Think Orange

Reggie Joiner’s book Think Orange has a simple concept.

2 combined influences make a greater impact that just 2 influences.

His concept is when you mix red and yellow you get orange.  Let’s see what happens when you don’t rely solely on home or church but bring them together.

Joiner is a gifted leader, thorough communicator, and passionate about this subject.  While there are great ideas and catalysts for thinking in this book, one drawback is the lack of instructions for the family side of things.  He says don’t get too specific with your parents or they will get discouraged and back out.  I do believe that to some level, but he is also relentlessly committed to making systems in the church that are lined out completely.  I think that just in the way church campuses need clarified strategy and clear systems, I think we need to help parents establish those in the home as well.  It is a difficult balance for sure.

Here are some great quotes from the book:

  1.  “It seems we have arrived at a potentially defining moment in society in which the church is losing its influence and the home is losing its heart” (25).
  2. “Working on the same thing at the same time is not as effective as working on the same thing at the same time with the same strategy” (26).
  3. “What I give to my children or what I do for my children is not as important as what I leave in them” (43).
  4. “At best those who attended our church consistently, we would only have about forty hours in a given year to influence a child…the amount of time the average parent had to spend with their children…was three thousand hours in a single year.”
  5. “We can’t really expect parents to get on the same page with the church until we get on the same page as leaders” (114).

Working on the same thing at the same time is not as effective as working on the same thing at the same time with the same strategy.

Book Synopsis

Founder of the Orange Conference, Reggie Joiner looks at what would happen if the church and families combined their efforts to create a revolutionary strategy to affect the lives of children.

Families and churches are each working hard to build faith in kids, but imagine the potential results when the two environments synchronize, maximizing their individual efforts. What can the church do to empower the family? How can the family emphasize the work of the church? They can Think Orange. Former family ministry director Reggie Joiner looks at what would happen if churches and families decided they could no longer do business as usual, but instead combined their efforts and began to work off the same page for the sake of the kids. Think Orange shows church leaders how to make radical changes so they can:

• Engage parents in an integrated strategy
• Synchronize the home and church around a clear message
• Provoke parents and kids to fight for their relationships with each other
• Recruit mentors to become partners with the family
• Mobilize the next generation to be the church

With a transparent, authentic approach that gives every family and church hope for being more effective in their common mission, Think Orange rethinks the approach to children’s, youth, and family ministry.