If you’re a subscriber to YouLead, you’ve noticed a change in our Socials over the last few weeks. In addition to email copy you can send to your staff and volunteers, we’ve now included Twitter, Facebook and Instagram post copy and ideas.

Here is the Social content for the topic of “Appreciation:”

YouLead Social: Appreciation 01

• Monday: Do for 1 what you wish you could do for everyone, knowing that everyone isn’t going to be treated the same way. #DeepWide
• Tuesday: YOU make a difference every day! Thank you for all you do! http://bit.ly/6Lphx
• Wednesday: “We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.” –Winston Churchill #Appreciation #Volunteers
• Thursday: Appreciation Matters: http://bit.ly/A5FA1p
• Friday: We always appreciate you! http://bit.ly/10uWRXm

• Monday: “When you widen the circle, the goal is to have other trusted adults in the lives of children before they need them so they will be there when they need them.” –Reggie Joiner
• Tuesday: Thanks for being the trusted adult in the lives of children here at [insert church name here].
• Wednesday: “We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.” –Winston Churchill
• Thursday: Appreciation Matters: http://bit.ly/A5FA1p
• Friday: A bit of fun mixed with appreciation for our volunteers! http://bit.ly/10uWRXm

What you do matters—even when you don’t always see it. Sometimes, it’s the kids you think may not hear a word you say that will one day surprise you the most. Listen to this volunteer’s story:

I’ll never forget the first time I met Matt. He showed up at a lock-in at the church just before we locked everyone in, and there was the subtle smell of beer masked by the combination of peppermint gum and peanut butter. It would’ve been easy to tell him he wasn’t welcome and to go home; but something told me to invite him in to stay for the night. He sat in the corner with his buddies while we worshiped and fell asleep during our youth pastor’s message. But the following week, Matt came to church on Sunday morning. Then later that year, he signed up to go on a summer mission trip. It was a struggle for him to spend a whole week without a cigarette and while he worked really hard, he muttered on our return that the only reason he went was because he had never been to California. Sometimes, it was hard to love Matt but because he showed up every week, I made sure I connected with him, gave him a hug, and I went to his baseball games because his dad wasn’t around and mom was usually too intoxicated to show up. Matt graduated from high school and I honestly didn’t know if he really ever connected with his faith or made a decision to follow Christ—every time it came up he made a joke and changed the subject.

Facebook reconnected Matt and I a few years ago. While his life continued on a rough journey after high school, those seeds that were planted eventually began to grow. Matt got married, had a few kids of his own, and connected with a great church. He and his wife have become foster parents and have a heart for troubled kids—because they both came from unstable homes growing up. When it was my birthday, Matt wrote me this note on Facebook: “Happy Birthday to one of the most influential people in my life. Your example of what it means to be a follower of Jesus always stuck with me and I only hope that I can also be that kind of influence for my own kids and the ones my wife and I open our home to in foster care. Thank you for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”

Leaders: Know how much we appreciate you and the time and love you give to our kids and teens every week. Never doubt that the seeds you plant are rooted in good soil and will bear much fruit for years to come.

Thank you for walking alongside our kids in faith and love at [insert church name here]. You’re influence will carry into the futures of our young people.

SPECIAL OFFER for YouLead: Sign up NOW—with code YOULEAD149—for the special price of $149 (regularly $199). Offer ends May 31, 2013.

Developed by Orange, YouLead is designed to develop the leadership skills of yourself, your team and your volunteers. It centers on answering three basic questions: What can I do to continue learning as a leader? How can I be intentional about connecting with my volunteers consistently? What can we do to stay on the same page as a team? We do this by creating materials that can be digested in 20 easy minutes. Click here to learn more about a subscription to YouLead.

Didn’t get a chance to take advantage of our special offer at Orange Conference 2013?

Sign up NOW—with code YouLead149—for the special price of $149 (regularly $199). Offer ends May 31, 2013.

YouLead will help you integrate the Orange Strategy with your team in a natural way by tackling the specific issues you and your team face in the reality of everyday ministry.

