One of my all-time favorite movies is Braveheart. William Wallace leads his fellow Scotsmen to fight for their freedom—escaping the clutches of an evil British king. In one of the most dramatic scenes of the entire movie, Wallace pleads with Robert the Bruce to use his influence and “unite the clans!” Scattered and out of sync, the Scottish clans stand little chance at achieving their freedom. But, if they could only unite and pursue their goal together, victory would soon be within their reach.
My desire for Defiance Christian Church in 2012 is that we unite the clans! Jesus’ mission on earth is to deliver people (1) out of the clutches of an evil, demonic king and (2) into a relationship with Him, where there is true peace, joy, and contentment. In the process, he unites the two most powerful clans the world has ever seen. What am I talking about? The church and the family. How are we going to do it? By thinking Orange.
Thinking Orange
Thinking Orange is a simple theory developed by Reggie Joiner, a founding pastor of one of the fastest-growing churches in America.[1] The concept is as old as Moses[2]: combine a warm, relational family unit (represented by the color red) with a bright, truth-declaring church (represented by the color yellow). What do you get? An Orange explosion—something stronger than either influence would make individually.
The Red Family
This means the leaders of DCC are going to work to make every family warmer, stronger, and healthier in the year ahead. We have some cool things up our sleeves, but the coolest one of all may be the decision to hire Jim Dotson as our new Pastor of Family Life and Administration. If you haven’t met Jim yet, he’s an awesome guy with a heart for Jesus, a ton of ambition for Jesus’ church, and an unfortunate fondness for the Pittsburgh Steelers.In addition, I’ll be running a “Family Friday” article on my blog to cover topics like marriage enrichment, couple’s communication, raising great kids, falling in love, family faith, etc. We want you to finish 2012 with the warmest, reddest family[3] you’ve ever known.
The Yellow Church
We also have plans to make our church glow brighter than it ever has. We’ll grow closer through small groups, further through community involvement, bigger through ambitious goals[4], and wiser through a Bible Study Certificate program. These things are just a glimpse of all that your leaders have planned for our church family in 2012.
Red + Yellow = Orange.
Church + Family = a force to be reckoned with!
Unite the Clans,
-pastor bill
[1] Reggie’s church is North point Community Church in Atlanta, GA. You can read more about Thinking Orange here.
[2] Moses’ speeches throughout the book of Deuteronomy have an orange appeal to them. Check out Deut 6.4-6, for example.
[3] This does not imply all warm families are necessarily communist or republican.
[4] Growth goals for 2012: 250 first-time visitors, 400 in regular attendance by Christmas, and 10 baptisms