Here are the highlights, as I saw them, for day 2:
Session 6- Dave Ramsey
Dave is a personal finance expert, best-selling author, and national radio talk show host. He spoke at Catalyst last year about money management, but this was his first talk on leadership. He spoke specifically about unity in an organization. The 5 enemies to unity are:
- Poor communication
- Gossip
- Unresolved disagreements
- Lack of shared purpose
- Sanctioned incompetence
Team members will become demotivated when someone on the team can’t or won’t do their job and the leader fails to act. For the sake of unity on a team, the leader must do battle early and often with any of these enemies of unity.
Specifically, as it applies to Christian businesses, I loved this comment from Dave: “If you’re going to put a fish on the back of that thing, you’d better drive it right.”
Session 7- Franklin Graham
Franklin Graham accepted a lifetime achievement award for his father. But, he spoke with conviction about the power of the gospel message. We can’t control it, we can’t manage it, but there is power in the gospel of Jesus.
Session 8- Matt Chandler
This may have been the best session at the conference, so I’m glad we stayed to watch it. Chandler is the lead pastor at The Village Church in Highland Village (Dallas), Texas. Chandler taught at length from 1 Timothy 4 and said there are a lot of people who know about Jesus, but don’t really know Jesus. Having the right answers and saying the right things doesn’t make you right with God- it’s about your relationship with Christ. His heart breaks for the people in church every week who don’t know Jesus.
Session 9- Andy Stanley
Here are the 5 things Andy Stanley is thinking about now:
1. To reach people no one else is reaching, we need to do things no one else is doing. – Craig Groeschel
It’s not good enough to do the same thing louder or better or differently. To reach people outside the church, we need to go outside the church. Stanley says we need to become preoccupied with those we haven’t reached as opposed to those we are trying to keep.
2. The next Generation product almost never comes from the previous generation.- Al Reis
If you’re over 45, you need to accept that your ideas to reach the next generation will not be effective. You need to lend your expertise to deciding which ideas are good ones instead of trying to come up with good ideas. Be a student, not a critic.
3. What do I believe is impossible to do in my field... but if it could be done, it would fundamentally change my business? - Joel Barker
Pay attention to those who are breaking the rules- they are almost always the ones that solve the problems
4. If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what we he do? Why shouldn’t we walk out the door, come back in, and do it ourselves? – Andy Grove
Acknowledge what’s not working, and own up to why you are unwilling to do anything about it.
No pain = no change. Change is always painful, but almost always worth it.
5. When your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near. – Michael Hammer
Don’t let success overshadow your vision.
Summary
The Catalyst Conference was really great this year. I left out comments from a few speakers (Tim Sanders, Brenda Salter McNeil, Andy Crouch) that I didn’t get much from, but the sessions were almost universally good. (Sorry, I love Tim Sanders, but I didn't get much. He's great though. Really. Read Love is the Killer App.)
Monday, October 13, 2008
Catalyst Conference 2008 - Day 1
I thought I should post an update on Catalyst this year. Here are the highlights as I see them:
Session 1- Andy Stanley
Stanley talked about moral authority in leadership. People won’t necessarily follow us because they believe what we say we believe, but they absolutely must know that WE believe what we say we believe. That is moral authority- basically, that the walk matches the talk. He specifically said the church needs moral authority in three areas:
- Forgiveness- we can’t teach forgiveness from a heart that hasn’t forgiven
- Family – we can’t effectively teach the importance of family when we don’t put family first
- Finances – our checkbook shows our priorities.
He used the story of Nehemiah to reinforce this point: when he confronted the Jews on their lending money with high interest to other Jews, they immediately gave in because he had moral authority- Nehemiah had never accepted what he rightfully had coming to him (Nehemiah 5:6-18)
Session 2- William Paul Young / Jim Collins
William Paul Young is the author of the bestseller The Shack. This was an interesting interview. Young wrote the book for his kids with no intent of publishing it, but there was so much demand for the story that it became a bestseller. The moral: create what the people around you need or want, and it may be what many people need or want.
Jim Collins is also a bestselling author, most notably of the book Good to Great. Collins said that the main difference between good organizations and great ones is not the circumstances they find themselves in: “We are not imprisoned by our circumstances, we are freed by our choices and our discipline.” Instead, he said, one of the major differences between good and great is a culture of discipline. We need to have discipline to keep doing what we need to do. Each step is a tiny turn on a huge flywheel, but once it gets going, it has great momentum. He also said that organizations are far more likely to gorge themselves than starve to death- the great more often fall by overreaching than by having too little opportunity.
Session 3- Steven Furtick
Steven Furtick is the lead pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. He talked about the fact that between the promise and the payoff is a process- when God makes us a promise, we can sometimes give up on it if we can’t see the payoff coming. He used the scripture from 1 Kings 18 to encourage people that God is faithful in his promises- when Elijah promised the people of Israel that rain was coming, the text says there was a cloud forming that was the size of a man’s hand. God is preparing you for what He is preparing for you.
