Archives For Orange

What I Want from Orange 2012

February 8, 2012 — 1 Comment

My name is Jonathan, and I’m a conference junkie.  It’s true.  It’s also true that I don’t pick sides in these debates about which conference is better than another.  I believe that conferences and the things we hear when we attend are all just different parts of the same conversation.  I attend many of them to speak into the conversation that is happening, and to listen.

In April, I’ll be at The Orange Conference.  I’ll be there to see old friends, meet new friends, and continue the conversations I’ve started since 2008.  However, the thing I’m most hoping to learn in Atlanta on April 25-27 is how to lead my team more effectively.  I’ve transitioned over the years into a role of leading some great leaders to children, students, and college-age people; and getting better at leading them is my #1 goal for 2012.

There are too many rich breakouts to list here on one blog post, but I’m looking forward to making Orange 2012 the conference that helps me grow as a leader of leaders.  Take the time to investigate this thing called The Orange Conference, and see if it’s something that will help you as a leader as well!

Where will you go to find new ideas to reach a new world and the old?

www.TheOrangeConference.org

 

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The Orange Idea Revolution

February 7, 2012 — Leave a comment

The Orange Conference is continuing registration this week, and it’s a place you want to be if you work with families and those students and children those families love so much.  It’s been well documented over the years, that I absolutely love my Orange experience each April.  I’ve attended every Orange Conference since 2008, and I’ve gone solo once, with one friend once, with my boss once, and last year attended with most of my ministry team.  Each time I’ve been a part of Orange, I’ve come away a better leader and more excited about my future at Trinity Church.

It was at the Orange Conference that our church grabbed a vision for ministering to the family as a whole, and it was at the Orange Conference that I caught an idea about what our church could do in the community of Lubbock on a grander scale.  I absolutely believe that if you make the effort to be a part of what’s happening in Atlanta on April 25-27; then you can be a better leader and a better minister to the families in your church.  Take the time today to visit http://www.whatisorange.org/orangeconference/story/ and see what all the details are.

The first step is to want something unique for your life and your church, and that first step is to find out all you can.  Make it happen!

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Friends of the Blog

October 28, 2011 — Leave a comment

I opened up Advertisements on the website about a year ago, and I’ve been 99% thrilled with everything that has happened since.  As we end the month of October at jonathancliff.com I’d love to share some about these site sponsors you see here on the right side of the screen.

 I’m so thrilled to have Compassion International sharing such a cool idea on the site this month.  My family has personally done this for the past two years at Christmas, and monthly support our own Sponsored Child through Compassion.

 

 

 I’m HUGE fans of the guys at Word’s of WoW and have seen their impact far and wide in the greater Kidmin community.  I’ve even taken their president, Reagan Hillier out for a hamburger at an Italian restaurant.  It’s a long story, but let’s say he has an affection for all things hamburger.  Take some time to visit their site and see what they’re doing for Kidmin and Church leaders today!

 

For more than a few months they great people at FX Family eXperience have been pushing readers to the innovative Family experience they’re making for churches.  I’d encourage you to see what happening over there right now!

 

 

My friends at Lifeway are introducing their new VBS 2012 Offerings, and I’d encourage you to see what you can find for your church by visiting www.lifeway.com/vbs today!

 

 

 

You can look far and wide and you won’t find a bigger Orange fanboy than I.  We use First Look, 252 Basics, XP3, and even the new XP3 College conversation setups.  You should go see what they have happening over at Orange right now!  They have FREE stuff for everyone!

 

 

If you’d like to join these great contributors, please visit www.jonathancliff.com/advertise to see how you can get connected.  I’d love to  have you on the team!  And for those interested, take some time to read through my thoughts on all these things advertiser-related in my unique Statement of Disclosure.

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YouLead Opportunity

May 11, 2011 — Leave a comment

As a reader of this site, I have a special offer for my readers.  If you’re working anywhere in the context of family ministry, children’s ministry, student ministry, college ministry, or just interested in Leadership; then I have a deal for you.  Right now I can get you a free 2-month trial offer to YouLead.  Normally, YouLead is the very agreeable price of $249 for a 5-member leadership team per year, but right now it’s free for 2 months!  Go ahead and read the description of YouLead, and then find the instructions to get your own 2-month trial offer to YouLead.

