Catalyst Day One – Getting Things Started and Andy Stanley

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Darren

Well today was the first day of Catalyst. Since this is my first year there everything is new to me. And everything was WOW for me. They really don’t spare any change in making this an unforgettable event. At least I know now why the tickets are so much…

Anyway, today was a day full of incredible stuff that challenged, some stuff that was controversial and some holy moments too. When trying to think, of a way to describe what Catalyst has been for me so far this is what I’ve come up with

What catalyst does is mix your mind and your heart together and adds a good helping of holy getupanddosomething

Yeah, that good.

One disappointment with catalyst was the unreliability of the wifi – I was really hoping to blog during the day so I wouldn’t have these late night posting sessions but it looks like I wasn’t alone in this. Many of the official bloggers of catalyst were unable to get any kind of wifi connection either with both the in house arena wifi and at&t not playing nicely. Still, blogs are getting written! If I come across any I’ll post them at the end of each post I make on Catalyst.

...This is a preview of Catalyst Day One – Getting Things Started and Andy Stanley.
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(756 words, 1 image, estimated 3:01 mins reading time)

Catalyst 2009 – Labs

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Darren

Take Action! Thanks to a wonderful church family who believe in supporting their pastors in growing as leaders I was able to attend Catalyst 2009 (link takes you to Catalyst Backstage – a great way to follow what’s happening) this year. I am so grateful – thanks friends!

Today was the day for the “Labs” sessions here at Catalyst. They are called that because they are more concentrated sessions offered from a wide variety of speakers that you can choose from. My mind was expanded today and my heart was stretched and I was inspired! It was amazing.

I took tons of notes but here’s some takeaways that I want to highlight here (by the way, I was really hoping to post during the day but had little success in obtaining wireless access – dang company supplying access to the arena won’t take any of my credit cards {shrug}):

Perry Noble:

Perry was Perry. I’ve never had a chance to hear him speak in person but let’s just say he has a way of saying things that dive through the veneer of superficiality and into your heart. Perry spoke on “Four Convictions about Vision” and grabbed it from Acts 26. Incidentally, I so appreciate Perry because while what everyone else said was good – Perry was the only one who you really got a sense started from the Bible and wrapped his message around it. A great way to start the day. Here’s some points:

...This is a preview of Catalyst 2009 – Labs.
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Catalyst Day One – Malcolm Gladwell

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Darren

Malcolm Gladwell is the author of The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers, talked about the danger of overconfidence at his catalyst session. I found it hard to hear most of his session but there were a few things that stood out for me:

Incompetence irritates me, but overconfidence scares me. Incompetent people rarely have the opportunities to make mistakes that greatly affect things. But overconfident leaders and experts have the dangerous ability to create disaster.

How much disaster could be averted if leader’s didn’t get so overconfident? A scriptural parallel to this might be King Saul, or even King David and his decision to conduct a census of the number of men able to fight in Israel (disobeying God in the process).

In times of crisis we don’t need bold and daring decision making from our leaders we need bold humility!

Reggie Joiner joined the stage and had two questions for Malcolm. In his answers, Malcolm revealed that the primary warning sign of overconfidence is when you stop listening to others (incidentally, this reminded me very much of a chapter I read in Andy Stanley’s book, “Principle of the Path” a really good read). Malcolm also made the statement that when a leader can no longer do everything all by himself, he has to change. When a leader’s growth reaches a certain point, he has to change. He presented the idea (probably not a new idea but nevertheless) that leadership has to become more collective.

...This is a preview of Catalyst Day One – Malcolm Gladwell.
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(294 words, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)

Catalyst Day One – Rob Bell

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Darren

Rob Bell was the first catalyst speaker to begin his session by opening in prayer. I’m not saying that is necessarily a fault of all the other speakers but it WAS something that stood out for me. It was an invitation for the Holy Spirit to be at work in and through him as he spoke to us and I do believe God answered his prayer.

Here’s a few things that stood out for me:

I was recently talking to a pastor who said he wanted to quit…. So I asked him to draw a pie chart of what he does every week. He had been a pastor for a year and wanted to quit every day…. So I asked if he practiced Sabbath.

Umm yeah, there was silence in the auditorium after that statement. Funny thing is, this isn’t the first time it’s been said or asked. There’s gounds of speakers and writers that have promoted the teaching of the sabbath and yet when Rob asked that question you could still feel the conviction in the room. I know I make my best effort to take my day off as my day off but lately I’ve been slipping on that. When you skip the sabbath, then motivation and energy skips you. Sabbath is important.

...This is a preview of Catalyst Day One – Rob Bell.
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Catalyst Day One – Francis Chan

Posted on October 11, 2009 by Darren

If you do a cursory check through the various blog posts on Catalyst you will find very little said about Francis Chan‘s session that wrapped up day one of Catalyst. I find that odd because I found his session to be one of the most powerful of the day. Although Francis Chan has become a really well known leader because of his book Crazy Love, he didn’t spend the time this session introducing any new stuff or great leadership nuggets. Instead he lead the Catalyst group (and with his leading you really felt a part of the group) in a time of communion and centering on Christ. It was simply powerful. Here are three things that stood out from this time for me.

