Big Is The New Small

Snapshot of Hillsong United closing out worship at Catalyst 2011 #Cat11.

I have been to many leadership conferences and Catalyst is by far one of my favorites.  It’s only a couple of weeks away, (Oct. 5-7) in the ATL.   Here are 10 Simple Things That Makes The Catalyst Conference Great.

• 1. The BIGness – There is something refreshing and inspiring to see 12,000+ leaders from around the country pile into Gwinnett Center ready to be inspired, challenged, encouraged and changed.
• 2. The Hype – Catalyst is a hype machine, if you can’t attend you will still follow the discussions and read the notes of the various talks.  The #CAT11 Twitter stream and The Catalyst Hype Machine go hand- in-hand.
• 3. The Speakers – Seriously where else can you get Andy Stanley, Dave Ramsey, Mark Driscoll, Francis Chan and one of my favorites Cornell West all on on the same stage and all for one single admission price.
• 4. The Entertainment - Where else can you see a guy break a Guiness Book Of World Record by jumping 3 Stories from 35 feet 9 inches in the air into a kiddie pool with 11 inches of water or a man shot out of a canon right before Bishop TD Jakes goes up to speak.  Catalyst is just down right fun!
• 5. The History - This conference is filled with many years of history and memories.  Catalyst has experienced the longest successful run of any major Christian Conference in recent history.
• 6. The Connections – Catalyst is a great place to make connection with ministry leaders from every nook and cranny you can imagine.  Catalyst is a social media playground, as you are able to make first time and continued connections with your blogging, Twitter and Facebook friends.
• 7. The Unexpected - You can always expect the unexpected.  The unexpected will show up in the form of an emotional moment, a speaker not meeting expectations, a speaker making some uncomfortably bold statements, a rising star being born and the list goes on and on. Expect The Unexpected!
• 8. The Traffic – Catalyst wouldn’t be Catalyst without attenders being stuck in Atlanta Parking lot they call a highway.  You can try to beat it, but 9 out of 10 times you will come out on the losing side of the traffic battle.  It’s just part of the experience.
• 9. The Teaching- The teaching is always second to none and you are guaranteed to walk away with some new tools for your life and leadership toolbox.  You will learn or your money back.  I’m not sure about the money back guarantee, but I would be willing to bet not many people would request a refund.
• 10. The God Moments - There will always be those moments where you will find yourself day-dreaming about the BIGness of God.   It’s awesome to watch God orchestrate the collective hearts of 12,000 people in a room. You will experience those God-Sized whispers challenging you to dream BIG. think BIGGER.

What Makes Catalyst Great?  Share your thoughts and experiences on the Catalyst Conference?

What does it mean to be present in this hyper-connected, fast-moving, multi-responsibility, technologically-advanced, distraction-based, ever-evolving, multi-tasking, dollar-driven, multi-focused world that we live in? That’s a hard question, with a very simple answer.

The simple answer is “Be Present!”

Present is defined as being, existing, or occurring at this time or now; at hand; immediate or current.

To be present is to focus on the here and now.  To give focused and undivided attention at the current moment or place that you find yourself.  This is easy to get away from and takes focused attention to make it happen.  A few things that I do to try and be present are:

• I finish all cell-phone conversations before I go into my house, on the drive, in the garage… but not in the house.
• I try to complete all assignments, tasks, appt.’s between 8-5 and not allow them to carry over into family time.
• I put everything on my calendar, in order to make sure my priorities are straight and look back and see what kind of undivided attention I gave people, places & things.
• I answer e-mails in divided chunks of the day and not as they come in.
• I like to plan; however I embrace the tension of not looking too far ahead and I rarely look back.

I could go on an on with things that I’m trying to do in order to stay focused and be present; however the bottom line is it takes focused effort.  If you don’t focus on being present, you won’t.

The theme of this years Catalyst Conference in Atalanta is Be Present. Not just be present as in attendance, but rather focusing on being present in our lives.   I will be present and personally I’m looking forward to hearing the list of great speakers. I will definitely be present when Dr. Cornell West speaks.

