Think Orange

I attended a family ministry training today called Think Orange. It was a fun and interesting day of learning and bonding with other teachers/leaders within my church body. This was actually the first time I had been full-on exposed to the "Orange Philosophy." I copied this from their website in case you haven't heard:

An Orange thinker asks, “What if church leaders and parents synchronized their efforts to fuel wonder, discovery and passion in the next generation?” By combining the critical influences of the light of the church (yellow) and the love of the family (red) the Orange Strategy shows a generation who God is more effectively than either could alone.

The training was very informative and practical. This is what I took away:

• Teaching alone does not equal discipleship. Discipleship is teaching within a RELATIONSHIP.
• Kids need to hear the Truth from their parents. They need to hear it from other adults, too.
• Until you allow kids to do something significant, they will not understand their own significance.
• We all have a "picture" in our head of what a family should look like. We need to put away our picture. We are not part of a picture (a snap shot), we are part of a story--God's story of redemption. Families don't need a better picture; they need a bigger story.
• The Gospel is transformational. If kids participate in The Great Commission, their faith will stick.
• As a leader, it's not about what I want from people but what I want for people.
• Kids need leaders who love and value them for free. (Grace)
• We never have to work at complicating things. We must work diligently and continually to simplify things.
• It takes a true leader to kill something that is living so that something more significant can thrive.
• No one has the influence that a parent does. But others do have influence. Who will the "others" be and how will they influence our kids?
• It's less about our ability to be appealing and more about the ability to be authentic.

I was very pleased with all that I was able to glean from the training. The bottom line: Whether it's with my kiddos at home, my kiddos at church or anyone at all, actually, the most important things I have to offer are my time, my love and authenticity.