Archives For Kenny Conley

Headed to the Nation’s Capital

November 9, 2011 — Leave a comment

To those outside of Texas, you might think I’m headed to D.C.  But our nation’s capital is in the ATX! And I’ll be there this Friday and Saturday to spend some quality time with great leaders like Matt McKee, Dan Scott, Kenny Conley, Gina McClain, and Sam Luce at the Austin Illuminate Conference.  As cool as it’ll be to be with those Kidmin legends, the best part is to spend time with the church leaders in the Austin area.  I always look forward to Illuminate, because it’s the only conference that gives me massive amounts of quality time with those in the trenches doing ministry to kids and families.

I’ll be leading two breakouts; one staff breakout on how to make your peers love you, and one volunteer breakout on how to take the next step in your volunteer leadership!  It’s gonna be great…and eventually it’s gonna be online for everyone to enjoy.  Stay tuned for all things Illuminate and you’ll have a chance to see and hear from these great leaders without ever leaving your couch!

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The Homeless Blogger

October 11, 2011 — Leave a comment

Hello friends. My name is Kenny Conley and I’m the homeless blogger. What does that mean? Well, I have a blog over at childrensministryonline.com (BUT DON’T GO THERE). My blog is very sick with a nasty virus. Since she’s sick and slowly getting better, I don’t have a place to post new articles. I’m at the Kidmin Conference in Chicago and like always, I’ve got something to say… I just don’t have anyplace to say it. So, thanks to some good friends, they’re giving this homeless blogger a couch to sleep on and letting me finish off the carton of ice cream in the freezer. 

The Homeless Blogger: Making Connections

The other day I wrote about having a roommate at conferences because it is such a great opportunity to continue to network and connect. I have to admit though, the Kidmin conference was all about connecting and networking.j

First of all, Jim Wideman hit on this specifically. He shared how connecting with others is an integral part of his ministry. I think what some people might not get is that you can connect with others whether you lead a ministry of thousands or if you are a volunteer at a small church, I’ve actually been amazed by how many significant voices in the kidmin twitter feed and blogosphere are volunteers. Everyone has something to contribute… Don’t be silent.

Secondly, the kidmin conference was pretty intentional about helping people connect. Ey created spaces where people could connect in a way that was relevant. They had connect groups for those new to ministry, those feeling burnt out in ministry, those in mega churches, those leading multi-site ministry and many more. So, everyone had an option and many connected through this opportunity. Big win!

Lastly, Group has a specific philosophy. Every one of their products is R.E.A.L.

  • Relational
  • Experiential
  • Applicable
  • Learner-based

This was true of kidmin as well. This means that the breakouts included relational components. There was a lot of time for people to connect about topics important to them within the context of a breakout. Another Win!

When it comes to networking and connecting, kidmin championed that cause. Now it’s time to carry it out. I hope that I get to continue some conversations that started this weekend.

Thanks Jonathan for hosting my post. I think I might have dropped your toothbrush in your toilet while I was looking through for dental floss. Don’t worry though, I rinsed it off under hot water for a few minutes. Look for my next post by following my tweets at twitter.com/kennyconley

See past homeless blogger posts at the following sites:

Small Town Kidmin

Jenny Funderburke

Sam Luce

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Illuminate Conference News

September 15, 2011 — Leave a comment

This just in…stop…from Mr. Kenny Conley and team…stop…big news out of Nashville…stop…Illuminate…coming to a town near you…stop…read below for all the cats pajamas…stop…you’re welcome…stop…

With two Illuminate Conferences under my belt, one thing is sure… Illuminate is like no other conference. At both Austin (2010) and Birmingham (2011) I heard the same thing over and over.

Amazing!

Incredible!

Inspiring!

Encouraging!

That’s what kidmin volunteers from Texas, Alabama and Georgia all had to say about their Illuminate experience. So, the only logical thing to do is more events, right? That’s what I thought too.

On Saturday, February 18th, 2012… Illuminate comes to the great city of Nashville, TN! Details are still coming together (like speakers and breakouts) but we do have a handful of great communicators already lined up.

  • Jim Wideman (General Sessions and Leader Q & A)
  • Jonathan Cliff
  • Amy Fenton Lee
  • I’ll be there too… plus a few others

So, if you live within a 2-4 hour radius of Nashville, TN, make plans to attend the only event bringing some of the most influential voices in kidmin to the local arena to equip volunteers. It’s one of the best investments you could make in your volunteer team. At the early bird price, you can afford to bring them all!

For more information about Illuminate, check out illuminateconference.tv. For more information about the Nashville event, visit nashville.illuminateconference.tv.

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What You Will See at Orange 2011

April 26, 2011 — 2 Comments

Tonight I’m here in Atlanta, and gearing up for a full-day of Pre-Conference breakouts all week long.  It’s going to be a blast all week long, and I’ll be bringing you updated throughout.  But after 3 years of attending here are a few things I can guarantee you that I will see this week.  If you’re here, keep your eyes peeled for the following:

  • Pasty skinned northerners laid out like beached whales soaking in the 75 degree Spring weather.  Every year, without fail there are 100′s of northerner’s that find themselves thawing out from there snowed in winters.  Welcome to warm weather my friends.  Take off those shoes and enjoy the warmness, but I warn you.  If you come back in 3 months it’ll be 105 degrees and you’ll melt.
  • The shock and horror in peoples eyes when they see how large Kenny Conley is.  He’s like a Jolly Orange giant.  I have proof, look at this picture of him towering over my tree back in Lubbock.  He’s a giant people, prepare yourself for it.
  • The anger those up north have towards Chik-Fil-A for not having stores up north.  It’s like they love their southern visit to the Christian Chicken, but still harbor bitterness that they can’t get that sweet tea in New York.
  • The shock in peoples eyes when they see how short Gina McClain is.  She’s like a Orange smurf.  But have no fear, she won’t bite your ankles.  Just go ahead and approach carefully, carrying a gift of coffee and your first meeting should go well.
  • Me sleeping in the Bloggers Lounge on Friday afternoon, after having tried unsuccessfully to keep up with Kenny Conley and Sam Luce all week long.  Those guys are un-human, and I struggle every year to keep their schedule.
  • Matt McKee will launch the next great business idea for Orange.  I’ve got my money on a Prayer Kittens app.  Something that allows you to prayer for a person while laying hands on a kitten, then mailing the kitten to that friend.  It’s still in development, but Matt will take this idea and make it awesome.  Wait and watch the magic!
  • Michael Bayne will drink his own body weight in Diet Mountain Dew.  I didn’t know there was such a drink until last year, but as the empty bottles piled up in the Bloggers Lounge I followed their waste trail to one Michael Bayne.
  • Dan Scott will climb some unforeseen structure somewhere in the Gwinnett Center and make like Spider-Man.  Hopefully he doesn’t try one of those upside down kisses with his wife.  That would be gross.  Not because it’s gross to kiss your wife, but because wouldn’t you be looking up their nose while kissing upside down?  Think about that one for a while Dan.

And last but not least…you will see dreams being birthed, plans being made, and ministries being inspired to reach the family with the Gospel of Jesus.

So did I forget something?  Anything else you expect to see while at the Orange Conference this year?

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People I’ve Met Online: Kenny Conley

September 2, 2010 — 3 Comments

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.

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