Think Orange

I’ve just started reading a new book that I'm pretty excited about. I’m actually going to blog through it as I read the ten chapters. The book is called Think Orange: Imagine the Impact When Church and Family Collide... by Reggie Joiner.

You might ask, “Why orange?” Here’s basically what Reggie says about why he chose the color orange. Orange is a secondary color, created when you combine two primary colors – red and yellow. Orange is the outcome of taking two influences and combining them to create a vibrant effect that you couldn't get otherwise.

The principle behind the book is about two entities partnering to make a greater impact or to create a better solution. In practice the book explores the possibilities of what can happen if the church and the home combine efforts for the sake of impacting the next generation.

Reggie writes:

“I am not suggesting that the church and the home merely need to work concurrently and effectively in order to accomplish more…Working on the same thing at the same time is not as effective as working on the same thing at the same time with the same strategy. When you creatively synchronize the two environments, you get more than just red or yellow – you get Orange.”

Here's why I'm excited about this book and the work Reggie and his company have done.

A few years ago, a name was coined by those working education to refer to some of the parents they were encountering. The name was "hover parents." Basically, it describes parents who have a desire to be hands-on in nearly every area of their kids lives, especially their primary education.

The phenomenon took local schools by storm. All of a sudden they didn't just have parents showing up for sporting events to cheer for their kids or getting involved in the PTA. They had parents showing up in the classroom on a regular basis to volunteer. Teachers became inandated with Emails from parents wanting to give input about their kids' education. It created a unique problem for schools and teachers.

That same phenomenon, "hover parents," has reached the church.

Now, while many schools, administrators and teachers viewed it as an intrusion, I think church leaders should see it as divine intervention. A growing number of parents are no longer content to drop their kids off at Sunday School and leave the spiritual growth of their kids up to the local church. They want to be spiritual leaders in their kid's lives.

I'm one of those parents. Nothing gave me more pleasure than baptizing my own son or sitting with my wife and son while our daughter gave her heart to Christ. I love watching my kids grow in their faith and knowing that I am helping to shape that.

I'm also a pastor. And I love watching the church be a part of shaping the lives of kids and standing with parents as they raise spiritual champions.

But back to Reggie and the book. Here's why I am excited about this book. Left on it's own, the "hover parent in the church" phenomenon will cause nothing but frustration for both parents and church leaders. I've already seen some of that frustration in our own church and in other churches around us. The frustration of knowing the goal and seeing the potiential but not knowing how to get there.

But Reggie's company, The Rethink Group, has created some strategies to help churches and parents come together as two leading influences in kids lives to create a vibrant effect that you wouldn't get otherwise - Orange.

Here's an excerpt from the Rethink website:

Children and student ministry brings pressure. It can frustrate and bring joy.
It stresses and exhilarates. It makes you want to share victories and scream for
help. You’re here because you’re looking for answers. OK, you found us. Breathe.

We believe we have answers for you. They are in the form of a ministry strategy that, if you let it, can revolutionize the way you approach children and student ministries—even the way your church functions as a
whole unit.

I'm looking forward to "thinking Orange."

One of My Favorite Places

One of my favorite places is Fairfax Corner. In the warmer months our family will sometimes walk there from our house (about a mile) and get some Ben & Jerry's Ice cream.

Fairfax Corner is a town center complete with residential space, shops, an awesome movie theatre, restaurants, coffee shop and a fountain that is not only a piece of art but is designed for kids to play in. And did I mention the Ben & Jerry's?

I love Fairfax Corner because it's where worlds collide. Everyone from every walk of life is there, from kids to teenagers, to young adult and on up to older folks. On top of that, people from every place in the world are there.

I'm usually there at least twice a week. On Mondays I drop the kids off at school and then walk the dog over to FC. It's sort of a magical time because there's no one there at 9:00am. It's just workers getting ready for the crowd. Kind of like being on the beach early in the morning. It's a great way to start the week.