And now you can get a subscription to the new and improved YouLead for only $149! With a subscription to YouLead, you will have access to our ENTIRE library to utilize at your own pace iand in your own way. It’s up to you to determine how and when you want to lead.

At $149, that’s about $12 a month for leadership development for your entire church!

YouLead’s library gives you one primary thing—choice. You know how you want to lead, so we’ve given you the option to select the training resources you or your team most need when you need them, based on a variety of themes.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

“We love using the resources from YouLead for our family ministry team meetings and volunteer training events. The topical format of the issues is perfect for focused conversations that directly relate to our vision.” ~Rick, Maryland

“My volunteers tell me all the time that the weekly YouLead emails not only help them be better small group leaders, but the content in the emails helps them at home and at work too.” ~Rachel, Florida

Developed by Orange, YouLead is designed to develop the leadership skills of yourself, your team and your volunteers. It centers on answering three basic questions: What can I do to continue learning as a leader? How can I be intentional about connecting with my volunteers consistently? What can we do to stay on the same page as a team? We do this by creating materials that can be digested in 20 easy minutes. Click here to learn more about a subscription to YouLead.

God can quiet your spirit even while gluing hair on a caterpillar.

It’s been one of the busiest seasons for me personally in ministry, maybe you can relate. On this one particular day projects were piling up, my inbox was full and there were lots of calls to return. When I looked at my calendar I saw that I was supposed to be volunteering in both my kindergartner and second grader’s classrooms. This was probably the busiest day I had all month. And I was so tempted to call their teacher and explain that I just couldn’t make it today. But knowing how much my kids look forward to me being in their classroom I decided I would go. After all, I had made a commitment.

I was rushing through the projects my child’s teacher had asked me to do, and I was excited because I thought I’d be able to get out of there early—after all I had a ton to do. And then she sweetly asked me if I could do one more thing.

“Could you glue this yarn to the caterpillar in the hallway?”

“I’m sorry, could I what??”

Okay, now I’m not talking about one piece of yarn, I’m talking about gluing 100s of tiny pieces of yarn to the six-foot paper caterpillar on the wall. The one that I knew would be removed from the walk in two weeks. The one that sticky little hands would be playing with as they walked down the hallways each day.

“Why, I’d be happy to!” I heard myself saying before I realized it.

It was quite a site. I had glue stuck to my hands, my arms, my clothes, yarn was everywhere—everything was sticky as I glued one string at a time to this very hungry caterpillar.

I settled in for what promised to be a tedious task. That’s when there was this moment, I felt a sense of quiet for the first time all day. It was such a mindless task, but in those 30 minutes of gluing yarn, I was quiet enough to listen. To realize that maybe God gave me this job to quiet my spirit for a brief moment. Maybe this was really a gift, a calm before the storm of projects I needed to do. A way for me to refocus, to remember my priorities, to remember that I can’t do the things I need to do in my own strength.

I finished up and left feeling refreshed, ready to get back to work. I think I was more productive after my caterpillar craft than before.

Did you know that research shows we are actually more productive when we have intense effort for shorter periods of time (45-90 minutes), followed by intentional rest and recovery; and ultimately more productive than moderate, continuous effort for a stretch of hours? (Taken from The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working by Tony Schwartz.)

It’s so easy to get frustrated when things seem to get in the way of our own agenda. When our kids need something, and our first reaction, is I just don’t have time for this. When we are stuck in traffic, or there is a particularly long line in the grocery store, because the person in front of you has 17 items in the “10 item only” check out line. You know, you counted.

Maybe these hiccups throughout the day are really little reminders for us to slow down. For us to refocus on God, to refocus our priorities, to remember that God can speak to us even while gluing hair on a caterpillar.

To learn more about The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working, check out our book preview in YouLead, our library of leadership development resources.

