On Your Mark, Tony and Francis...

The next three speakers were Tony Dungy, Matt Chandler, and Francis Chan. We missed Matt Chandler, and Tony and Francis can both fit into this post together...

Tony Dungy is an incredibly humble man. When he finished his time on stage, Gary and I looked at each other and both remarked on how we respect him. He is making a difference for the Kingdom in a way only he can, and isnt that what we are all called to do?

His message was on teamwork. "Help your players be the best they can be," and, "Get everyone on the team to focus on one goal." Some serious leadership lessons right there. Not anything new or remarkably life changing. But its the application of those two phrases that can change a leader's entire approach to his team.

Francis Chan led us into communion. He got up on stage and talked about how he battled with God to give him a good message for Catalyst. But in the end, let it go. Because God is God and that message is enough. He laughed in the joy of the Spirit (Heidi Baker style, but way more subdued, for those of you who know of her), and passion was dripping from his spirit. He simply wanted to read us Scripture, telling us God's Word is more powerful than any message he could give. And so he did. And in those moments of him reading, the Scriptures came alive to me again in a new way - Scriptures I have heard over and over again. Remember, he said, "the God of all grace will Himself restore you, confirm you." Such power.

As he was finishing and communion was being passed out, Aaron Keyes came up to lead us in worship again. And in that moment, he said something that has come back to me countless times since the conference. He talked about how, in the Old Testament, when someone brought a sacrifice, God only cared about the perfection of the lamb. The focus wasnt on the perfection of the person, but on the perfection of the sacrifice. Our sacrifice is Christ - the perfect and spotless Lamb - whose blood covers all. It was such a powerful reminder that its not about me. Its about standing on the sacrifice and in the righteousness of Christ. Under him, I am covered. Praise our Almighty God.

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Lesson for Today: Hurt abounds. Be gracious to people around you, even when they dont deserve it. Because you dont know what hurt they are acting out of.

On Your Mark, Rob...

Technically, Shane Hipps was the speaker after Malcolm. But since he was my favorite (yes, not the reaction most other people had...), and because I just got his book and want to read it before I comment on him further, I will move on to Rob Bell.

Rob had two main themes running through his message. The first was that leaders must fight hard against the time demands in ministry. He asked pointedly, "Does your spouse get your very best, or does your spouse get whats left over after youve given your all to the thing youre building?" Your spouse will be with you along the whole journey, so dont forsake them for a single project. Everyone needs something from you. But you have to make sure your family gets their needs met first, and best. God has given you your family to bless you, and for you to be a blessing to them: dont waste that.

The other thing Rob talked about was simple enough to really burrow into my mind. He talked about how a church is a eucharist, meaning good grace or good gift, for its town, community, city. And being the church, you, too are a eucharist. You are a good gift to the community God has put you in. But when you break that down, analyze it, and disagree (saying you arent fit to be where you are, others can do it better, or you dont do anything important), you disgrace a holy and sacred thing that God has put in place.

We do what we do because God has told us to. Thats as simple as it can get. And in ministry we have to surrender our agenda to His.

Like many of the other leaders, Rob began and finished with prayer. But two things he said in those prayers really stood out, and seemed to be the glue of his message. They are things I now pray for myself, and for our church.

Lord God, we give your Spirit permission to set us free. And Creator, we repent of all the ways we have failed to be ourselves.

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Lesson for Today: I finally figured out that the website to create a free playlist to play most any song you want is playlist.com. Sweet. It only took forever. Oh, and while Im on a music topic, here is another one of Aaron Keyes songs. I love this one.

On Your Mark, Aaron...

Aaron Keyes was one of the worship leaders at Catalyst. And since worship was such a huge part of the blessing at the conference, I thought it needed to be addressed and shared as well.

Here is one of the songs we sang, so you can experience it as well...

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Lesson for Today: Orbiting the Giant Hairball is so good. Its awesome how God's truth can so often come from the business world. And that it can show me how much I really need to be whipped into shape.

