Tag Archives: Jonathan Cliff
Pirate Face… Day 7
Posted on 01. Aug, 2011 by Kenny.
Thanks to everyone who has been praying for my pirate face. It really is an honor to have people all around the US praying, many of whom I’ve never met in person. You guys are amazing!
So, I figured I’d give regular updates on this little “disorder” I have at the moment.
Well, my condition got worse. Not much, but when I posted last week, it hadn’t gotten as bad as I though it was going to get. By Thursday, I think it bottomed out. You can see from the pictures below the difference between Monday night and now.
However, I’m still grateful that it really is still a slight case. Most people don’t notice it at all. Really, it’s only when I laugh and smile that people can tell. For that I’m very grateful.
Here’s the good news that I’ve learned. It seems like everyone knows someone who has had it and I’ve been able to compare stories. The shortest bout was someone’s uncle that I met today who only had it for 10-15 days. The longest bout was someone who had it for 9 months (although I’ve read that it can last longer… but it’s rare). So, I’m encouraged that this thing is probably going to go away and life will return to normal.
So, here’s the funny thing I’ve learned. Today I taught a baptism class for a group of 15 or so kids and their parents. I learned that I have to be highly focused on annunciation, otherwise I sound a little like Sylvester the Cat. You know, “Thufferin’ Thuccotash!” So, if I didn’t pay close attention to the endings of my words, the weaker side of my mouth wanted to make slight farting noises. Not cool… but for a group of kids… pretty funny.
I am grateful for good friends though. Jonathan Cliff and his family drove through Austin and stayed the night. They brought my 4 year-old son a puzzle, but it was difficult enough, I think that they intended it for me. Maybe they were thinking that doing this puzzle one time a day would be the mental exercise I need to get my brain working correctly again. Thanks a lot Cliffs!
So, that’s my weekly health update. Keep sending prayers when you think of me.
Monday Afternoon
Sunday Evening:
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Jonathan Cliff is my hero!
Posted on 15. Mar, 2011 by Kenny.
Here he is with the one and only Carman. That alone is worth attaining personal hero status… but I’ll go on. I know that a lot of you who read this blog probably read Jonathan’s blog too, but in case you don’t, you should start. For the past 2-3 years, I’ve been beating this “collaboration” drum because it’s changed the entire way I see (and do) ministry. There’s something about not doing it alone. Funny how you can have a big church, big staff and still sometimes feel all alone. If you find yourself in that position, it’s your fault.
I’ve only known Jonathan Cliff for about 3 years, but he’s probably one of the people who has influenced my life most in recent years. Although he is a great guy to bounce ideas off of, he’s much more than that to me… he’s a close friend. Probably to his irritation, I call him 2-4 times a week… usually on my way in to work or when I’m coming home. When I need encouragement, a good laugh or simply to get picked on, I know I can count on Jonathan. However, he was recently promoted to the same position I hold and already I’m learned so much from him. He’s an incredible leader and he probably doesn’t realize that I’m often writing things down that I hear him say concerning the way he leads (especially confronts).
JC is the real deal. He loves his wife well and he’s a great dad. His kids are a proof of that. His family are also rockstars by going on mission to foster kids who need a good influence while their parents get their lives back in order. If you get a chance to meet Jonathan, just ask him about why they foster… it’s inspiring. In the three years I’ve gotten to know Jonathan, I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with him at multiple conferences as well as our families hanging out together in both Austin and Lubbock.
So, why do I write all of this?
- Jonathan (and a few other people very special to me) came into my life when I started putting myself out there with blogging/tweeting and contacting others in ministry. Put yourself out there too, it’s the best thing that could ever happen to you!
- I had to figure out how to use this great photo of him and Carman as well as some of these other great pics and videos.
- Sometimes it feels really nice to have someone say good stuff about you. It means a lot when it happens to me, so I figured I’d pay it forward.
Jonathan has a thing for trees. Living in Lubbock, I guess you start to miss them or something. He went out and bought this tree and I think he’s really proud of it as he has talked about it to me on multiple occasions. If you’ve ever visiting Lubbock, be sure to get your picture taken with the tree. I hadn’t been out of my car for more than 5 minutes before I was posing with his tree. I laugh every time I see this picture!
Oh, and one more thing. This summer Jonathan and his family stopped over for a couple days on their way to the beach. We went tubing down the San Marcos River. We stopped and swung on the rope swing for a few minutes. On JC’s first swing, he almost lands on this elderly dude. So funny! Check out the video!
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Components of Illuminate
Posted on 20. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
So, what are we doing at Illuminate? I’m glad you asked. I don’t want to reveal all the surprises, but I can give you a pretty good idea of what is going to happen.
Originally when we started planning the conference we were going to have Craig talk for three sessions and that was pretty much it. Don’t get me wrong, Craig can easily carry the conference all by himself and people would walk away more than satisfied. However, I dont’ want Illuminate to just be about the speakers. I want people to interact and have opportunities to ask questions, meet others and add to the conversations. I knew the only way we’d be able to do that is to add opportunities for this through breakouts. So, here’s how the day is going to look.
- 8:00 Doors Open and Registration
- 9:00 Conference begins with short worship set by one of Gateway’s worship bands (Austin is known as the live music capital of the world and our bands reflect what our city is known for)
- 9:30 Session 1 with Criag Jutila
- 11:00 Breakout
- 12:15 Lunchout
- 1:30 Session 2 with Craig Jutila
- 3:15 Illuminate ends
Breakout:
- Endurance:  Sam Luce – Creating a healthy rhythm of balancing life and ministry.
- Family Impact:  Jonathan Cliff – Expanding your influence into the home.
- Lingo:  Michael Chanley – Creatively communicating to kids.