Carey Nieuwhof, senior pastor of Connexus Community Church, interviews Mark Beeson, senior pastor of Granger Community Church. Granger Community Church received national recognition in 2001 as one of the fastest growing, most relevant churches of that time. But over time, Granger began to lose their vision. Hear Mark’s perspective on why this happened and what they did to get back on track. For more information about Mark and Granger Community Church, check out Mark’s blog at: http://www.markbeeson.com

YouLead Feature: Mark Beeson Podcast

Developed by Orange, YouLead is designed to develop the leadership skills of yourself, your team and your volunteers. It centers on answering three basic questions: What can I do to continue learning as a leader? How can I be intentional about connecting with my volunteers consistently? What can we do to stay on the same page as a team? We do this by creating materials that can be digested in 20 easy minutes. Click here to learn more about a subscription to YouLead.

by Darren Kizer

As the leader of the family ministry team in a local church, I have depended on YouLead on several occasions. YouLead is my go-to ministry leadership solution when . . .

• I know what I would like to communicate, and value the support and resources of “another voice” who has already gained expert status in that area.
• I am stuck on an idea or challenge and need something to kickstart my thinking.
• I don’t know I am lost until I read “that” article and experience a light bulb moment.
• I am teaching students or, prior to graduating, finishing a class myself.

In many ways, YouLead is like the Netflix, Library of Congress, and TED Talks of family ministry leadership. It is a 24/7 wealth of resources begging to provide solutions and motivation for a wide variety of ministry leadership challenges.

YouLead is my first stop when preparing for our volunteer HuddleUPs. Incorporating illustrations, data, videos, and quotes from YouLead adds value to our time of training and connects volunteers to a vision wider than just our congregation.

I have also gone to YouLead when I find myself lacking insight, creativity, and innovation. At these times, I peruse through the resources looking for the wisdom of those who are “one-step-ahead.” YouLead triggers quality questions while at the same time providing relevant answers by ministry partners who have conquered the challenge that I am currently facing.

Lastly, YouLead played a key role in an academic research project that stood between me and graduating with a doctorate. In the study, YouLead beautifully filled the need for ongoing volunteer training resources. My research results demonstrated a notable increase in volunteer satisfaction when regular communication and leadership resources (YouLead) was implemented as part of the study. Here’s a snapshot of what I learned:

The best-practices treatment increased our volunteer’s “I intend to remain a volunteer” scores up from 90 to 94 percent. That implies that our volunteers are more satisfied and eager to continue in their volunteer role of helping families. This was accomplished in a period of six weeks and for less than $10 per volunteer! We can therefore speculate that 15 of our volunteers who were considering dropping out have now decided to remain as volunteers—that’s 15 less volunteers that we have to recruit.

Simply put, YouLead helps you communicate stronger, think smarter, and lead better!

Dr. Darren Kizer is passionate about training family ministry leaders through his organization 1Semester, which allows family ministry staff, interns, and volunteers to earn graduate credits. As the executive family pastor at Parker Hill, he leads staff and volunteer teams at three campuses. His journey has included milestones as a camp director, wilderness leadership director, and earning a doctorate focused on volunteerism, family ministry, and leadership. He enjoys teaching organizational leadership courses for University of the Rockies and Pilgrimage Educational Resources. His life is fulfilled through time with his bride Becky, and teenagers, Brynn and Tucker.

A few years ago a friend of mine mentioned that she was going to spend the next three hours sitting in the dentist chair getting a root canal. My reaction? A stab of envy. Odd, I know! It was in that moment that I realized that I was running on empty.

I just finished reading the book Leading on Empty, for the third time. It’s a book I frequent often, this time to write a piece for YouLead. I laughed as I remembered my own warning signs that I needed a break, here are a few Wayne Cordeiro, author of Leading on Empty, mentions:

You may be leading on empty if:

• One year in solitary confinement is sounding more and more like a good option.
• Your ministry leader calls for the third time wondering where you have been. You consider changing your phone number and possibly moving.
• Every time somebody praises you for your work, you suspiciously eye them, certain that they will ask you to do one more thing.
• You think you would like to work at McDonald’s. It might be nice to see something more fried than you feel.
• You find yourself seeing the long wait in line at the post office as a blessing from God.