• 1. Saddleback is developing ministry leaders. You don’t have to be seminary grads- people from all majors, all schools, and careers are key to building a pool large enough to plant the number of churches the world needs. They aren’t limiting the pool of leaders to only seminary grads.
• 2. Saddleback prepares leaders by letting them lead.
• 3. Saddleback is preparing Church planters, multi-site campus pastors, and ministry leaders through 1yr programs.
• 4. Academy participants learn from Saddleback pastors, staff and learn in the following areas: Adult Ministry, Children’s Ministry, Student Ministry, Student Ministry Worship, Adult Worship Arts & Church Administration.
• 5. There is always the intangibles of Southern California and Orange County.
• 6. The resources, scale, pace, credibility, culture, methods, strategies, and effectiveness of Saddleback Church
• 7. An awesome place to live – “The Ranch.”

I could go on and on with a lengthy post about the Academy; however Saddleback has put together a very detailed and descriptive program for you to read through.  I encourage you to take a look at all of the different areas, it might be an excellent opportunity for you, your friends or family.  Be sure to check out the different type of program areas: LAUNCH, ELEVATE, ACCELERATE, & DISCOVER.

You won’t want to miss the Catalyst Conference in Dallas, happening May 11-13, 2011, where 3,000 young leaders will converge, including high-octane speakers, powerful worship, innovative programming, and an experience unlike any other.

Hear from leadership authorities including Andy Stanley, Matt Chandler, David Platt, Christine Caine, Donald Miller and Craig Groeschel , along with several innovative thinkers and practitioners like hip hop legend Rev Run, best-selling author Scott Belsky, International Justice Mission founder Gary Haugen, long-time activist Dr. John Perkins, ESPY winner Scotty Smiley, and charity: water founder Scott Harrison.

Plus, Catalyst Labs will feature innovative thought leaders like Michael Hyatt, Mark Batterson, Scot McKnight, Bob Goff, Mike Foster, David Kinnaman, Samuel Rodriguez, Amena Brown, Esther Havens, Shaun King, Dino Rizzo, Gayle Haggard, Jon Acuff, Lecrae, Margaret Feinberg, Chris Seay, Bianca Juarez, Jo Saxton, Vicky Beeching, Eugene Cho, Tyler Merrick, Jenny White and others.

Best Rates on Catalyst Dallas tickets ended on Thursday, March 31st.  You can still save 15% off of the current rate using code FOB.  If you have any questions call 888.334.6569 to speak to a Catalyst Concierge, or register online at www.catalystdallas.com.

I’m giving away some tickets to Catalyst One Day in Phoenix! Next Thursday, November 18 at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Phoenix, Arizona. Join Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel for a one day leadership event focusing on the topic of Momentum. How to create it, how to sustain it, and how to implement systems and tactics in your organization that will fuel momentum on a continual basis. This practical leadership experience includes Q and A, dynamic worship and music, and a full day of practical insight from two of the principal voices on leadership in the Church today.

Visit www.catalystoneday.com to register to attend. Use special Rate Code ONEDAYAZ to receive a discounted ticket price of $99.

Entering to win is simple:

• Leave a comment stating you want to win.
• Re-tweet this tweet: Enter to win FREE Tickets to Catalyst One Day featuring @craiggroeschel and @andystanley http://bit.ly/aI9Kg6
• I’ll choose some random winners in the morning.
• Ready, Set, Go!

I have been to many leadership conferences and Catalyst is by far one of my favorites.  Here are 10 Simple Things That Makes The Catalyst Conference Great.

• 1. The BIGness – There is something refreshing and inspiring to see 12,000+ leaders from around the country pile into Gwinnett Center ready to be inspired, challenged, encouraged and changed.
• 2. The Hype – Catalyst is a hype machine, if you can’t attend you will still follow the discussions and read the notes of the various talks.  The #CAT10 Twitter stream and The Catalyst Hype Machine go hand- in-hand.
• 3. The Speakers – Seriously where else can you get Craig Groeschel, Andy Stanley, Seth Godin, Beth Moore, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Christine Caine, Perry Noble and Francis Chan all on on the same stage and all for one single admission price.
• 4. The Entertainment - Where else can you see a guy break a Guiness Book Of World Record by jumping 3 Stories from 35 feet 9 inches in the air into a kiddie pool with 11 inches of water.  Catalyst is just down right fun!
• 5. The History - This conference is filled with many years of history and memories.  Catalyst has experienced the longest successful run of any major Christian Conference in recent history.
• 6. The Connections - Catalyst is a great place to make connection with ministry leaders from every nook and cranny you can imagine.  Catalyst is a social media playground, as you are able to make first time and continued connections with your blogging, Twitter and Facebook friends.
• 7. The Unexpected - You can always expect the unexpected.  The unexpected will show up in the form of an emotional moment, a speaker not meeting expectations, a speaker making some uncomfortably bold statements, a rising star being born and the list goes on and on.  Expect The Unexpected!
• 8. The Traffic – Catalyst wouldn’t be Catalyst without attenders being stuck in Atlanta Parking lot they call a highway.  You can try to beat it, but 9 out of 10 times you will come out on the losing side of the traffic battle.  It’s just part of the experience.
• 9. The Teaching- The teaching is always second to none and you are guaranteed to walk away with some new tools for your life and leadership toolbox.  You will learn or your money back.  I’m not sure about the money back guarantee, but I would be willing to bet not many people would request a refund.
• 10. The God Moments - There will always be those moments where you will find yourself day-dreaming about the BIGness of God.   It’s awesome to watch God orchestrate the collective hearts of 12,000 people in a room. You will experience those God-Sized whispers challenging you to dream BIG. think BIGGER.

