Orange
Ryan Reed
You Gotta Make It to OC17

One of the most important events on my annual professional calendar is the Orange Conference.

Why Orange? In sum, when it comes to a student ministry curriculum, I have not found one as powerful, versatile, comprehensive, and intentional as Orange. It cares for the middle school student just as much as the elderly aunt who takes care of him. Orange seeks to equip the entire family, not just the teenage kid, for both individual and familial faith. That simple.

As a user since 2011, I've continually been sold by how well it prepares me to share the Gospel with teenagers and build parent partnerships for faithful ministry in the home. 

You Gotta Make It to OC17
Leadership
Ryan Reed
The Important Role of Self Awareness in ...

This post originally appeared on the Orange Leaders Blog on June 22, 2016. 

What is the toughest question you’ve ever had to answer, and who asked it?

Given that somehow you made your way to this exceptional community called Orange Leaders, I automatically know a few things about you:

The Important Role of Self Awareness in Leadership
Leadership
Ryan Reed
Key Ingredients for a Thriving Ministry Recipe

Not long ago my wife introduced me to the best show on television... Chopped. I love it. Hands down noting beats it. A simple show in concept: four chefs compete against one another using a basket of mystery ingredients - yet so captivating!

Why? Because the ingredients equalize the playing field. Whether the chef be a novice out of culinary a school or a multi-restaurant owner veteran, each chef receives the ingredients at the same time and must respond to them. 

The ingredients are the star of the show. They call out the character of the chef. Not the other way around. It's the ingredients that define the path.

Key Ingredients for a Thriving Ministry Recipe
Church
Ryan Reed
May the Real Me Meet the Real You

Said C.S. Lewis, "The prayer that precedes all prayers is may the real me meet the real you." 

A great friend of mine from college once shared this quote with me. He and I served in Young Life together, leading high school students toward a growing relationship with Jesus. I can recall that he ended nearly every one of his ministry talks with this quote just prior to closing in prayer:

"May the real me meet the real you."

I probably listened to him share this quote with me dozens of times. I think I also used it. But quite honestly, I don't think I understood the meaning behind it until much later in life. Intellectually I understood it. It's simple in structure, but truly profound in its meaning. 

Perhaps I missed it time after time because inherent within this quote lays an assumption that you know the real you. 

May the Real Me Meet the Real You
Orange
Ryan Reed
Rethink Leadership Conference Day 2 #OC16 #RL16

CAREY NIEUWHOF INTERVIEW WITH JON ACUFF

Know your message enough to find the direction, but leave it open enough to let the Holy Spirit inspire new content. 

For humor, build the island, but then make sure that you make a sturdy bridge to and from the island. Satire is about an idea, but mockery is about an individual. We are not called to mockery.

Put handles on ideas so that we can carry them forward. We have enough ideas. Put a handle on them.  

Rethink Leadership Conference Day 2 #OC16 #RL16

Orange

You Gotta Make It to OC17

You Gotta Make It to OC17

One of the most important events on my annual professional calendar is the Orange Conference.

Why Orange? In sum, when it comes to a student ministry curriculum, I have not found one as powerful, versatile, comprehensive, and intentional as Orange. It cares for the middle school student just as much as the elderly aunt who takes care of him. Orange seeks to equip the entire family, not just the teenage kid, for both individual and familial faith. That simple.

As a user since 2011, I've continually been sold by how well it prepares me to share the Gospel with teenagers and build parent partnerships for faithful ministry in the home. 

Rethink Leadership Conference Day 2 #OC16 #RL16

Rethink Leadership Conference Day 2 #OC16 #RL16

CAREY NIEUWHOF INTERVIEW WITH JON ACUFF

Know your message enough to find the direction, but leave it open enough to let the Holy Spirit inspire new content. 

For humor, build the island, but then make sure that you make a sturdy bridge to and from the island. Satire is about an idea, but mockery is about an individual. We are not called to mockery.

Put handles on ideas so that we can carry them forward. We have enough ideas. Put a handle on them.  

Rethink Leadership Conference Day 1 #RL16 #OC16

Rethink Leadership Conference Day 1 #RL16 #OC16

REGGIE JOINER

Strategy is a plan of action with an end in mind.

Think of motorcycle training through cones. Look at the cones, and you will hit it. Look at an object at the end of the cones, and you will pass every time.

Misalignment happens - all the time - relationships, marriage, teams, tires.

What you need to work on is alignment

How I Became Orange

How I Became Orange

My journey with Orange began 4 years ago - at a former church in another state on the other side of the coast - leading a ministry with a staff team in a city for which I still an enormous amount of respect to this very day!

I started my employment and pastoral leadership over the Hillside Church student ministry in August 2011. Ironically, I began this journey on the same exact day that my Lead Pastor started his employment, as well. To some, this may seem so bizarre. It was for sure, but for us in our context, it was the best possible scenario, for it opened doors for both my Lead Pastor and me to explore Orange with our Family Ministry Team without any pretense or hesitation. 

6 Reasons I Still Choose Orange

6 Reasons I Still Choose Orange

To wrap up Orange Blogger Week, I want to share with you why I continue to choose the Orange philosophy and curriculum, even while so many other organizations improve each year on curriculum writing and production. 

Over the years, I have written quite a bit about Orange on my blog, and you can view every single article on my Archives Page under the Orange heading. Every time I write about Orange, I realize even more why I value this organization. It is a unique one in several ways, but I want to highlight 6 reasons in particular that feature the hallmarks of the organization. They follow:

It's Just a Phase... So Get Equipped!

It's Just a Phase... So Get Equipped!

Because each phase of adolescence needs a strong, faithful, and equipped man or woman of God to lead, encourage, and challenge them through that phase. 

Strong and effective leaders and ministers know this single truth that the difference between a good and great ministry is one single factor: the level of preparation for that leader. That's it! Good looks, charm, wit, personal knowledge, and abilities can only take a leader so far - sometimes very far - before that leader bumps against a wall... a wall comprised of her or himself. 

See You at Orange! #OC15

See You at Orange! #OC15

In less than 24 hours, I will be touching down in Atlanta to attend the annual Orange Conference, hosted and sponsored by the reThink Group. 

I make the Orange Conference my 'must attend' conference every year. In fact, it is the only conference to which I travel (from California to Georgia), even investing my own money at times to make this trip possible. I believe in what this conference represents. It is the most comprehensive conference in Family and Next Generation ministry out there. It targets children's ministry just as well as student ministry, even creating space for special needs ministry and executive tracks for senior leadership. I have written extensively about Orange, the conference, and all of the benefits of its curriculum and community. I am sold out for Orange. I am a blogger for the organization and contribute on a monthly basis to the Orange Leaders blog. Visit my Archives Page and read all of my posts about Orange under the heading "Orange." Most important, I use it every week in my respective areas of ministry. I highly commend this organization to you.