- Tim Sanders led things off on day two of the Catalyst Conference 2008. Tim is the author of "Saving the World at Work", outlining the Responsibility Revolution. "Leaders gauge reality and give hope."
- Dave Ramsey was warmly welcomed. To my surprise (or ignorance) he didn't actually speak on finances, but on leadership (!) Dave shared about some key principles used as he leads his own organization. Key idea: Lack of unity is a real killer in the church, especially among staff and leaders. He shared his five main enemies of unity - 1. Poor communication, 2. Gossip, 3. Unresolved disagreements, 4. Lack of shared purpose, 5. Sanctioned incompetence. (Chris Martin has some more details on Dave's talk)
- Our course, they couldn't let Dave Ramsey escape the stage without sharing a little bit on our current economic situation. Breathe. The world is not coming to an end. There is a spirit of fear on Wall St. Stock prices are at an artificial low driven by emotion and fear. Don't pull everything out.
- Comedian Jeff Foxworthy made an appearance to talk about making a difference among the poor in Africa.
- Standing ovation for Catalyst Lifetime Achievement award to Billy Graham. His son Franklin Graham accepted and gave an inspiring talk. (See Tony Morgan's blog for more on Franklin's talk or Tim Stevens' on the award)
- Ed Stetzer was a statistical Maverick, encouraging us to engage young folks today with the gospel.
- Andy Crouch, an expert on engaging culture, shared four bad ways in which the church tends to engage culture: condemn, critique, copy, consume, and gave an alternative better approach: cultivate that which is good.
- Andy Crouch spoke of Creative Circles. More often than not, great ideas get their birth with a circle of three - where there is suspension of impossibility; this grows to 12 who bring depth, then 120 who bring breadth.
- "Cultural change always moves the horizon of the possible." was a great quote from Andy Crouch. 'Help your three, your twelve, see where horizons must move.'
- Three questions for a takeaway: 1. What are you cultivating? 2. What are you creating? 3. Who is in your creative circle?
- Matt Chandler was up next. Matt preached passionately from I Timothy, chapter 4. Wow! These young guys have a very different style yet are clearly anointed by God for this generation, connecting in a way to younger people in a way that's very real.
- "You can teach what Christ commands without being a jerk!" "Careful! If you've been at church more then four years, then where the church is weak... you are weak!"
- For more notes on Matt Chandler, see Will Johnston's notes. (Actually, Will has great notes on almost all the sessions, check 'em out)
- Andy Stanley closed out the Catalyst Conference 2008 very strong! He shared five quotes he loves because they challenge him greatly and because, well, he doesn't know the answers - but is committed to keep working on them.
- A favorite quote Andy shared is from Craig Groeschel - "To reach people no one else is reaching, we must do things no one else is doing." For the other quotes and take-home points, see notes by Brad Ruggles, or the excellent summary by Tim Stevens.
- Another thought by Andy that I want to think about a lot more - "What currently can't be done in the church, but if it could be done, would fundamentally change the church."
Phew! Catalyst is over! The conference was fantastic, very challenging. Wrap up consists of Red Thai curry for dinner at Mama Fu's, reading "Tribes" on the plane back home, and the need for a few days to process the rest...
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