But in all seriousness, when we have lost our vision and our passion for what we are doing, everything around us suffers. We can’t be the spouse or parent that God has called us to be, we can’t be a good friend, and we don’t have the strength or energy to do our job. The job that once brought us closer to our heavenly Father can sometimes push us further from Him, when we are leading on empty.

“We will all experience fatigue in the midst of a demanding ministry unless time is set aside to rest and realign ourselves back to God and His original design.” (Leading on Empty, p. 166)

God wasn’t kidding when He told us we needed to take a break! Did you know:

“Serotonin is a chemical like an endorphin. It’s a natural, feel-good hormone. It replenishes during times of rest and then fuels you while you’re working. If, however you continue to drive yourself without replenishing, your store of serotonin will be depleted. As a substitute, your body will be forced to replace the serotonin with adrenaline . . . . Should you continue to run on adrenaline, it will destroy your system. You will burn out sooner on the inside than you’re able to see on the outside.” (Leading on Empty, p. 26)

The end of the school year is almost upon us; summer programming is weighing on our minds, followed by fall kickoffs. We say it’s just a season but in reality that season never ends. So, what are you going to do to rest, to renew your soul?

“Lead out of rest and allow your soul to catch up to you. Only then will you be able to put your heart into everything God asks of you. Without rest, you are leading on empty.” (Leading on Empty, p. 128)

For more resources on the subject of Leading on Empty check out YouLead.

LEADING ON EMPTY
Ministry can be one of the most rewarding jobs, and in the same vein it can be one of the most draining jobs. This month in YouLead, we will be taking a look at what happens when you lose your vision, when you no longer feel like leading. How do you use the circumstances you find yourself in to ultimately turn things around and get back on track with what God originally called you to? On a personal note, we will take a look at leading on empty, how you recognize what is draining you and how to renew and restore your soul by finding the things that fill you up.

Look for these resources, coming soon, on Youlead!

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro
Book Preview
When you have lost your vision and your passion for what you are doing, everything around you suffers. So, how do you get back to the vision that once fueled you? Wayne Cordeiro shares his personal story of leading on empty and getting back to a place where he felt rest, refueled and reenergized to do what he loves.

Podcast: Craig Jutila
Ever feel like you’re so busy doing ministry that you don’t have time for your spouse or kids? If your biggest fans are at the office instead of at home, you might be headed down the wrong road. There’s a good chance you’re on the journey to an unbalanced life. In this podcast, Craig Jutila will address questions like: What are the symptoms of a hectic life? When does hard work become overwork?

Video: Gordon MacDonald
Gordon MacDonald has been a pastor and author for more than 50 years. He serves as chancellor at Denver Seminary, as editor-at-large for Leadership Journal, and as a speaker at leadership conferences around the world. His books include Building Below the Waterline, Who Stole My Church, A Resilient Life and Ordering Your Private World. Learn from this ministry legend!

Real World: J.K. Rowling
It’s easy to romanticize what it takes to become a best-selling author and the second highest entertaining female in the world, but J.K. Rowling is the first to say that it wasn’t always pretty. In fact, hitting rock bottom was what it took for her to reprioritize her life and change her own story.

TEAM LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Vision Lost and Found by Tim Stevens
Book Preview
We continue to say that vision is at the heart of why we do what we do. It’s what fuels our volunteers, inspires our leaders and encourages us to do what God has called us to do. It’s our dreams, our hopes and our desires to be what God has called us to be. So, what happens when you no longer have that vision? How do you get that vision back?

Podcast: Carey Nieuwhof Interviews Mark Beeson
Carey Nieuwhof, senior pastor of Connexus Community Church, interviews Mark Beeson, senior pastor of Granger Community Church. Granger Community Church received national recognition in 2001 as one of the fastest growing, most relevant churches of that time. But over time, Granger began to lose their vision. Hear Mark’s perspective on why this happened and what they did to get back on track.

