While at The Orange Conference last week, Andy Stanley spoke specifically to to the issue of staff culture. Many of the points I’ve heard before in one of his leadership podcasts, but it was a great and timely reminder. He spoke at length about creating a staff culture where mutual submission is present. Yes, God may have called key leadership and senior staff to do something significant and the primarily purpose for additional staff is to serve that vision (I truly do believe that), but this doesn’t mean that senior staff doesn’t and shouldn’t serve the staff that works for them. This type of mutual submission creates a healthy culture where people want to work.

Specific points from Andy’s talk include:

1. Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone. Don’t buy into the myth that you have to do it for everyone.
2. Systematize top-down service.
3. Create and maintain a sustainable pace.
4. Celebrate and reward mutual submission when you see it. What’s rewarded is repeated. What’s punished is avoided. What’s neither rewarded or punished gets neglected.
5. Confront your ego. If you have a big ego, then let your staff know.
6. Drop the term loyalty from your vocabulary. If you need to demand loyalty, you’ve got personal loyalty problems.

All of these items are leadership gold, but I wanted to speak the the two that stuck out to me the most.

Systematize top-down service

I recognize that I’m a systems guy to the core. I’m always looking for time-savings tools that allow me to automate tasks. I also recognize that systems also keep me accountable. There are things that I want to do, but left to my own devices, I’ll neglect them. I need a reminder or process that triggers my action. Andy talked about how they do 3 month reviews for every employee. In this review, new employees communicate how leadership could better help them get their job done. Whenever possible, they act on this request as an opportunity to serve the staff. So, I’m writing this one down as an area for personal development. I want to serve my staff and I want them to feel like they’re loved an valued, but I’ll be far more successful at this when I create a system to help me.

Create and maintain a sustainable pace

This statement brings all kinds of conviction and guilt at times. I suffer from work-aholic tendencies. I take on more than I can handle and on top of that, I’ve been attempting to maintain two jobs for the past year as opposed to just my normal work. In addition, I’ve taken on some side projects that are both time consuming but also very important to me. At this moment, I don’t really know what a sustainable pace is. I’ll have to dissect this one more… maybe asking for a little help here from others.

My boss, the Executive Pastor at Gateway is coming with me to Orange (Which I’m super stoked about) this year. He came to the Orange Tour in Dallas and has read Think Orange, so he gets the whole Orange strategy. This is the first time I’ve brought someone who isn’t on my kidmin or student ministry team, so I’m not sure what breakouts he should attend. I told him that I’d pick out his breakouts for him.

I’ve been told in the past that sometimes the senior pastor breakouts were great, but they weren’t necessarily focused as much on the Orange Strategy. I really want him to take in Orange, whether that means he attends breakouts for senior leaders or whatever.

So, do you have your boss attending Orange or have in the past? What breakouts would you recommend? Here’s the page/list of breakouts. Thanks for your help!

I ended up having a great conversation with Brain about local networking. He actually led a breakout this year on the very subject and I plan to purchase that session later to have a listen and encourage you to do so as well. He told me the story of how he and his team created a network of family ministry leaders in their local community. He revealed that it was actually the start of how they were exposed to the Orange strategy which eventually led Ada to being one of the leading “Orange” churches in the world. Pretty amazing! We spent quite a while talking about the advantages of networking as well as the barriers that we’ll face while developing a strong and thriving network.

I was especially encouraged to have this conversation since just 3 or 4 months ago I helped start a kidmin network here in Austin that is almost 50 people strong. It’s still young and new, but I’m very encourage by what’s happening! I think I’ll write about how we started a network in Austin in a few weeks… maybe I can get Brian to speak into that as well. So, follow Brain on twitter or introduce yourself to him the next time you see him at Orange!

Best of all, Brain paid for my cheese fries! Thanks Brian!

Rob and I met 3 years ago at Orange 2008. The only reason I knew him was because his face was plastered on the cover of K magazine. Other than that, I had no idea who he was. I bumped into him a few times at the conference and he almost always made me laugh. He was so filled with joy.

Over the years I’ve read his blog and have seen and heard of things he’s done and things he’s been doing at Planetshakers church in Melbourne, Australia. From time to time he’d write a kind comment on a post. He contacted me a week before Orange and said, “let’s grab some lunch.”

I was honored to be the first person to ever take him to Chipotle. He was so excited… and I think he loved it. Actually, I think he was studying everything about his food so that he could go home, replicate it and even make improvements. Somewhere behind his passion for kids, he has a real passion for cooking.

Rob gave me the opportunity to speak about what we’re doing at my church and how we’re using the web and social media to change the world. I think it really blessed him and armed him with some new ideas for his church. Then it was Rob’s turn. He began to tell me about what God has been doing in his life recently and how God is giving him a platform to significantly impact kids around the world on every level: spiritually, physically, emotionally and relationally. So much of what he said impacted me such a profound level, I’m still trying to sort out and process what he shared. Rob and I have some unfinished business, but I’m just not sure what it is yet. My life is tremendously richer as a result of the 2-3 hours I spent with him and I look forward to seeing what will unfold in the coming years.

I’m not even sure how to describe all the Rob does. He’s been the Children’s Pastor at Planetshakers church in Melbourne for many years. He also leads the Kid Shaper conference, a powerful conference based out of Melbourne that has now expanded to Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Great Britain. He’s also doing some powerful and significant things in other areas of the world that would blow your mind. Check out his sites and if you get the chance to meet him or share a meal, don’t pass it up. Oh, you can check out his blog here as well as some great kidmin resources here.