Francis just radiated joy…

There was no escaping the incredible joy and happiness evident in his speech and his face. As he shared you could witness one who’s life has been so saturated in the presence of God that it spills out of him. His joy is contagious.

“Jesus, it’s all about Jesus.”

Sure, it’s been said, and we already know it but there was a Holy Spirit, joy-filled, alive serious powerful humility behind the way Francis Chan said it. It was good to be reminded after a day of intense teaching and challenging moments that it IS all about Jesus! We must never forget that everything we do as leaders, everything we say as Christians, everything we believe in, everything we hope for is all about Jesus.

“The presence of the Almighty God is in this room right now, that is so intense. Just stop and think about it.”

As Francis said these words there was a Holy quiet that descended upon the room. A quiet brought on by the recognition of the one we serve being there amongst us. It is so easy in big events like this to talk about God, to talk about ministry, to talk about leadership, to even say that we do what we do because of the Father’s call, the Son saving us, and the Holy Spirit’s enabling power but then forget that He is present with us. I did stop and think about it. The awe in that moment was palpable.

...This is a preview of Catalyst Day One – Francis Chan.
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(446 words, 1 image, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

Catalyst Day Two – Dave Ramsey, “The Momentum Theorem”

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Darren

Catalyst – Day Two got off to another incredible start. I had decided I’d get up early and get to the doors about one and a half hours before the official start (wanted to make sure I got a good seat again) and was incredibly surprised to find that about 1000 other people got up earlier than me! NUTS! Nevertheless, I still got a good seat (I actually managed to snag the same seat I had the day before).

Among the speakers for Day two was Priscilla Shirer, Dave Ramsey, Chuck Swindoll, Louie Giglio and Andy Stanley. There were also interviews from other folks including Margaret Feinberg. The interview with Margaret was kind of neat because it kind of came across as a commercial for her new book – in a way it was but then Reggie Joiner announced that this was not a marketing ploy – they wanted to interview Margaret for the book because every attendee from Catalyst was getting a free copy of “Scouting the Divine“, even better, the upper section of the stadium (where I was sitting) were to get signed copies. Kind of neat, I’m looking forward to reading the book!

...This is a preview of Catalyst Day Two – Dave Ramsey, “The Momentum Theorem”.
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(543 words, 1 image, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)

Catalyst Day Two – Chuck Swindoll

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Darren

At Catalyst, Chuck Swindoll received the lifetime achievement award and was well recognized by the nearly 13,000 people in attendance. It was a treat to get to hear what this Godly man had to share. First up, he shared the TOP TEN LEADERSHIP LESSONS IN 50 YEARS OF MINISTRY. The 10 lessons are from Chuck but the stuff in between are what I thought of with each lesson (which may or may not correspond with what Chuck shared. I’ve got to admit – when he mentioned each of these lessons my brain and heart were sparked with all kinds of insights…)

1. It’s lonely to lead

Yes it is. Why is this the case? Because a true leader will sometimes make decisions that no one else understands but himself. Also, a leader will often, by virtue of leadership, be out in front of those following. Out in front is lonely. However, while this is true – it is also why it is paramount that a leader doesn’t get stuck in his loneliness. Good leaders will find others to grow with. Good leaders will find ways to stave off the loneliness – recognizing that it comes but also staying out the the quicksand of its grip.

...This is a preview of Catalyst Day Two – Chuck Swindoll.
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Catalyst Day Two wrapup – Andy Stanley

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Darren

The last speaker I want to share about from my Catalyst experience was Andy Stanley. He was the first speaker for Catalyst and the one that wrapped things up. Andy talked about cultivating a healthy staff culture. Why? Because,

Your church and your church culture should be the healthiest organizational culture in your city.

Here’s what Andy said it takes to creat a healthy staff:

Healthy people are attracted to healthy cultures.

Andy talked about the gap between what we expect of people and what they actually do and that ultimately we choose what goes in those gaps. His emphasis was on the reality that our choice for those gaps will shape the culture of our organization. The choices? Assume the worst or believe the best. Each of those choices have a powerful affect on the direction of organization culture.

According to Andy, there are two things that make it difficult for us to believe the best, ”What I see” and “Who I am”. If someone consistently brings poor quality stuff to the table then you will always assume the worst. Also, what you have experienced in terms of personal hurt or betrayal will influence what you choose for the gap.

...This is a preview of Catalyst Day Two wrapup – Andy Stanley.
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(687 words, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

Catalyst 2009 – Fun Stuff

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Darren

Parachute Man One of the cool things of my Catalyst Experience was all the “fringe” stuff that went on during the two days of the main event. Everything from a helicopter dropping parachute men, to a live band at the doors, giveaways, some llamas (did I really see llamas?), a chalk artist outside, break-dancers, kids doing some mj moves, white football mayhem, party poppers, free books, twitter on the bigscreen, lanny donoho on leno experiment, “that’ll leave a mark” video shorts, and of course…

Dr. Splash here

and here

Oh, and how could I forget Dude Perfect. They are using their platform to do great things! These are a group of college guys who do awesome shots with a basketball – witness below:

Unfolding Neurons

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