On Your Mark, Malcolm...

Malcolm Gladwell was finally on stage - I had much anticipation and expectation for this man I had come to know, as one often can through someone's writings. A genius in many respects.

A genius, and yet his whole message to the leaders of today was wrapped up in one word: humility. Coming from a man who has been on the NYTimes Best Seller List multiple times, has his own column in the New Yorker, and has countless fans.

Using the historic example of the Battle of Chancellorsville, Gladwell taught that those who are overconfident in leadership are dangerous. "Incompetence annoys me," he said. "Overconfidence scares me." Because, most often, those making incompetent decisions aren't those in a position of leadership. But those in leadership are more prey to thinking they know how to handle everything, and their decisions made in overconfidence can affect a lot more people than an average man's incompetent decision.

"The world around you is changing, but overconfidence will blind you from it... In times of crisis, we need humility from our leaders, not daring and boldness that comes from overconfidence." And today can fairly accurately be labeled a "time of crisis." People need Jesus.

At the end of his talk, Gladwell was asked what will signal overconfidence in a leader. "A key sign of overconfidence is when a leader stops listening to those around them, they refuse to hear anything other than what is sure in their head... Humility is an ability, or a willingness, to listen to others."

It was a reminder that God calls us to community. Even in leadership. Or maybe especially in leadership. And the moment we think we can do it alone, weve already failed.

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Lesson for Today: Malcolm Gladwell is really cool. Read his stuff.

On Your Mark, Jessica...

The second speaker at Catalyst was Jessica Jackley, founder of Kiva, a peer-to-peer microlending website. Basically, her organization allows people to make anywhere from $25 to $500 loans to people in third world countries who need financing to start their own business. And as the business grows, they pay the loan back. 

A few things struck me as I listened to her. The first was that God can do anything through anyone. Here is a young surfer/poet/yoga instructor who found a need, asked her friends and family to help, and now only a few years later, has seen almost $100 million given. God will bless what fulfills his purposes, no matter how small a start.

Another thing that resonated with me was the notion that giving creates dependency, while loaning creates independency and responsibility. By loaning the money and taking the repayment, one can give a man or woman living in complete poverty the dignity and self-worth that independence creates. Its not just about throwing money at a problem. Its about helping someone financially, emotionally, and socially. Think about your husband, brother, or father being unable to support his family in such dire circumstances that he cant bring home dinner tonight. He cant provide new shoes for his kids as they walk miles to school. He cant provide medical care when his wife gets sick.... God has created man to provide. Its within his very make-up to have a deep-seated desire to provide for his family. And microfinancing can give him that opportunity.

The third take away from Jessica was these three ideas: Connectivity, Equality, Mutual Respect. Tied to the idea of creating independence, microfinancing produces an equality among people of different races, cultures, classes, and color. Because the loan is being paid back, the givers find themselves in the midst of connecting and respecting those who are working as hard as possible to pay that back off - while building a business from the ground up.

Its a powerful concept. How such a little thing can make such a big difference in a human life.

And worth noting, Hope International also has a microfinancing program.

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Lesson for Today: Growing news stories about your own community are extremely interesting to track - as well as the commenters that get involved.

On Your Mark, Andy...

Catalyst 2009 was incredible. Worshipping, learning, and mingling with over 12,000 other leaders from around the country is an experience one doesnt get every day. So much happened over the past couple days that has left me with plenty to process. I thought writing would be a helpful way of going through all that I learned and all that God spoke to my heart... So here is each message, summed up through my eyes, in my own words...

Andy Stanley opened the first day. After each message, I tried to pull out the one or two words that would describe what had just been communicated. Andy's I titled "Service in Devotion." Using Joshua 5 and 23, he spoke on how we need to be more concerned with being on God's side, rather than who is on our side. The quote he used was from his dad growing up: "God takes full responsibility for the life wholly devoted to Him." In other words, do what God has called you to do, and leave the rest up to Him - He'll take care of it. We are meant to play a role in a bigger picture than what we can see. And if we spend all of our lives caught up in only our own life, we are leaving much too small a mark.