I had the privilege of introducing a few breakout speakers. One of these speakers was Stewart Hall. Stewart Hall is on staff with XP3 and has co-authored books with Andy Stanley and Louie Gigleo. He’s a legend in my book.

Although I did not get to stay and hang out for the entire session, he asked one question that I’ve not been able to shake. It’s a question that I’ll probably not be able to shake. Here’s what he asked:

What does your ministry environment SCREAM that you value?

Wow. I’ve sat down with my team and we’ve listed our ministry values. Many of them speak very loudly. Are they screaming? That’s a good question. I think it’s probably a question we should ask ourselves on a regular basis. It’s probably a question we should ask people who are new to our ministry. This is the rich feedback that we desperately need.

I wasn’t around for the full breakout, but I almost can imagine the follow-up question.

What does your ministry scream that you DON’T value.

Those are the things we need to take immediate action on.

I’m finally catching my breath from Orange last week. Looking back, one word easily describes my take on the 2011 Orange Conference. DIFFERENT.

It was my fourth to attend, but it certainly stood apart from the rest. I’m not going to say that it wasn’t what I expected. I think that it exceeded my expectations. I’ve actually been telling people that it is by far the BEST Orange Conference I’ve attended. Was it better speakers? Beter topics? Maybe, I’m not sure if it was or wasn’t. That’s not what made it better… at least for me.

Bottom line, I only sat in 1-2 sessions in the arena and 1-2 breakouts in addition to the ones I taught/co-taught. What was I doing with all my extra time? Having rich and meaningful conversations with people about all things ministry, life and the Orange Strategy. I came home full to the brim with ideas, encouragement and with new friendships. The breakouts and sessions I did attend were amazing (as always). However, some of the most meaningful breakouts were those that happened at Chipotle, IHOP, the Arena Tavern and in the back of the Bloggers Suite during one of the general sessions.

I think that what was different for me was my willingness to miss a breakout or a session. It’s hard to purposely miss because they’re so good, but I kept reminding myself, “I can just pick up the recordings later.” I truly believe that it is the mindset that we should all have when attending the conference. These breakouts and sessions are recorded and will be available later, but the time when hundreds and thousands of incredible leaders are all gathered in one place is so short.

So, over the years I would have posted 18-20 posts from Orange Week. This year I posted 5. Ha! Don’t worry, this week is the overflow of the Orange Conference for me. I hope to share some of the things that I did learn from Sessions and Breakouts as well as some of the things I learned outside the normal conference hours.

Well, yesterday during the main afternoon session, I spent the entire time meeting and talking with people. While away from my computer, some other blogger (Jonathan Cliff) changed my birthday. So, since last night, people have been wishing me a happy birthday. I think someone even brought me a cake. Very funny, huh?

Now you know a great prank. Have fun with it… just be ready to get punked by your own prank.

So, who is MinisterSearch? What is MinisterSearch?

MinisterSearch is a search firm for those who serve in the church. Whether you’re a church looking to hire someone or you’re seeking a position in a church, MinisterSearch is a great resource for you. Several years ago I worked with a Search Firm to secure my position at Gateway Church. Let me tell you, it was an AMAZING experience. A search team like MinisterSearch have connections that you won’t know about. They know about unpublished positions or people that no one knows they are looking to move. They are thorough in their processes and the entire experience is wonderful. Job transitions can be so very difficult, so be sure to connect with MinisterSearch.

I still can’t believe they asked me to lead a couple of breakouts. I’m excited, nervous and honored all at the same time. So, I thought I’d share with you what my breakouts are about this year.

• How to Plan a Ministry Calendar – You know that I’m passionate about this kind of stuff. I’ve written blog posts (plural) about this kind of stuff. It’s only natural that they’d pick me, ha! I think that too often we don’t make the best use of our time each year. We often have good intentions, but ministry is busy and when the year is done we wonder why we didn’t do this or that. In this session, I’m going to share some key practices that should be in place anytime you set up to plan your calendar.
• How to Design Great Signage – Matt McKee and I are co-hosting. This one is going to be epic. I’ve done series about this kind of stuff. I can break this one down for you. You have an important message to share. People need to hear the message you have. Don’t make crappy signs ever again!
• How to Communication with Volunteers Via Text Messages – Honest truth, Matt McKee is leading this breakout. I’m just there to help him out. He’s the mobile tech king and I’m just honored that he might let me sit in the corner of the stage and give a little input here and there.
• How to Connect with Parents Using Social Media – This too is going to be a great breakout. Do you have a communication strategy to families that involves Social Media? Do you just dabble in Social Media? Matt McKee and I are going to propose that if you’re not neck-deep in social media communication, you’re limiting your potential to connect and impact parents! Don’t just dabble. Jump in, we’ll help!

Well, I’m excited. Come join us if you can (Planning a Ministry Calendar and Connecting with Parents using Social Media are sold out). If you can’t make it, then all I can say is… “You’re going to miss out!”

Although it might be a little pricey, you can probably still book some airfare to get out to Atlanta and attend. I’m telling you, it’s worth it. Just start driving right now! Click here to register for Orange!

For those of you who can’t come for whatever reason, just stay connected right here. There are dozens of “Orange” bloggers this year and I’ll connect relevant content here as well as more original content that you’ll have time to read.  As good as it’s going to be here on ChildrensMinistryOnline.com, I’d still encourage you to register and get to Atlanta!