Would you like my Orange Conference Notes?

This year at #OC14 I’m teaching 3 breakouts. Here are my notes for all 3.

If you are planning on attending, here is when and where you’ll find me at Orange.


•Wednesday, April 30- Pre-Conference 4, 3:00-4:00PM, Room 15 “Safety Systems”


•Thursday, May 1- Breakout A- 11:30AM- 12:30PM, Room 10 “Saying Yes To Saying No”


•Thursday, May 1- Breakout D- 5:30- 6:30PM, Room 1 “7 Questions Every Kidmin Leader Needs To Ask Themselves to Grow”


Not able to attend? I’ll be doing a live stream interview Thursday, May 1 3:15PM


I'll be at the Orange Specialist Reception Tuesday Night, The King of Pops truck, Wednesday during lunch to hang out with the Kidmin Tribe. Then Thursday night I'll be hanging out at the Late Night event at The John Maxwell Center at 9:30PM and The Blogger's Lounge during the main sessions.

Gather With New Friends—or Spend QT With Old Friends—at OC14

Whether one of your goals at OC14 is to make friends, or go deeper with your team, we want to help provide opportunities for you to do just that. Below you’ll find some great options to meet other leaders in your tribe, as well as some designated time to hang out with those you know. It’s an action-packed conference, but these are great times to stop and have a conversation, debrief, or just chat over coffee. Whatever works for you, works for us.

TUESDAY NIGHT

7:00-–9:00 p.m.

Gwinnett Convention Center Room 2

Please RSVP on the same page that you select your breakouts.

Curriculum partners who arrive to OC14 by Tuesday night are invited to attend our annual Orange Specialists’ Meet and Greet. Starting at 7:00 p.m., this is a special time for you to meet with your Orange Specialist, network with other church leaders and enjoy some refreshments. We can't wait to see you there!

THURSDAY NIGHT

After Hours Gathering

9:00–10:30 p.m. (Immediately after the last session)

John Maxwell Leadership Center

Thursday at Orange Conference is jam packed with amazing and thought provoking breakouts and main sessions.  So we thought, wouldn’t it be great to provide an awesome space to hang out, decompress and process all of the transformational things that have happened over the course of the day with other leaders?  

After the fun of the last session, plan on bringing yourself and your whole team to 12 Stone Church (the John Maxwell Leadership Center) for a laid back night of coffee, dessert and chill time.  It’s just down the road at 2050 Sugarloaf Circle, Duluth, GA 30097.

We’ll have comfortable gathering spaces for entire ministry teams, plus designated spaces for networking with other Preschool, Children’s, Student’s, Special Needs and MarriedPeople leaders.  So, no matter what brought you to OC, or whom you came with, we’ve got a place specifically designed for you to hang out and debrief.

Expect to see and network with familiar faces from each tribe there, too, like Sue Miller, Jim Wideman Ben Crawshaw, Amy Fenton Lee, Ted Cunningham, Ted Lowe and Doug Fields.

This is the best way to end your day and get ready for all that Friday has in store!

We look forward to seeing you there.

Be There or Be Square.

Been Too Busy To Blog...

Busy is one of the words that the meaning just keeps changing. 

Busy |ˈbizē|adjective (busier, busiest) having a great deal to do: So many times over the years I just thought I was busy and the next thing I knew I was really busy. I learned several years ago that one of the good things about being busy is that it forced you to prioritize what you can do and what others can do. 

Over the last few months I've not only had to prioritize my life and how I spend my time but I've had to also learn how to say no to certain things and my blog was one of them was this blog. So why did I need to say no to blogging so I could say yes to seeing my family, 25 flights, 5 conferences, 6 consulting visits, 2 infuse retreats and 3 different infuse groups. 

I'm having the time of my life but the key is saying no so I can say yes to right stuff. Over the next 2 days I'll work at home training a staff in Virginia, then lunch with my wife and then meet a new Kidmin for coffee to encourage him. I'll also work on my church in Oklahoma and finish my breakouts for The Orange Conference then I fly out for California to help another church. 

So what is making you too busy for the things you should be doing? What do you need to say no to and what do you need to say yes to? I'm walking out balance in my life, my health, and going through the doors God opens and saying no to the ones that aren't God. I made a promise in 1976 that if Jesus would open doors for me to minister I would go through them. He's kept His end of the bargain and I intend to keep mine. So blessed!