Real World: Blockbuster
We’re all familiar with the word blockbuster when it comes to movie rentals. However, I would guess that for most of us, we think of it as a place we used to go to rent movies. How long has it been since Blockbuster had your business? We are going to examine Blockbuster at the height of its success and then take a look at its decline. And in the process, we’ll see what lessons we can draw from their story.

One of the most popular features of YouLead are the Book Previews. These are articles that summarize a popular book, and illuminate interesting points covered extensively in the book. When YouLead staffers write these Book Previews, they also take care to tie-in how points made in the book correspond with the Orange Strategies.

Below, are a couple of excerpts from a new Book Preview for Deep & Wide by Andy Stanley.

BOOK PREVIEW
Deep & Wide by Andy Stanley

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Stanley is the senior pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, and he’s an incredible communicator. He has spent the last 13 years communicating in a style that helps people apply truth to their everyday lives. He has authored more than a dozen books on leadership.

THE SECRET SAUCE (THAT MAKES THIS BOOK GOOD)
In Deep & Wide, not only do we learn the history of North Point Community Church, but Stanley takes a look back at the history of the Church—the Church Jesus commissioned us with over 2,000 years ago. Did you know that through the course of history, what was once intended to be a gathering of people united by a common purpose, became instead a physical location? “What began as a movement dedicated to carrying the truth of Jesus Christ to every corner of the world, had become an insider-focused, hierarchical, ritualized institution that bore little resemblance to its origins.” (Deep & Wide, p. 63)

THINKING ORANGE – HOW IT EXPLAINS OUR CORE PHILOSOPHY
Deep & Wide is a book that challenges us to rethink the way we are doing church.

As Reggie Joiner says:

“Our jobs are clear: We have to keep the wicks trimmed, the light burning and the lampstand in its proper place. If the light begins to dim, we must immediately move into action. God’s intention is for the Church to be placed strategically in culture in order to show Himself to the world. Anytime the Church becomes ineffective in its role to illuminate Christ, it must rekindle and reinvent itself around its core purpose.”

Are you a church that has lost its focus? Have you moved the lampstand to shine light on things that are not nearly as important as illuminating Christ? Are you a church for the churched? Or are you willing to be a church that unchurched people love to attend, a church that is committed to strategically reach those that are far from God?

“Maybe some churches have lost influence with their communities because they no longer focus on what attracts the hearts of people.” – Reggie Joiner

Developed by Orange, YouLead is designed to develop the leadership skills of yourself, your team and your volunteers. It centers on answering three basic questions: What can I do to continue learning as a leader? How can I be intentional about connecting with my volunteers consistently? What can we do to stay on the same page as a team? We do this by creating materials that can be digested in 20 easy minutes. Click here to learn more about a subscription to YouLead.

“People don’t need new facts—they need a new story.”

Isn’t that the truth? Have you seen that Chevy commercial? Here’s the link if you haven’t seen it! http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=h9OqyMSvTVM

It’s the one about the sons who find their dad’s 1965 Chevy Impala. After 20 years of family memories in this car, his dad had to sell it to make ends meet. And years later his sons found the car and bought it back and gave it to their dad. I don’t own a Chevy, but was amazed at the power of that story. They could have very easily listed all the facts, all the reasons why you should buy a Chevy, and I would have been the first one to fast-forward through that commercial. But there is something about the power of a story.

Just this month we featured a case study on TOMS. And after learning all about TOMS and reading Blake Mycoskie’s book Start Something That Matters, it confirmed the power story has. When Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS, saw a need, he did what few others would do—he took a chance. A trip to Argentina that was meant to be for fun opened Blake’s eyes. He had heard that kids in Argentina and other countries didn’t have shoes, but never realized what that really meant until he saw it with his own eyes. He witnessed the damaging health problems created by exposed feet, and felt the burden to do something about it.

“When you have a memorable story about who you are and what your mission is, your success no longer depends on how experienced you are or how many degrees you have or who you know. A good story transcends boundaries, breaks barriers, and opens doors.”

Blake’s shoes sold because he had a powerful story that moved people to take action.

