Catalyst thoughts

As promised, here are some take aways that I received from Catalyst. For those that don't know Catalyst a young leaders conference that is held every year on Atlanta GA. John Maxwell was the one who actually started Catalyst almost 10 years ago but it has now developed into its own thing. Lots of great leaders spoke and lots of great information. Here are few things I wanted to share:

Andy Stanley on leadership: Moral Authority is the best authority. In order to be a great leader I must have character and lead by example. That includes in the area of forgiveness, family and finances.

Jim Collins from Good to Great: So much good information from Collins that it would take forever to explain. My main take away is as a leader I need to have the right people on my team. Jim calls it the bus. We need to find the right who's before the whats. He also nailed it when he talked about focusing on one big thing. The big thing is; 'what are we passionate about', 'what can we do better then anyone else', and 'what are our resources to fund it?' Good stuff from Collins

Steven Futrick from Elevation Church: Steve is 26 years old and is pastoring a church of 3500. This guy blew the top as he preached from 1 Kings 18 about the small cloud that Elijah saw. He talked about staying with your dream and being faithful in the process until you see it come to pass.

Craig Groeschel: I have never seen Craig so passionate. Craig talked about the "It Factor" and why some churches have it and why some loose it. The difference comes from those who try to build God's church from those who try to build their own church. Craig challenged us to pray two prayers that I have begun to pray: 1. God stretch me 2. God ruin me

Dave Ramsey: Dave talked about the ememies of unity. I didn't know Dave Ramsey was such a great spiritual leader. I love what Dave said about the state of our economy. We must realize that fear is a spirit. What is going on in our country right now is a spirit of fear. This fear is not from God. As believers we should not panic. If we have done things God's way from the beginning there shouldn't be any problem.

Billy and Franklin Graham: Billy Graham could not be there due to his health but Franklin spoke and talked about the power of the Gospel. I thought his word was good as in today's culture in church we can get caught up in all the trivial things of the worship service but we must realize that it is only the Gospel that can change lives. We must not be ashamed to preach this message. It is the power of God and salvation to all who believe.

There were a few other workshops but these are the highlights. Like I said in an earlier post, God really shook me last week and I am seeking Him for a specific word for us as a church in the coming year. I am thankful for all these great leaders and their investment to speak into our lives this past week.