Kenny Conley is proof that it’s a small world.  I did not officially meet the giant of a man (physically he’s like a giant tree…even in my own backyard) until 2009, but we’ve been dangerously close to meeting for years.  He lived in Tulsa, OK at the same time that I did in college.  He then lived in the DFW Metroplex for years at the very same time I did.  We both left churches in DFW around the exact same time, and even attended the Orange Conference in 2008 at the same time!  I remember Matt McKee telling me that I should visit with Kenny while I was there, but I guess I was preoccupied with sitting in Atlanta traffic and never got to it.

I did finally meet Kenny at the Orange Conference in 2009, and 2010.  I’ve also had Kenny and his family over for an evening in Lubbock once when they drove through town on their way to Colorado.  This summer my family returned the favor (albiet staying for much longer) and we all had a blast.  Ask him to tell you about the time he almost killed me and my oldest son on the San Marcos river in late July 2010!  My kids knew him much before they actually met him; because when we had some family medical issues a few years ago, Kenny and his wife Sara paid to have some pizza delivered to our house.  Such a special thing for my family at the time, and much appreciated!

Kenny is somebody worth following, and he can be followed at www.childrensministryonline.com.  He’s worked in small churches, and big churches; baptist churches, and pentecostal churches; and he’s been through some pretty great ministry highs, and some pretty sorry ministry lows.  For being only in his early 30′s, it’s amazing what Kenny has seen and been through as it relates to Children’s Ministry and now Family Ministry.  In Austin he’s transitioned to a more family ministry leadership role, taking the coolest job title in the word; “Next Generations Pastor” at Gateway Church.  While he no longer teaches kids with weekend regularity, or recruits 3 year old teachers with reckless abandon; he’s still committed to leading others into leading churches to intentionally equip children.

He’ll try anything, and has a closed mind about very few things in ministry.  He’s easy to get time with, and I promise if you email him…he will eventually return your email.  And when he does, I can guarantee you it will be sent between the hours of midnight at 2:00 a.m.

I first read Keith’s blog over 5 years ago.  I believe I saw a funny picture that somebody had on their blog, and it pointed back to bagofnothing.com.  BON is a great link-blog, and it’s beginning to be filled more and more with the life of it’s author.  I recommend anybody wanting to waste hours of their day to see all the Internet goodness that Keith has gathered for his readers at www.bagofnothing.com.  Over the years I’ve learned that he hates windchimes, that most Baylor graduates annoy him, and he’s frustrated by people that don’t return their carts at Wal-Mart.  He’s a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys and was even raised not too far from the heart of West Texas.

But I’ve also met Keith.  For months and months we would exchange emails about various things happening in and around our lives.  Once I emailed him and asked if he would give me a run-down of all the U2 songs that a newbie to U2 like myself should listen too.  See, if you’ve read BON you would know that Keith rarely listens to other music and is the quintessential U2 snob.  (That’s not an insult!)  As I awaited his return email with a list of songs I should buy on iTunes, I instead received a package in the mail.  This Internet stranger had sent me a mix-tape of his favorite U2 songs, along with the reasons for him including each song on the mix-tape.  Seriously, he did this!

I’ve read and exchanged emails while he nursed his sick mother, who would eventually pass away.  I’ve followed along from a distance as he visited her native land in Vietnam along with his wife.  And recently I’ve watched him learn to be a father for the first time!  Keith is a seeker of truth, and I love his spirit and perseverance to find answers to his questions on spirituality.  We would all benefit from his curiosity.

So when have we actually met?  A few months after he sent me the U2 mix-tape, I had an extra ticket to a Dallas Stars game; so I invited him and we got to hang out for the evening.  I think we may have had lunch before I left the Dallas area and headed to Lubbock, I think we did; but I’m not sure.  But last September on a Sunday afternoon I got a call from Keith.  He had purchased two tickets to the U2 show in Arlington for a Monday night, and through a series of unfortunate events (and more close friends being unable to attend) he asked if I was interested.  So in a matter of 24 hours I was back in Dallas, camping out in his spare bedroom and standing right next to the stage for the U2 concert at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX.  What a thrill!  I count this as one of the more spiritual experiences of my life!