Session 4- Seth Godin
Godin is the author of such books as Purple Cow and The Dip. At this session, he talked about his new book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. He says that people (consumers or congregation members) are asking these questions of marketing organizations: Who else is going to be there? Who will lead us?
Godin says a crowd is not the same as a tribe. A tribe is self-selected and has a common purpose or mission. Moving forward, our job is to find out what characteristics people share – who is our tribe? He also said the idea that everyone wants to join your tribe is naive. Find the commonalities that your customers have and emphasize those in your marketing efforts.
Session 5 – Craig Groeschel
Groeschel is the senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv and author of the book Confessions of a Pastor. He was the first to really capitalize on the power of the Internet to leverage the power of the church.
Groeschel talked about Finding IT when you’ve lost IT. This was a very powerful session. We don’t know what IT is, but we know some things about IT:
- God makes IT happen
- We cannot create IT
- IT is not a model
- IT has an upside (lives are changed forever)
- IT has a downside (IT attracts critics)
- IT happens, but not always
- If you have IT, you can lose IT
- If you don’t have IT, you can get IT
Above all, for your church to have IT, you must have IT. If you lose IT, you need to do something drastic. You should pray:
- God, stretch me (take me outside my comfort zone)
- God, heal me (fix the things in my life I can’t fix)
- God, ruin me (maybe have to start all over with God)
Session 1- Andy Stanley
Stanley talked about moral authority in leadership. People won’t necessarily follow us because they believe what we say we believe, but they absolutely must know that WE believe what we say we believe. That is moral authority- basically, that the walk matches the talk. He specifically said the church needs moral authority in three areas:
- Forgiveness- we can’t teach forgiveness from a heart that hasn’t forgiven
- Family – we can’t effectively teach the importance of family when we don’t put family first
- Finances – our checkbook shows our priorities.
He used the story of Nehemiah to reinforce this point: when he confronted the Jews on their lending money with high interest to other Jews, they immediately gave in because he had moral authority- Nehemiah had never accepted what he rightfully had coming to him (Nehemiah 5:6-18)
Session 2- William Paul Young / Jim Collins
William Paul Young is the author of the bestseller The Shack. This was an interesting interview. Young wrote the book for his kids with no intent of publishing it, but there was so much demand for the story that it became a bestseller. The moral: create what the people around you need or want, and it may be what many people need or want.
Jim Collins is also a bestselling author, most notably of the book Good to Great. Collins said that the main difference between good organizations and great ones is not the circumstances they find themselves in: “We are not imprisoned by our circumstances, we are freed by our choices and our discipline.” Instead, he said, one of the major differences between good and great is a culture of discipline. We need to have discipline to keep doing what we need to do. Each step is a tiny turn on a huge flywheel, but once it gets going, it has great momentum. He also said that organizations are far more likely to gorge themselves than starve to death- the great more often fall by overreaching than by having too little opportunity.
Session 3- Steven Furtick
Steven Furtick is the lead pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. He talked about the fact that between the promise and the payoff is a process- when God makes us a promise, we can sometimes give up on it if we can’t see the payoff coming. He used the scripture from 1 Kings 18 to encourage people that God is faithful in his promises- when Elijah promised the people of Israel that rain was coming, the text says there was a cloud forming that was the size of a man’s hand. God is preparing you for what He is preparing for you.
Session 4- Seth Godin
Godin is the author of such books as Purple Cow and The Dip. At this session, he talked about his new book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. He says that people (consumers or congregation members) are asking these questions of marketing organizations: Who else is going to be there? Who will lead us?
Godin says a crowd is not the same as a tribe. A tribe is self-selected and has a common purpose or mission. Moving forward, our job is to find out what characteristics people share – who is our tribe? He also said the idea that everyone wants to join your tribe is naive. Find the commonalities that your customers have and emphasize those in your marketing efforts.
Session 5 – Craig Groeschel
Groeschel is the senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv and author of the book Confessions of a Pastor. He was the first to really capitalize on the power of the Internet to leverage the power of the church.
Groeschel talked about Finding IT when you’ve lost IT. This was a very powerful session. We don’t know what IT is, but we know some things about IT:
- God makes IT happen
- We cannot create IT
- IT is not a model
- IT has an upside (lives are changed forever)
- IT has a downside (IT attracts critics)
- IT happens, but not always
- If you have IT, you can lose IT
- If you don’t have IT, you can get IT
Above all, for your church to have IT, you must have IT. If you lose IT, you need to do something drastic. You should pray:
- God, stretch me (take me outside my comfort zone)
- God, heal me (fix the things in my life I can’t fix)
- God, ruin me (maybe have to start all over with God)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Off to Catalyst...
Well, the boys and I are headed to the Catalyst Conference in the morning. Very excited to hear what God is going to say through Andy Stanley, Dave Ramsey, Craig Groeschel, and others. Even more excited to see what He is going to do with it at Genesis Church when we get back.
I'll try to post updates if I can find a PC in the nether regions of north suburban Atlanta.