I'm also there on Thursdays. I don't work in the office on Thursdays; too many distractions for my ADD mind. So I work at Fairfax Corner, getting ready for Sunday and future messages and series. It's a great office.

One of the things that always comes to my mind when I'm there is how it would be a great place for a church. There's already a crowd. Great places to eat after worship. And what better place for a modern worship service than a movie theatre? Just a thought.

Re-Post

I was looking back at some old posts and thought this one deserved a re-post:

I'm loving the Dangerous Surrender series we're doing on Sundays and in small groups. Seems like God is really stirring some hearts to tackle some giants. I was really proud of Andrew and his friend Josh for standing up in front of the entire congregation and asking them to help the kids in our church help kids in Afghanistan.

Here are some stats that we used in worship today as we talked about Pushing Back the Darkness and what to do about evil:

• Human trafficking is estimated to be a 32 billion dollar business in our world today.
• Each year more than 2 million children are exploited in the global sex trade.
• There are twenty-seven million people who are slaves today. There are more slaves alive today than have ever been in the history of the world.
• It’s estimated that about 300-500 million people contract malaria each year.
• Approximately 2.5 million people die from malaria (a disease we have a cure for) every year.
• Every 24 seconds a child dies in the world from the lack of basic necessities.
• There are over 500 thousand children in foster care in the U.S. right now.
• In the U.S. there’s approximately 3.5 million people who are homeless. 39% of those are children.
• There about 2200 people who are homeless in Fairfax County alone. One of the most affluent counties in the nation. Half of those are children.
• 3% of the population of our nation’s capitol have HIV/AIDS. There are more people living with AIDS in Washington, DC than in West Africa.

“Anyone who knows the right thing to do but doesn’t do it is sinning.” James 4:17

Memorial to the 12 Disciples of Christ

I found this on Mark Batterson's blog and had to share it. Mark's an amazing reader and researcher, not to mention a great writer. I've had the pleasure, along the way, to get to know him and he's the real deal.

The way the 12 disciples of Christ lived and died is truly a testimony to who Christ was.

James the brother of John was killed with a sword during a persecution initiated by King Herod in AD 44. Andrew was hung on an olive tree around 70 AD. Thomas was thrust through with pine spears, tortured with red-hot plates, and burned alive around 70 AD. Philip went to Phrygia where he was tortured and crucified in AD 54. Matthew was beheaded sometime after 60 AD. Bartholomew was flayed after he refused to recant. After the removal of his skin, he was crucified in 70 AD. James the lesser was taken to the top of the Temple where a crowd gathered. When he refused to recant, he was thrown down. He survived the fall so a mob beat him to death with clubs in 63 AD. Simon the Zealot was crucified by the governor of Syria in AD 74. Judas Thaddeus ministered in Mesopotamia where he was beaten to death with sticks in AD 72. Matthias, who replaced Judas Iscariot, went to Ethiopia and was stoned to death while hanging on a cross in AD 70. According to Eusebius, the third century historian, Peter thought himself unworthy to die in the manner in which Jesus was crucified so he requested that he be crucified upside-down. And last but not least, John the beloved is the only disciple who died a natural death, but that doesn't mean he was exempt from persecution. He was exiled to the Island of Patmos and according to legend, thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil.

A Friend Who Will Find You

I was reading in 2 Timothy 1 today. Paul says two things there that jumped off the page at me.

First he says "Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." That word "standard" is what stood out. Paul is saying, "what I am saying comes from Christ and it's the standard and you should hold on to."

The timeless principle there is that the words of God, whether spoken by Christ or Paul or any other writer of scripture should be our standard - the thing that guides our lives.

Then Paul goes onto talk about the folks who have abandoned him, let him down. Except for one person, Onesiphorus. He says that this guy was not embarrassed to be seen with Paul even though Paul was NOT someone to be seen with. Paul was actually in prison at the time, for his beliefs.

And then Paul says this about Onesiphorus - "...when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me AND found me.."