Keith is a long-distance friend, and is one of the many reasons that I love the Internet.  If you’ve not taken the time to shoot of an email to that blog author that you read, then do it.  It’s always worth is to make a new friend, even if it’s an Internet friend!

Gina writes over at www.ginamcclain.com.  It took her a few blog addresses to settle into www.ginamcclain.com, and we’re all glad she didn’t go with the some of the racier alternatives.  It’s a great story that won’t be repeated on this family-friendly blog.  You should ask her!  We all wish she would write more, so go over there now and leave some obnoxious comments suggesting she write more.

About 4 years ago, Gina sent me an email asking me a question about something.  I don’t remember anything from that email, but I will never forget what she started it off with.

Dear Pastor Cliff,

I still laugh out loud when I think about being called, Pastor Cliff.

But you see that’s the thing about Gina.  She asks questions.  She’s always willing to run something past you, always wants to know what did and didn’t work when you did something, and is always, always, always willing to share.  She’s an original pro-family Children’s Minister.  When she was transitioning between Lifechurch.tv and Faith Promise Church in Knoxville, it was encouraging to both Starr and I to watch God provide the large and tiny details to confirm to their family His faithfulness.

So when have I met Gina?  I first met Gina in person at the Orange Conference in 2009, and talked her into giving some of us a little bit of time when she was at Orange 2010.  I’ve even visited her when she lived in Edmond, OK on a trip my family took through the Great State (that being Oklahoma.)  Her husband Kyle and her are great people to hang out with, and we’re kinda sad we don’t have that stop now on the drive between Lubbock and Tulsa.

As Gina has transitioned to a new church in Knoxville, TN at Faith Promise Church; she has kept her passions for the family.  I know she’s building a great team out there in Knoxville.  Remember we all need her to write more over at www.ginamcclain.com, so head over there right now and tell her so!

I first started reading www.samluce.com way back when about 50% of his posts were about how much cooler I would be if I owned an Apple product.  I guess it convinced me to purchase one, because now I throw in an “Apple is better” post on my own blog every so often as well.  (I am NOT however any cooler than I was previously.)

Sam has one of the easiest to read blogs out there in Children’s Ministry, with a combination of funny posts, thoughtful posts, and a healthy dose of practical tools for the everyman (or woman) working with families and kids.  He has a real passion for the person working with kids in a small church, and I know many around these fancy Internets that look to Sam as the expert on how to make much with very little.  He’s innovative and always willing to try something new for the sake of the kids at his church.  In my humble opinion when you combine his crazy pentecostal childhood stories, his love for America’s Pastime (albiet it tainted by a desire to raise his children to root for the Yankees), his A+ skills at impersonating anyone he’s met, his superiour skinnyness, and his ability to quote from 80′s teen movies and I have myself a serious man-crush!

I first met Sam in Atlanta at the Orange Conference in 2009 when we all shared a hotel room.  He’s always the most popular person in the room wherever he goes, yet I’ve watched him make everyone around him comfortable.  He’s drawn to that person that needs the most encouragement, and always made time all week long to give everyone who needed attention just what they needed.  But we warned…Sam has an unbelievable gift of discernment.  He’ll sniff out an impostor and self-promoter faster than anyone I’ve been around.

I consider Sam one of my best friends, and over the past few years I’ve come to consider his voice one worth listening too.  He’s a person that is who he says he is.  This fact alone makes him special in a world of people that can sometimes be hard to figure out.  He loves God, loves his church, loves his family, and it’s easy to see that the things he lives out make him somebody worth following.  Go today and read his blog at www.samluce.com and spend some time making a new friend!

By the way…if I had never met Sam and saw a dude walk up to me in an alley with this look on his face I would just hand over my wallet and run for my life.  Do not talk with the messed up hair guy in a black jacket with the collar propped up.  Seriously!

This here blog is just over 4 years old, and I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how much this online site has brought to my life.  Sure, it’s challenging to put readable text out there for strangers to read, and it’s a good discipline to put my thoughts into words for the world to read; but the best part by far has been the people I’ve met.  Over the next few weeks I’m going to highlight some of these people.

I can’t write about everyone I’ve met, but I’m going to give it my best go ’round.

Enjoy!