So, what’s your story? Why is the vision and mission of your ministry so important to you? Is it part of your personal story? How often do you tell you parents and leaders stories of life change that happen through your ministry?

Stories have the power to move us to take action.

Stories have the power to invite others to be part of something that is so much bigger than themselves.

What stories are you telling?

For more resources related to the Power of Story, check out YouLead, a library of leadership resources to improve what you do.

Developed by Orange, YouLead is designed to develop the leadership skills of yourself, your team and your volunteers. It centers on answering three basic questions: What can I do to continue learning as a leader? How can I be intentional about connecting with my volunteers consistently? What can we do to stay on the same page as a team? We do this by creating materials that can be digested in 20 easy minutes. Click here to learn more about a subscription to YouLead.

In an effort to provide you with resources to help you do ministry better, we wanted to let you know what’s coming up NEW on YouLead!

SESSIONS: Selected Messaged from Ministry Experts
Recruiting Volunteers
By Sue Miller
Every single leader is looking for the next volunteer—we all struggle with how to get it done. Learn how you can take on this huge challenge and turn it into a win for both you and your future recruits.

Set Boundaries
By: Tom Shefchunas
Got too much to do? So do I. Welcome to ministry! In a world where just about anything can be included in your job description, how do you keep it manageable? Are there things we simply must do? Is it okay to say “no” to some requests? How do you know which is which? Join Tom Shefchunas, director of middle school for North Point Ministries, as we discuss strategies and principles to not only run the race well, but to finish it victoriously.

The Replacement Plan
By Terry Scalzitti
The term “finish strong” isn’t just for serious marathon runners. It’s a great phrase to keep in mind as you look ahead at your next move in ministry. Here’s the catch: finishing strong isn’t just about your own performance. It’s about having someone ready to take the reigns who is going to be even better at your job than you! Join us for this session where we’ll discuss how to apprentice young leaders and multiply our individual leadership skills.

CULTURE: Executive Summaries and Case Studies
Case Study: TOMS
Stories are powerful. Stories connect us in a way that can leave us inspired and searching for a way to make a difference in the world around us. And so does the story of TOMS.

Executive Summary: Start Something That Matters
By Blake Mycoskie
It matters. Blake Mycoskie saw the hopelessness of the kids in Argentina—the sickness, and ultimate death that was attributed to one simple thing, no shoes. We too are faced with opportunities every day to be part of something that matters. We interact with preschoolers, children, students, parents and volunteers, who need to know they matter. Blake Mycoskie is such a great reminder to us all to take a chance, to take the next step in a BIG idea. Lives are at stake, and God desires to use each of us to do “something that matters.”

Executive Summary: Deep and Wide
By Andy Stanley
Deep and Wide is a book that challenges us to rethink the way we are doing church. Are you a church that has lost its focus? Have you moved the lampstand to shine light on things that are not nearly as important as illuminating Christ? Are you a church for the churched? Or are you willing to be a church that unchurched people love to attend, a church that is committed to strategically reach those that are far from God?

PLUS: Random Stuff Leaders Want
Orange Sunday Event: Stock Family Syndrome
This event will allow you to introduce the families at your church to the Orange Strategy. It will allow them to see why it’s so important for the church and family to partner together. Because, after all . . .

God is at work telling a story of restoration and redemption through your family. Never buy into the myth that you need to become the “right” kind of parent before God can use you in your children’s lives. Instead, learn to cooperate with whatever God desires to do in your heart today so your children will have a front-row seat to the grace and goodness of God.

Included in this event:

• Talking Points to guide you through Reggie Joiner’s talk
• Video of Reggie Joiner: Stock Family Syndrome
• Bumper video: “What is Orange?”
• Keynote and PowerPoint presentations that complement the Stock Family Syndrome video
• Follow-up videos for Small Groups by Carey Nieuwhof – These videos are great to share with your families as they go through the book, Parenting Beyond Your Capacity.

SOCIAL: Messages and Images That Inspire Volunteers

Week 25
Week 26
Week 27