Lunchout
- Elementary:  Sam Luce – Interactive breakout experience for elementary volunteers.
- Early Childhood:  Jonathan Cliff – Interactive breakout experience for Early Childhood volunteers.
- Staff:  Michael Chanley – Interactive breakout experience for Children’s Ministry staff
Lunch will be provided by Chipotle, covered by registration which I think is a nice touch if I say so myself.
Doesn’t this make you want to come? Well, you can. If you’re close, just drive in for the day. If you’re further away, we’ve got some great rates on local hotels. I’d let you stay at my house, but I’ve already got Sam, Jonathan and Michael staying in all the extra beds/couches. 
For more info on Illuminate, click here to visit the website!
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Origins of the Illuminate Conference
Posted on 19. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
Yesterday I announced our volunteer conference, Illuminate. However, the idea of this conference isn’t new by any means.
I’ve always struggled with volunteer training. No matter what you do, they often tend to be somewhat “forced.” They’re necessary, but for a long time I’ve felt the need for a revamping of the traditional training meeting. So, about 4 years ago while serving at Cross Timbers Church in Argyle, TX, I came up with a different idea for training our volunteers. We called it Gear Up.
Essentially, it was a conference style training specifically for volunteers. We had an early-bird breakfast, live worship, an opening keynote from our senior pastor, a closing session and two breakouts where volunteers could pick what they wanted to learn about. We included a new volunteer orientation for the newbies as well as session on discipline, communicating to kids, dealing with frustrated parents and four or five other topics. We had about 100 volunteers show up and it was definitely a success. Those who came really loved it, they learned a lot and most importantly, they felt appreciated.
Since Gear Up, I’ve been wanting to do it again. However, I knew that I wanted to bring in a headline speaker and open it up to other churches as well. So, Illuminate is definitely birthed out of the desire to have creative and innovative ways to inspire and equip our volunteers and while we’re at it, we’ll provide a stellar experience for any church who wants to participate. This probably won’t take shape this year, but I’m very interested in what happens when a bunch of churches in the same city get together and beging getting to know each other.
If you’re interested in attending Illuminate, click here!
* Dont’ get me wrong though. Illuminate is not just my brainchild. My incredible team hear at Gateway have been behind this and and have been developing Illuminate from day one.
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Launching a volunteer conference
Posted on 18. Oct, 2010 by Kenny.
I’m very pleased to announce the Illuminate Conference. You’re probably asking, “what is Illuminate, I haven’t seen or heard anything about it?” True, you probably haven’t seen or heard anything about it because my team at Gateway and I just created it a few months ago.
So, why start a conference, aren’t there a lot of great ones out there already?
Good question. Actually, this conference has two very specific audiences. Like many churches, the economy has tightened budgets. It costs me almost $1000 (per person) to go to a national conference after paying for lodging, air, registration and food. One of the first things I was asked to cut from my budget were conferences. That makes sense. On the other hand, haven’t you ever come home from a national conference and though, “I wish my volunteers could have heard that speaker?” As a result of asking those questions, we developed the idea for Illuminate. Although I and a few members of my team might hit a national conference, our biggest focus is to bring the national conference to our volunteers.
Last spring we booked Craig Jutila to come and speak to our volunteers. We played around with the idea of having him speak specifically to our leaders one night and then have him speak to all our volunteers the next day and we’d open it up to other churches as well. We’ve footed the bill to bring in Craig, but we’d charge a pretty low rate to other churches to help us cover the costs. We figured that if we got enough people to come, this could become totally self-sustainable and we would be able to bring in a handful of Kidmin’s best every year.
So, just a few weeks ago we decided to broaden the experience by booking Michael Chanley (Creator of CM Connect), Sam Luce (the most famous Kidmin blogger in NY) and Jonathan Cliff (the most outspoken blogger against puppets I know). I’m so excited, I can hardly believe all this is happening and in a few weeks, I get to hang out with some of my favorite people in ministry.
I’ll be blogging about Illuminate all week, describing how we plan to pull it off. If you live close to central Texas, you really just plan to join us. Even if it’s a bit of a drive, we’ve got some great rates on hotels! Here’s more information:
Illuminate Conference
Saturday, Novmeber 6th
9:00 AM – 3:15 PM
Two General Sessions with Craig Jutila
Two Breakout Sessions geared to volunteer specific needs
A Chipotle lunch
An experience your team wont soon forget
All this for just $25 a person. Pretty amazing, huh?
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Guest Blogger: Jonathan Cliff
Posted on 07. Apr, 2009 by Kenny.
I’ve very honored to have a special guest blogger on Children’s Ministry Online today. Jonathan Cliff is an amazing Children’s Pastor (So I hear) in West Texas. Jonathan and I have become very good friends this past year. We talk on a regular basis on topics ranging from technology, ministry to how you can get regular Redbox rentals for free. We’ve never met in person, yet I feel like I’ve know him for most of my life… okay, this is starting to sound like an E-Harmony advertisement.
Here is his bio from his web site:
I’m a Children’s Ministry Pastor in the Llano Estacado. I would be considered an Abnormal Children’s Pastor in many circles. I am rarely found preaching to people, and never seen singing to them. This blog is a collection of family, church, culture, and technology musings from someone who isn’t really important enough for his thoughts to matter. I am the faithful husband of one, and the very tired father of three.
I don’t even know how to introduce his post. You’ll know what I mean when you see it. You won’t be able to resist and when finished, you’ll be glad for it. It’s a great reminder about what we do for special Easter services.
BTW, you can also catch Jonathan’s thoughts at the “Almost Cutting Edge” Blog as well!
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I officially dedicate this post to Johnathan Cliff
Posted on 20. Nov, 2008 by Kenny.
The videos say it all.
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