far more that the church will. Read this post!
Keith Tusing joins the conversation today by sharing about his experience at Orange last year. He shares about three “slices” he took away that impacted him greatly. BTW Keith, dip those orange slices in chocolate and you’ll experience something life changing.
Wow, I think these posts are getting better every day. Can’t wait to see what I’ll be reading by Monday! I might have to get an Orange tattoo at an undisclosed location. If I just caused someone to sin… I’m truly sorry. Enjoy the recap!
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Orange Week Day 1: Recap
Posted on 29. Sep, 2010 by Kenny.
Okay, so here’s how things got started:
Chad Swanzy started of with a post comparing the story of Elisha and the Widow’s Oil to the situation that many of our families are in today. He shared how the Orange Conference is a movement that will equip ministries to impact broken families.
Micael Bayne wrote an incredible post about the challenge of helping parents with the red side of the Orange equation. He talks about how most parents just want the student ministries to fix or entertain their kids. He’s got some great advice on how to engage parents to be red!
Anthony Prince dives right into Orange week with his post titled “Code Red.” Great post on really practical things his church is doing to help families be RED. Great stuff Anthony!
Nick Blevins pens his first post about what Orange is and why. He’s simply setting up his readers for what is coming in the following days. It’s going to be some great stuff!
Wayne Stocks kicks off Orange week on his blog Kidmin1124 with a review of the Family Times pack produced by Orange. This is a great way to help families live out the red side of Orange. It’s a great review, so if you’ve been thinking about using them, read what he has to say.
Criag Baird wrote about something he’s believed and tough for years, the two bookends to ministry… which just happen to be the same things as the Orange Strategy of Yellow and Red coming together to make a lasting impact. Be sure to read, it’s a great perspective.
Sometimes timing works out perfectly. Unaware of Orage Week 2.0, Henry Zonio begins writing several posts revisiting the Orange Conference last year. So, check out what he’s been writing this week. If you attended last year, it will serve as a great reminder. If you didn’t, I’m sure you’ll learn something!
Stacey Waldmann breaks down the word Orange… literally. Check it out, she offers a very fresh perspective of Orange unique to her team. I love the way she ended her post. #kidmin needs to bleed orange. YES!
Zeremy Zach nailed it when it comes to student ministries become Orange. He addressed the stereotype of student ministries being isolated and “black sheep” of the church. He gives specific steps for student pastors to take to “drink the Orange juice.” I love it!
Kendra Golden wrote a guest post on the Swerve Blog about what it means to be Orange. She did a great job communicating the importance and the impact being Orange makes. So glad she was giving that platform to spread the word.
Chad Swanzy posted an incredible resource on his other site, YouthLeaderStash.com. I know it’s great because we worked on it together for a project with Leadership Network. It impacted me significantly and helped me see many things that I was blind too. It’s funny how you think things are really important and then when you start asking people, you find out that what you though was wrong. I highly encourage you to do this with your team.
Matt McKee, in his unmistakable style, writes a great post about why he’s Orange. Read it, you’ll really enjoy it. In case you didn’t know, he and his wife work for Orange now. I’m really excited for him. Ha! I love that guy.
JC just announced Orange Week to his readers. Nothing significant content wise, but it’s coming this week, so be sure to check in and read it.
Yesterday, Dan Scott wrote two posts. The first post was on the importance of synchronizing your strategy, which is really good stuff. He followed it up with another post about structure. It was insanely helpful 8 months ago when he posted his staff structure so people could see how they carried out the Orange Strategy in a practical way. This time he gives an update on what has changed. This is great stuff!
Gina McClain wrote a great post, I see RED people. Ha! I love it. She very clearly explains what it means for a family to live out the red part of the Orange Strategy. Gina, thanks for the clarity. Your post has helped me identify something I’ve been overlooking lately and even think about how I communicate to parents what families need to look like.