I think EVERYONE needs a friend like that, a friend who will EAGERLY search for you and will not quit until they find you. Here's what I think that friend looks like:

They will...
...stand with you when no one else will.
...encourage you when all you want to do is whine and everyone else
is tired of listening to you.
...tell you what you NEED to hear not what you WANT to hear.
...hold you accountable.
...help you see things for what they are.
...love you no matter what.
...risk for you.
...look for you and not quit until they find you.

I don't have a lot of people in my life like that, but I'm truly glad for the few that I do.

New Dream - Part 2

Most of us hate to wait. In today's culture we have instant everything. A friend of mine told me he was helping his young son make popcorn in the microwave. As the timer was ticking down his son looked up at him and said "Daddy, why does it take so long?" Microwave popcorn! We hate to wait.

Kids can't wait for Christmas to get here. Adults can't wait for Friday to get here. And none of us can wait when it's a new Ipad, Google phone, 3-D TV, new car... and the list goes on. But one thing I've learned is that when God gives us a dream there's always a waiting period - ALWAYS!

I admit I hate to wait on the things I just mentioned. But I love waiting on God when it comes to His dreams for my life, and here's why. Every time God has given me a dream, it's always been something bigger than myself. Something that there's know way I could accomplish on my own. That's what makes it a God-given dream. I love the waiting periods because I grow by leaps and bounds during those times.

Several years ago God began to give me a vision for our church. I was not the Lead Pastor at the time and the church was going through a very unhealthy period, one of many unhealthy periods in our history. But God began to show me what could happen if we got healthy again and allowed God to use us for His purposes. Many of the things that are happening in our church today were a part of that original dream almost ten years ago. But getting that dream and making a decision to go after it was followed by a three year waiting period for me.

Looking back on those three years I can see how God grew me in ways that I never would have grown otherwise. And that growth prepared me to be the leader I was eventually going to have to be.

I learned to loosen my grip on things that I was trusting in rather than trusting in God. I learned how to be patient with people who didn't like change and were grieving because of changes. I learned to delegate so that I could stay focused. And I learned that God's ways of doing things are sometimes different from how I would do them - and His ways are always better.

So when I find myself in God's waiting room, I have choice, and so do you.

I can choose to complain, like the Israelites did in the desert. "God why are you moving so slow? I want to get there now!" I seem to recall every time the Israelites got impatient they took matters into their own hands, messed up big time, and it was another lap around Mt. Sinai.

Or I can choose to enjoy the ride knowing that God is getting me ready for something that only He can do. Regardless of our choice, we're still going to wait because God is God and we're not.

Two of my life verses are Jeremiah 29:11 and Habakkuk 2:3:
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

"These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled."

New Dream

If I'm honest, I don't like the first couple of phases of a God-given dream. In fact, if I'm really honest, I hate them. The phases are: Dream, Decision, Delay, Difficulties, Dead-in, and Deliverance.

I can handle the difficulties, delays and the dead-ins. In fact there's a weird part of me that enjoys those phases in some ways. Given my personality and strengths, that's when I tend to shine.

But I'm not a risk taker. I like things mapped out. I don't mind challenges, but I like to see them coming so I can hit them head-on. So the second phase of a dream, Decision, is the hardest for me to move through.

For the last few months I've had this sense that God is preparing a new dream in my life. I have NO IDEA what that is, where it will take me, or what the risks will be. And that more than makes me nervous, it actually scares me.

It scares me because I know once I have the vision I will have to make the decision to go after it. And making the decision is that point where you feel like you're suspended in mid-air, 100 feet above the ground, with no net below, holding on to a rope with all your might. Not my idea of fun.

But more than anything else in the world I want to be where God wants me to be. So that means saying yes even when it's scary. Even when it's uncomfortable. Even when everything inside me says "don't do it." Even when I don't know what I'm saying yes to.

Because it's not about WHAT I'm saying yes to, it's about WHO I'm saying yes to.