What Makes Catalyst Great?  Share your thoughts and experiences on the Catalyst Conference.

Let me start off by saying that Catalyst has been an amazing experience for myself and my entire team.  If you were wondering why tweets and blogging were a little limited during parts of the day yesterday for me and some of the other live-bloggers, it’s because there were some Internet/connectivity problems.  I tried to keep up as much as possible with our favorite little micro-blogging tool and my i-Phone.

I wanted to share a couple of highlight bullet points from yesterday’s sessions.  Here you go:

ANDY STANLEY (Session 1)

• What man is a man that doesn’t make the world better?
• (Leaving Your Mark) You won’t recognize your biggest opportunity until after you’ve taken advantage of it or missed it. You won’t know your mistakes until long after you’ve made them.  You won’t recognize your mark until long after you have left it.
• It is not about your mark. It is about His mark.  It’s not about who is for or against you, It’s about who you are for.  When God does His greatest work through you, you won’t have any idea what happened.  Leaders are going to leave a mark; however the question is: “Whose mark are you going to leave?”

JESSICA JACKLEY (Session 2)

• Founder of Kiva and she talked about micro-finance and how her organization gives the impoverished small loans to empower them with the resources necessary to start a business.

MALCOLM GLADWELL (Session 3)

• Incompetence irritates me, but overconfidence scares me. Incompetent people rarely have the opportunities to make mistakes that greatly affect things. Overconfident leaders and experts have the dangerous ability to create disaster.
• Q&A on Mainstage: What are the the warning signs for leaders being over-confident? Answer- When they stop listening to those around them.
• I will have a detailed post later from my backstage Q&A time w/ Malcolm Gladwell at a later date.

SHANE HIPPS (Session 4)

• Assumption: The methods change but the message stays the same.
• Bible has untouched diamonds buried inside… Roots to grow deeper
• We must become gardeners of the gospel rather than guards.  Guards are motivated by fear and gardeners are motivated by love.

ROB BELL (Session 5)

• You are a living Eucharist
• We are loved exactly as we are! Don’t be seduced by “The Big, The More…” Your Heavenly Father is not asking them to be you & you to be them… rather asking You to Be You!
• Women are free to teach, preach & lead. YOU GO GIRL… Be who God created you to be.
• “Put the crack pipe down!” as it relates to Christian organizations ranking churches.
• Are you taking care of yourself?  Are you giving your family your best.  You can use God’s Work to excuse broken unhealth.

TONY DUNGY (Session 6)

• God places people in your lives for many different reasons… HE had it all figured out!
• Your job as a coach is to help your players to be the best they can be… both on & off the field.

MATT CHANDLER (Session 7)

• Matt was very funny, candid and an intellect all at the same time.
• Look at every delay as an opportunity to deepen the waters with the God.  Your role is bigger than you think!

FRANCIS CHAN (Session 8 ) Evening Session

• Led everyone through a very spiritual and memorable moment.  He didn’t focus on leadership but rather just focussed on Jesus.
• Worship with Aaron Keys while Francis led everyone through communion.
• This session was one of the highlights of the day as people truly surrendered their hearts to the moment and focussed on Jesus.

These are just some highlights…  I will have some posts next week that will be inspired by all of the information that I have soaked up while here at Catalyst.   This has not only been a great time for learning, but a great time for the @lifechurchnw  team to connect.

Share your thoughts on any of these notes or anything you would like for me to gather, video or share.