Catalyst Day 2
Posted in General |Sorry it’s taken me a few days to recap, but Catalyst just plain wiped me out (in an awesome way). Lori and I both felt like the whole conference spoke directly to our hearts, right where we’re at. God rocked our world in these 2 days, and we’re trying to process all that it means. I love when I’m hearing from God, and He’s stretching me right now in a huge way. Here’s some thoughts from day 2…
session 6 - Craig Groeschel - man, he hit the nail on the head. He talked about “practical atheism”, which means we believe in God but we live like we don’t. As a pastor I always want to live fully dependant upon God, but I have to admit there are times where I live and lead as if I’m in charge. I prayed over and over during Craig’s talk, “I must decrease so He can increase“. I want God to have free reign in my life, and I want to live like I believe it. I loved Craig’s authenticity, and his challenge for pastors to lead by faith.
special session - John Maxwell - John was given a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to young leaders. He truly is the guru of leadership, and has had a huge impact on my life and leadership. John spoke briefly, but powerfully. Some great quotes, “trust God more, trust yourself less“. His main point was a challenge to young leaders to “Intentionally add value to people everyday”. He challenged us to do this by…
- Valuing People
- Make yourself more valuable (grow in your leadership skill)
- Know and relate to what your people value
- Do the things that God values
session 7 - Dave Ramsey - best quote of the day, when talking about his bankruptcy 20 years ago… “when you fall that far you don’t bounce back, you SPLAT”. I’m a huge believer in Financial Peace, and it was cool to hear Dave speak live. As you look at the financial struggles in today’s economy, I believe every person I know needs to hear this talk. I think I’m going to take his 30 minute talk and show it as the message in an upcoming series (it WAS that good). Imagine if Christians got a grip on their finances, and the difference it would make as we were freed up to give generously.
session 8 - Erwin McManus - I love Erwin’s writing and speaking. The main reminder I took from his talk today was that it’s “good” to be human. As a pastor there’s a constant temptaion to be perfect (as it that’s possible). It’s comforting to remember that Jesus is perfect, and we’re simply serving Him. I never want to confuse my role, but to simply invite people to follow me as I pursue Christ!
Overall, as you can see, this was an awesome conference. I have a ton of action points, and a great sense of what God’s doing in my life. Pray for me as I unpack and apply everything I’m learning!
