Tonight was the Christmas cantata at my home church, Liberty Baptist.  Our music pastor, Chas Singer, and our choir did amazingly as always.  As I sat there this evening, listening to the words they sang so beautifully, some things hit me.  I wanted to share some of those with you.

1.  Imagine being Mary and Joseph, lying in the stable looking the living, breathing Son of God right in the face.  Imagine the task of parenting a perfect child for the next 30 years!  (Most parents probably wouldn’t complain.)  He’d be courageous, relentless, and brave.  He’d love a world of sin.  Nothing we could do would keep us from the intimate love he would give.  He overcomes it all.  This is our God.  These are some of the ideas from the song, “This is Our God” that our choir shared tonight.  Remember that you serve a living Savior.  He came as a baby for you.  Even when you’re burned out, you have the knowledge of His unspeakable gift to you to drive you on.  That’s a crazy thought.  Here’s some of the highlights of the lyrics from this song:

Who is this child asleep in the manger?
Tender and mild, this intimate Stranger?
Recklessly, wildly loving a dangerous world
Who is this light invading our darkness…

This is our God, living and breathing
Call Him courageous, relentless, and brave
This is our God, loving and reaching… (more…)

So, out of the three of us, I have the unique position of never having been to an Orange conference, and not yet planning to go to one.  (Unless, of course, someone volunteered to take me!)  So rather than talking about what I like about Orange, and what I look forward to, I’m going to talk more about some of the pluses and minuses of Orange, as I see it.

1.  Great speakers and music.  Orange has always done a great job of getting and keeping the best minds in children’s ministry, and the greatest musical talent.  If you want to be encouraged, uplifted, and worship, you can’t beat the group the team at reThink has brought together.  It’s an amazing conference in this area- one of the best in the industry.

2.  Spread out.  One of the most common complaints I hear about Orange is just how many people are in one place.  Orange may need to consider doing two sites in the future- help reduce overcrowding a little.  They’ve started on this already by moving to a larger venue, but it’s still something to look out for.

3.  Keep the loose schedule.  One of Orange’s strengths is how loose their schedule is.  You’ve got plenty of time to take some time to refresh and recharge, check out Atlanta, and whatever you want.  You won’t feel rushed through the day, without feeling like you’ve got too much free time.

4.  Diversify their interests.  Orange was started primarily to be a family ministry conference, and they’ve done really well as such.  But in order to be even more successful than they are now, they’re going to have to start diversifying a little of what they talk about.  The conference needs to be more open to other forms of ministry, rather than just one.  They must still keep what makes them them, without excluding everyone else.

So those are my thoughts about Orange.  What do you think?

“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:37-40, MSG)

On November 30, a limousine was parked in front of Princeton Pike Church of God in Hamilton, Ohio.  No one knew why.  A week later, the members of the church learned something about that limousine: 9 celebrities had been inside that limousine.  Not the celebrities we would think of.  Not at all.  But they were celebrities in the eyes of the King.  That limousine had carried 9 homeless men to church that Sunday morning.  It just so happens that the owner of a limo service attends that church.  On November 30, he went out into the streets and found 9 homeless men and brought them to church.  7 of the 9 came to know Christ personally that Sunday morning.  That’s what I call a bus ministry!

To most limo owners, that would seem like craziness.  You don’t normally let dirty, smelly homeless men ride in your limo for free.  But that man saw something more important than their physical state: their spiritual state.  In his mind, they weren’t homeless.  They were sinners in desperate need of a Savior.

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So, I started going to CPC when I was 14.  That’s a little different than most people.  In the course of 4 years, I’ve attended 7 CPC’s.  In 2009, I’m going to both Nashville and San Diego.  I’ve been a Audio/Video Conference Assistant at one location as well.  So trust me, I know CPC like the back of my hand.  I love going to CPC, and always have an amazing time.  So here’s what I love about CPC:

1.   The Resource Center.  Honestly, I think that the Resource Center is one of the best places to find that great new resource to help you out throughout the next year that’s coming.  I’m a very online person, but I still love just being able to browse around and connect with people while I’m shopping for new resources.  You can probe and prod the resource providers about their products more in depth as well.  And of course, CPC’s Resource Center is instantly made better because KidzMatter is there!  But in all seriousness, CPC has one of the best resource centers of any of the conferences I’ve been to personally.

2.  First-Timer’s Orientation.  This seems like a really small thing, yes.  But my first year at CPC, this orientation was invaluable.  Rather than feeling like a fish suddenly taken from a fish bowl into the ocean, I had guidance and help to guide me along my way.

3.  The General Sessions.  For me personally, the General Sessions are the highlight of my CPC days.  You get to come in, enjoy a great meal, network, then be entertained, encouraged, and enlightened.  You will never be able to leave a General Session in just a blah kind of mood.  I personally have enjoyed getting to hear greats such as Max Lucado, John Ortberg, George Barna, and many more during a general session at CPC.

4.  The locations.  Personally, one of my favorite pre/post-conference things to do is to explore what’s around the conference.  In Orlando, there was an amazing theme park staring you down the entire week.  You just had to go!  In San Diego, there is an amazing mall just across the street from the Town and Country Resort.  It has a Wetzel Pretzel.  ’Nuff said.  Nashville is surrounded by the amazing Gaylord Opryland Resort.  You’ve got to schedule some time into your CPC just for some fun! (more…)