The thing that really hit me in his message was when he said, "You have no idea what God wants to do through you. You won't even know He's done the most significant thing in you until well past when its over." We get so caught up in waiting for something big to happen, dont we? Im one of the worst at this. I am constantly seeking significance, meaning, wanting to simply make a difference. And yet, all along God has used me to be significant in the lives of others. Too often I miss it because I am so caught up in wanting it. Andy reminded me that I simply need to do what God is calling me to do, and when I look back, I will see significance. A life caught up entirely in God cannot end without having made a difference. Our God is too big for that.

So trust. And rest. He will use you in ways beyond your imagination. Just continue to obey.

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Lesson for Today: Being behind the camera is so much better than being in front of it. Talk about a lot of laughs.

Small Actions, Big Results...

If you take a piece of paper and fold it in half 50 times, do you know how tall it would be?

It would reach the sun. And fold it in half one more time and it would be the length of the distance from the sun and back. This is one of those puzzles that you have probably heard before, but it made me think this time.

Andy Stanley is often talking about how little decisions made today will most definitely affect your future. Things like cutting out a regular sized Tim Hortons coffee from your daily morning routine will save you over $1500 in three years. Or making it a point to call a family member once a week will change your relationship in a year. While we tend to focus on the big, obvious actions of our lives, its the small things day to day that really make the difference.

When I think about how something as thin as a piece of paper can reach the sun if it was simply folded in half 50 times, it brought me back to Andy's philosophy. Little things can have huge, life altering results. And the point is that we need to be faithful to the smallest of things that God calls us to. 

Because it just might end up changing your life.

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Lesson for Today: A recent study has found that when pregnant women are exposed to the BPA chemical in Nalgene bottles and other sources, they have a higher risk for female children with aggression and ADHD...

Perry Goes to Clemson...

Ive been becoming quite a fan of NewSpring Church. Perry Noble, the Senior Pastor, has a say-it-like-it-is, there-is-no-such-thing-as-too-blunt kind of attitude. And its refreshing. He speaks the Word of God with truth and conviction. Check em out.

One of his most recent series, In Rhythm, talks a lot about petty issues that frustrate church members - and how we need to get over them in order to build the Kingdom. So, to really hit home his point, he headed up to Clemson to talk with head coach Dabo Swinny. I think youre gonna like it.

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Lesson for Today: Praying for your food in Panera can bring on a plethora of comments from the bystanders...

New Beginnings...

Today is October 1. And with it, comes a new beginning. I continually forget, or perhaps just dont meditate enough on the fact that God is a God of new beginnings. Anyone in him is a new creation: the old is gone, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5.17). His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3.23). He desires to be worshipped with new songs (Psalm 33.3) and when we've lost our ability to sing, He is the One that gives us that new song to sing (Psalm 40.3).

The reality of a new beginning is so freeing. Its October 1, and God has given us a new month to sing new praises. As Ive been on this journey, I have tried to keep coming back to the idea of new beginnings. Every bit of newness He gives us needs to be recognized - and dedicated. God has called for our first fruits. But how do we give him the first of something old? It is in his gracious giving of new beginnings that we have the opportunity to continually give of ourselves, our thoughts and actions, our hearts over to Him.

Dedicate the first page of a new prayer journal to praising Him. Dedicate the first day back to work from vacation to focusing your mind on who God is, rather than diving right in to all there is to catch up on. Dedicate the first day of the month to spending extra time with God, asking what purposes He holds for you in that month. Wake up every morning and dedicate the first minutes to thanking Him for His mercies that are renewed. Again:

Every bit of newness He gives us needs to be recognized - and dedicated.

Isn't He worthy of that?

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Lesson for Today: Awesome worship song. Thanks, Jaim.