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

personal

May the Real Me Meet the Real You

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. 

On Life and Blogging II

On Life and Blogging II

Let me reacquaint myself. I used to send you blog posts on ministry and culture... that is, until my family and I moved to Miami and welcomed a brand new baby boy into our family. 

As you can imagine, life turned upside down for my family and me in all the best ways. Almost a year ago today, I received a call, asking me to interview for a new role in a new city. That same week, my wife discovered that she was pregnant!

Within a month, we waved goodbye to the only city our marriage ever knew, welcomed our first born, and made the closest friends of our life. We set out on a new adventure, beckoning us to a greater calling than we could imagine!

Personal Initiatives: 5 Habits to Begin Your First Month on the Job

Personal Initiatives: 5 Habits to Begin Your First Month on the Job

I recently write a post titled, "Professional Initiatives: 5 Habits to Begin Your First Month on the Job." Though I incorporated these habits into my game some time after my first month on the job, they became game changers for me after I worked them into the rhythm of professional routine. I only regret that I did not think about how important these habits would be the success of my professional initiatives. 

Then, after further reflection, I realized that in addition to habits that support my professional initiatives, several habits of mine also have supported my personal initiatives, which in turn, has contributed to the overall success of my work-family-life rhythms and balance. 

Starting Right: Responding to Power and Control in Ministry

We can only use our imaginations as to what the setting looked like. I can imagine a warm, sunny day, given the time of year. Probably similar to my Northern California climate. Mediterranean. High pressures. Paradise. 

He rode through the streets on a donkey - much to the amazement and bewilderment of those first century onlookers by the side of the road. Old men searching for hope; women holding children in their arms; young kids cheering with excitement - all searching for the nearest broken palm branches to wave back and forth.

Why I Do What I Do

A short while ago, I read a friend's blog titled the same, and I began thinking, "Why do I do what I do?" Why am I Pastor? Why do I choose to endure all of the ups and downs given in this line of work? Why do I opt for a low wage? I am not the smartest guy in the room, but I could earn a little more with my knowledge and abilities.

Likewise, people have asked me over the years why I have chosen to serve in this profession. It's an odd profession. I am seen as a Pastor, a supposed 'Shepherd,' 'Leader of Men,' 'Spiritual Guide.' Others think of Pastors as aloof, antiquated, and judgmental.