Today I will be live blogging from the Orange Conference in Atlanta, GA. Orange is the most innovative and relevant deliver of age-appropriate Christian content. And they also put on an absolutely amazing conference.
Injoy Stewardship Solutions has dispatched me to attend this amazing event as a way to invest in your growth. They also want to invest in your leadership by offering you our latest FREE resource Stop Summer Slump by clicking HERE for your complimentary copy.
This morning’s opening session was conducted by Ryan Leak and Jeff Henderson. Ryan is the Young Adults Director at Covenant Church in Dallas, Texas. Jeff is the pastor of Gwinnett Church and is an expert at knowing how a church engages its community. His church’s #ForGwinnett campaign has been replicated by countless churches across the country.
If you missed his incredible ReThink Leadership session from Wednesday, click HERE.
The following are 33 leadership quotes I captured from their inspiring Orange sessions on loving your neighbor:
Mike Foster – author of People Of A Second Chance: A Guide To Bringing Life-Saving Love To The World
- We’re really great at believing in God but really struggle in believing in each other and believing in ourselves.
- We can over-complexify loving our neighbor when all it is is loving the person right in front of us.
- I wake up every morning trying to practice tiny greatness.
- Neighbors make me a better Christian.
- We’re going to celebrate the misfits and marginalized in our society.
Ryan Leak
- When we are for our neighbors we make room for someone new.
- How in the world are we going to build bridges with people different than us.
- Jesus had this thought – ‘If I’m going to reach outsiders, I’m going to have to go outside.’
- Our invitation success rate is rather low.
- Only 8% of the miracles Jesus were performed in the synagogue. 92% of the miracles not surrounded by the people of God.
- What if we got our ego boosted not by how many people we get to come but how many people we get to go.
- I’ve never heard anybody say, ‘Christians are just great listeners.’
- If we just take time to listen we might be able to understand someone else’s pain.
- If it’s that bad it’s the easiest time to make a difference.
- It’s not random acts of kindness. It’s intentional acts of kindness.
- It’s amazing how a little bit of kindness can lead to a sideline conversation.
- Ask every person that serves you, ask them ‘Do you have anything I can pray for you?’
- God is the One Who draws people to Himself.
- It’s easier than ever to make a difference in the world.
Jeff Henderson
- The Holy Spirit is not only in the service, He is in the preschool and children’s ministry. It’s been our experience the Holy Spirit leaves preschool after about an hour. And if the Holy Spirit is not there, I know our volunteers don’t.
- If you bring a first-time guest to church you will see church completely differently. If you bring a first-time guest you’ll complain about the right things.
- The Good Samaritan came to where the man was.
- A Neighbor-Minded Church is about the church going to the community, not the community going to church.
- If our church went out of business, would the community even notice?
- We can’t expect the community to come to us if they don’t know we’re for them.
- We’re for Gwinnett. Even better, God is for Gwinnett.
- Inventory your church’s social media. How often is it about the church and how often is it about community?
- A Neighbor-Minded Church allows people to belong before they believe.
- It’s so wonderful to belong to such a nice place.
- The longer you hang around Jesus and Jesus’s people you’ll believe.
- A Neighbor-Minded Church creates common ground for changing lives.
- We have to create common ground and convesations.
- Something powerful happens when neighbors who are not for the church realize the church is for them.
What an incredible way to start Day 2. Up next is more thoughts from Orange.
As previously mentioned, INJOY Stewardship Solutions would like to offer you the FREE resource Stop Summer Slump. Click HERE or on the image to the left for your complimentary copy.