Peace!
I'll try to post updates if I can find a PC in the nether regions of north suburban Atlanta.
Peace!
Monday, October 6, 2008
How do you know how to serve?
This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities. -Ephesians 3:7-8 (the Message)
I love the humility in Paul's words here - "I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians." But more than that, I love the power and compassion and humor of God to take someone who's unqualified, call him to ministry, then qualify him. Can I suggest that this goes completely counter to how we often do things in ministry. So often, we look for what we're good at, then decide to serve in an area that requires someone with our strengths.
What if, though- what if we instead decided to listen to God's call for our lives, then turned ourselves off so that God could work in us and qualify us for the ministry he's called us to? In other words, what if we were so obedient to His voice that we followed Him no matter where He led us, and allowed Him to gift us with the abilities required to fulfill His calling?
How powerful could the church be for Christ if everyone's primary objective were to listen to God?
I love the humility in Paul's words here - "I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians." But more than that, I love the power and compassion and humor of God to take someone who's unqualified, call him to ministry, then qualify him. Can I suggest that this goes completely counter to how we often do things in ministry. So often, we look for what we're good at, then decide to serve in an area that requires someone with our strengths.
What if, though- what if we instead decided to listen to God's call for our lives, then turned ourselves off so that God could work in us and qualify us for the ministry he's called us to? In other words, what if we were so obedient to His voice that we followed Him no matter where He led us, and allowed Him to gift us with the abilities required to fulfill His calling?
How powerful could the church be for Christ if everyone's primary objective were to listen to God?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
What does it mean to be a leader in the church?
I happened upon this great article from Jon Tyson, the lead pastor of Origins Church in New York City. At it's heart is what it means to lead in the church. It doesn't matter if you are an elder, deacon, pastor, lay leader, or a volunteer who serves once a month, Tyson says there is one characteristic that is required of leaders.
Charisma? Leadership skills? Teaching gifts? Nah. See, leadership in the church is about making The Church beautiful, like the Bride of Christ she is called to be. So what is the required characteristic?
"Leadership in the church is more than just matching gifts with passion, or desire with opportunity. Leadership in the church is about nobility. In other words, it takes that which is noble to produce that which is beautiful."
Please go here to read the whole article. I promise, it's five minutes you won't regret.
Peace.
Charisma? Leadership skills? Teaching gifts? Nah. See, leadership in the church is about making The Church beautiful, like the Bride of Christ she is called to be. So what is the required characteristic?
"Leadership in the church is more than just matching gifts with passion, or desire with opportunity. Leadership in the church is about nobility. In other words, it takes that which is noble to produce that which is beautiful."
Please go here to read the whole article. I promise, it's five minutes you won't regret.
Peace.
The church as a force or a field?
Check out this video from Granger Community Church pastor Mark Beeson about two different philosophies of the church. Which do you think Christ's bride should be?
Friday, September 26, 2008
Ever feel like God is silent?
Currently, at Genesis Church, we are in a series called "Mind Games." The series is about faith, and the first message this week was I feel abandoned by God.
I have to admit that there are very few times I feel abandoned by God (although I used to, a lot). But there are times when I feel God is silent in my life (apologies to JV- I know He's not silent.) Why is it when I pray and I serve and I try hard to follow God, I dont' always hear Him? Then, in my daily reading, I came across this in The Message:
This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' -Isaiah 58:6-9
Wow. This is really convicting to me, especially the part about being avaialable to your own family. See, it's easy for me to give money to a cause, but harder to give time and effort to it. It's natural for me to want to help people I know and like, but harder for me to want to help my extended family. In fact, I'd rather give money to someone I don't know very well, but I know is trying to follow God than to give money to members of my family who need it. And as far as having time to talk to my family? Well, besides my mom, I can't remember the last time I picked up the phone to call them and just see how they're doing.
But, that's what God wants from me. Feed the poor. Invite in the homeless. Clothe the ill-clad. Be available for my family. That's harder than praying and reading the bible and serving others. That is giving up your life.
Peace to you.
I have to admit that there are very few times I feel abandoned by God (although I used to, a lot). But there are times when I feel God is silent in my life (apologies to JV- I know He's not silent.) Why is it when I pray and I serve and I try hard to follow God, I dont' always hear Him? Then, in my daily reading, I came across this in The Message:
This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' -Isaiah 58:6-9
Wow. This is really convicting to me, especially the part about being avaialable to your own family. See, it's easy for me to give money to a cause, but harder to give time and effort to it. It's natural for me to want to help people I know and like, but harder for me to want to help my extended family. In fact, I'd rather give money to someone I don't know very well, but I know is trying to follow God than to give money to members of my family who need it. And as far as having time to talk to my family? Well, besides my mom, I can't remember the last time I picked up the phone to call them and just see how they're doing.
But, that's what God wants from me. Feed the poor. Invite in the homeless. Clothe the ill-clad. Be available for my family. That's harder than praying and reading the bible and serving others. That is giving up your life.
Peace to you.
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