YouLead is a simple curriculum designed to develop the leadership skills of yourself, your team and your volunteers.  It centers on answering three basic questions:

  • What can I do to continue learning as a leader?
  • How can I be intentional about connecting with my volunteers consistently?
  • What can we do to stay on the same page as a team?

As a leader, your time is probably filled to the brim without adding one more item to your list.  That’s why we have made this development plan E-A-S-Y. In fact, explaining it will be just as easy…

With YouLead, you get:

  • Personal Leadership Development

    • Book reviews, podcasts, videos, case studies…all around a center topic each month
    • Involves no more than 20 minutes of your time each week – THAT’S IT!

  • Volunteer Leadership Development

    • Intentional communication plan around a central theme each month
    • Weekly email messages designed and ready to send to your entire team in less than 5 minutes

  • BONUS – Staff Leadership Development

    • Book review with staff discussion starters
    • Guided meeting schedule through concepts in The Orange Leader Handbook
    • Podcast for senior leadership

Remember, the goal of using YouLead either as an individual or for your entire team is to have an EASY, INTENTIONAL, ACHIEVABLE leadership development plan.  To get your free 2-month offer just send an email to me at jc @ jonathancliff.com and I’ll be glad to tell you what you need to do.  It’s easy, sneezy; and you won’t regret the opportunity to Lead Yourself in a more deliberate direction of God’s Best!

 

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5 Things Orange

May 2, 2011 — 6 Comments

I had a great time at the Orange Conference last week.  It was my 4th time to attend, but the first time I’ve taken my entire team along for the experience.  I was abel to make the normal Orange Conference connections that I’ve made each year, meeting new friends and reuniting with old ones.  Because these Internets love a good list, I’m going with a top 5 things I took away from this years Orange Conference:

  1. The Team: Taking my senior pastor, executive pastor, college pastor, student ministry pastor, and connections pastor was quite the experience.  When you add me to the mix, that creates 6 different personalities living within close proximity with each other for 5 days.  I’m proud to say that nobody was killed.  :)
    • They all had different takeaways from the conference, and I’m looking forward to reaping a harvest of action from all the ideas planted within them.
  2. The Friends: I had breakfast each morning with some serious Family Ministry big-timers.  It was a great experience to get up early so I could eat, talk, dream, and pray with those that I share my life with.  Easily one of the best takeaway experiences of the entire conference, was the breakfast me and some others had with Jim Wideman.  I realize I don’t have enough Jim’s in my life right now, and the time I had with him; and the answers to my questions that he had were a blessing to me.
    • <rant beginning> And if you attended this conference or any other conference, and don’t make the time to connect with those that don’t work at your church…then you are missing it in a serious way.  Build it into your schedule to take someone from another church out to dinner, breakfast, or coffee when you have them in your view.  Don’t think they have the time?  Well, maybe you just haven’t asked yet. <rant over>
  3. The Word: Listening to Andy Stanley, Jud Wilhite, Perry Noble, Gordon MacDonald, and Doug Fields speak in the Main General Sessions were life changing.  I was recapping some of what they had to say to a friend this morning, and I realize that the words from those brothers in Christ were just what I needed to hear.  Love the time I have to experience the teaching of God’s Word when in the company of like-minded people!
  4. The Breakouts: Breakouts are a tricky thing.  Will you get some great content, but a bad presenter?  Or will you get some great humorous person with great delivery that doesn’t really say anything of value?  It’s sort of a crapshoot.  This year I batted about .900 in picking breakouts; and it may be the best year yet for me.  Easily the most inspiring one was from Chap Clark on turning a church Orange.  Listening to him give a church history lesson on the use of overhead projectors, was insightful and challenging.  This is the one breakout that I wish everyone in my team had been in on!
  5. The Sleep:  Oh wait, there wasn’t any.  Every year I go to Orange I tell myself that I’m going to sleep more than the previous year, and yet every year I stay up til 1am, and find myself waking up at 5am to head out to breakfast somewhere.

It was a great year at Orange, and if you were there would you do me a favor?  Leave me a comment and say hello.  I miss you already!

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