Catalyst Day One

Well, a big "howdy" from the ATL (OK, actually it's Duluth, GA in Gwinnett County, but that's not nearly as hip and cool).

I'm here with 12-thousand of my closest friends for Catalyst, a two-day event for young leaders and fresh thinkers serving in ministry. Day One was AMAZING! Thought I would take a minute to give you a snap shot of what's going on.

Andy Stanley kicked things off with a powerful message on Moral Authority. Using Nehemiah 5:6-18, he said that there must be alignment between our creed and our deed. He emphasized that we must have Moral Authority in three areas...

1. Forgiveness
2. Family
3. Finances

(By the way, the parallels in this passage between what was going on in Jerusalem in 444 BC and Wall Street today were scary. Check it out.)

Sportscaster Ernie Johnson, Jr. interviewed William Paul Young, the author of the best-selling book The Shack. Young describes himself as the "accidental author." This book has been the target of a ton of criticism, especially from conservative Christian leaders and scholars. I must admit that I have my own doctrinal concerns and criticism about some of the things that Young said in the interview. But I probably ought to read it before saying more.

Next up was Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and Built to Last. Collins is one of the most respected men in the area of leadership, in business or in the church. It's easy to see why. He said that the most important question a leader can ask is not "what" but "who." A leader must have the right people in place before moving forward.

Yesterday was my first opportunity to hear Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in the Charlotte, NC area. What an energizing and passionate speaker! He said that between God's Promise on our life and the Payoff, there's a very painful Process. Furtick urged us to stay faithful in the small things.

Brenda Salter McNeill is the author of A Credible Witness. She came in to shake things up. She said that God is all about Revolution. He's shaking us out of our comfort zone. Using Acts 1:8 and 2:1-12, she spoke about how the Holy Spirit rocked the disciples world. She urged us to pray, "Lord, shake upo my world by shaking me up."

I was very excited to hear Seth Godin, the top business and marketing blogger in the world. He's the author of The Dip, The Purple Cow and Tribes. This was his first presentation to a Christian group. He talked about Tribes, people gathered together with a common goal. He believes Tribes are the new key to reaching people.

Craig Groeschel of lifechurch.tv in Oklahoma City closed the first day with an extremely powerful message (that's two years in a row that God has used Groeschel to slam me in face with a spiritual 2x4). He talked about "finding It when you've lost It." "It" is that almost indescribable something of God. "It" is NOT a model or a system. To be an effective leader in the church, you must be overcome with "It." He said that to regain "It," a person must ask the Lord to "ruin me, heal me and stretch me."

Coming here on the heels of the closing of FRCC, I was in a very interesting place to hear this message. I feel that He used the last couple of months to break me...in a good way. Coming to Catalyst was part of that healing process.

Day Two on tap. Stay tuned!

In Christ,
Jay