If you get into the Orange Strategy, you’ll find that Orange also signifies CHANGE (like the the orange leaves in Autumn). That’s what Jonathan Cliff wrote about. Change. This year he transitioned his church to 252 Basics and My First Look and he loves it. He did it so he could have a stronger strategy for impacting families. Check it out, it’s good stuff.
Sam Luce reposted something from the past, “Orange is the new green.” In it he talks about what Orange looks like in his church. There are few churches that I know of where the Chidlren’s Ministry and Student Ministry work so well together. This is worth a read.
Finally, I wrote about “What is Orange.” Simply defining what the Orange Strategy is in relation to Red and Orange. I also posted to great videos from Orange. You know you want to read it.
Okay, these recaps are taking a lot longer this time. Yikes. It’s great having this many people blog about Orange… I’m looking forward to what everyone has to say on day 2!
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March Madness: #Kidmin Style
Posted on 14. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
It’s that time of year. The big dance. I’ll admit, I’m a poser when it comes to college basketball. I love watching college ball during March, but typically only March. I pick the teams I want to root for and become a fan at that point. Before I get totally trashed by Jonathan Cliff for making that statement, I will say that consistently I root for UNC and have done so since the early 90′s. I graduated from High School in NC and my brother graduated from UNC. So there… but I digress.
To make this March a little “madder,” Tony Kummer started a Kids Ministry Blog Madness. He basically created brackets for 64 Kidmin blogs and opened up the polls for voting to see which bloggers will go head to head in the Kidmin Blogging Final Four. This is going to be fun. I read or have read almost all the blogs featured in this little competition, but I think this is a great way to generate some exposure to some other blogs out there. Good idea Tony!
So, here’s how it works. Go to this page by clicking here. The bracket has been divided into four separate regions. In each region you can vote for four blogs. Pick the four (or less I guess) blogs that have spoken to you or influenced you in the past. That’s it. Do so before next Sunday, March 21st as the first round will end by then. Woo hoo!
So, you’re reading this post, right? Hopefully I’m going to get a nice little vote from you. All I ask is that if you’ve found my blog helpful, encouraging or as good use of your time, click over and give me a vote. I’m in the South Division (which is appropriate I guess being that I grew up in the South and I married a Southern Belle). I’m expecting lots of votes in this categories from fellow blogging friends like Ryan Frank, JC, my friends over at ReThink (Orange Leaders) and others. There are a lot of other great bloggers in other divisions like Jonathan Cliff, Sam Luce, Matt McKee, Gina McClain, Anthony Prince, Kendra from Northpoint and so many others. Go check out their blogs and give them some votes!
Again, if you haven’t voted yet, head over here and make your vote count. You can only vote once, so make it a good one!
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Plans for Orange Week
Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by Kenny.
So yesterday I announced that next week would be Orange week here at Children’s Ministry Online. My reasoning? Well, I just officially registered for Orange 2010 and next week I’ll be hitting the Orange Tour in Dallas. Why not?
Well, my intention to personally blog “orange” next week has picked up some momentum. A friend over at ReThink liked the idea and asked me to give some resources and stuff away. Woo hoo! Free stuff always makes people happy. Then my friend Dan Scott over at Ada Bible asked if he could participate (like he really had to ask). Then I started thinking, this thing could be bigger than my personal thoughts about Orange.
So, I’m extending the invitation. I’ve invited several other bloggers I know to participate as well. Hopefully the end result is a lot of perspectives and ideas about using the Orange strategy. We all benefit. If you’re interested in participating, shoot me an email (or just comment on this post) and I’ll get you some details (such as Orange topics each day).
So, just so you know, Orange week will launch on Sunday, so be sure to log in or check your feed reader that day. We’ll be giving something away everyday, so you won’t want to miss it. The best thing of all, it’s going to be a great collaborative effort by several people who’ve seen this strategy change lives. If you’re new to Orange or are not sure what it’s all about, you’re about to get a pretty big dose.
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