History in the Making

Don't Be That Guy

Ran into the four guys from "Don't Be That Guy" at Starbucks this morning: David, Tyler, Tim and Tripp. They're the creators of the viral video phenom "Things you can't do when you're not in a pool" and other delights...

Junk Pride

Catalyst couldn't be any more excited about this event to fight mobile homelessness. Some of us will actually be there for it... although a few of the people around here don't qualify to be members and probably need to repent. =)

Free GPS System Give-Away

In the spirit of our theme, "You Are Here," we're giving away one GPS system a month from now until April at CatalystWestCoast.com. Your chances are actually pretty good, especially in these early months before the brochure hits the west coast.

Inside Scoop on Catalyst West Coast

• The new west coast brochures are being mailed this week.
• We have another A-level worship leader on-board - can't say just yet
• (As if  we needed it with Hillsong United=)
• We're throwing an unrivaled "before party" on the night of Wed, April 22
• Naomi Zacharias is not on the line-up... along with her father Dr. Ravi.
• Yes, you read that correctly. =)
• Excited about having Nick Vujicic
• One of the biggest bloggers in the world is on-board to attend
• Origins instead of our Lab day:: are you kidding?
• Meeting with our new Catalyst west emcees this week.

                                                                   More to come...

A Cautionary Tale

From a former LifeChurch staff wife...

"The day was Tuesday. February 19, 2002, to be exact. Although my husband, Chris, had completed six weeks as the new worship pastor at our church in Edmond, Oklahoma, we’d only spent three nights in our new home. Unexpectedly, he walked through the front door at 9 somethin’ in the morning. Attempting to inch my way through a plethora of boxes, I looked up and saw the face of the man I’d loved for nearly 10 years. And the man who was soon to break my heart. Chris walked toward me and asked if we could talk. The look on his face said enough. Something was wrong.

"After getting our son, Noah, settled watching a Blue’s Clues video, Chris motioned for me to sit on the newly purchased sofa that had arrived just 24 hours before as we were beginning our new life in a new town. My heart began to palpitate as the next several minutes consisted of him confessing to numerous affairs with numerous women from numerous places. I heard the cracking of my heart as he spoke and felt the devastation setting in almost immediately. As if that information was not enough to handle, he also informed me that one of the women was pregnant and he was pretty sure the baby was his child.

"You have got to be kidding me.   He was not."

[read the on-line book]

Theo-Science

I spent the weekend writing about some of the sociological factors of church growth. There's a reason why many congregations double in size when they move into a new facility.... why Elevation Church used pipe-and-drape to make their services feel full... and why Jesus chose a packed, multicultural festival in Jerusalem to manifest the spirit of God. Church growth isn't all theological. There are sociological factors that God uses to propel his Gospel. This is a controversial subject, I know. I'm thinking of putting padded corners on the edges of this book for when people throw it across the room.

Frozen-in-Time Photos

WebUrbanist features some amazing "frozen-in-time" photos... via Jesse.

Mentoring Reinvented

Every mentoring relationship I know of started with an apprentice asking a leader to mentor him/her. Which is completely awkward and, I'm not sure, but maybe unbiblical.

Paul talked about the relationship between spiritual mentors and apprentices in 2 Corinthians 12:14 - "For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children."

I read this as - "Spiritual parents, remove the barriers for your apprentices."

To proactively mentor someone is not arrogant. It's an act of service. Rather than "fielding questions" over a lunch you make them pay for... seek out apprentices and find out how you can serve them.

Stories of Freed Sex Slaves

A big reason I read the IJM Institute blog is to hear about their incredible rescue efforts that have freed slaves in some surprising places. Need Magazine photo-documented some of IJM's rescues as well... Scroll down and read some of the personal stories. It will weigh-down your heart like nothing else.

The Clarifying Principle

On the morning after the election, experts were able to clarify the principle that cost John McCain the election. The principle emerged out of chaos.

I'm convinced that every struggling church plant is ignorant of one principle that has yet to be clarified. It's too hard to see in the moment; it's buried in the chaos; but it's the reason behind the struggle.

There are two ways to clarify the principle:

1. Quit and see it in retrospect.
2. Invite an outsider to speak into it.

Unfortunately, most church planters go with #1 because it's too humiliating to get poked and prodded. And that's a shame.

Mind Blowing Event

Our company does a number of leadership events throughout the year, not just Catalyst. One of them is a real mind-blower ~ Exchange ~ which is being held in Washington DC next week. It's three days with 80 of the top CEOs and business leaders in the country. It's up close and personal with John Maxwell. Cost is no less than $7,000 a person. And we're sold-out. (Remember, this is a business event, not a church event. =) Its like our own little TED conference. Anyway, I got a sneak peak at some of the surprises and gifts that are being lavished upon attenders... pretty amazing.

New Catalyst Filter Launches this Month

Excited about seeing the new Catalyst Filter launch this month. In addition to the treasure-trove of on-line resources, we're sending out the quarterly "Aqua Box" filled with resources like magazines, books, DVDs and CDs. We've got a sample kit sitting here in our office, and it's looking great...

Gossip

Saw Chris Tomlin at Coldplay last night.

Inflatable Church

I used to lead a portable church plant. And the biggest challenge from an outsider's perspective is to not become an mirage to the community. (You appear for a few hours on Sunday and then disappear for the week.) The biggest challenge from an insider's perspective is to not let the set-up of ministry become the ministry. If I ever do it again, I won't be so down on permanent buildings. =)

C-C-C-C-Coldplay

Real Catalysts of Genius

I don't give enough shout-outs on my blog. So here's one.

One of the guys at Catalyst I'm most excited to work with is Brian Cole, our production director. Brian has been working for our company almost longer than anyone else. He was the guy driving John Maxwell around in the early days and recording his talks for the Injoy Life Club (anyone remember that one!?)

But now Brian produces all things technical for our company; he's pure genius; and just an all-around great dude... the MacGeyver of the ministry world. If you're running an event for 12,000+ people, Brian is the guy you want producing it.

And all of us secretly wish he'd invite us over for a movie night because - from what I hear - his personal A/V system could power our houses.

Speaking of Hologram

Was watching the election coverage last night and saw that CNN was using hologram technology to "beam in" Jessica Yeller - a correspondent from Chicago. They were using coordinated cameras so that whenever the Chicago cameras moved, the New York cameras followed along with them... creating an "in the room" experience with Wolf Blitzer. I've got an article on hologram technology coming out in COLLIDE magazine this month, so I guess I'm seeing it everywhere.

Uh Oh

Starbucks now has a black card.

The Year Ahead

 

I'm finishing up my first book, which will be out sometime next year. And in the interest of "doing it right," I sought out the best representation I could find. Yates & Yates, which was the very first Christian literary agency, signed me on, and my personal agent - also an attorney - is Curtis Yates whom I befriended in California last April. Looking forward to an amazing year ahead...

Workplace Hazards

Several offices in the Catalyst space have been infiltrated by practical jokers lately. Catalyst concierge, Chad "squeaky" Johnson, got engaged, which resulted in a massive office tee-peeing. And Dustin "the player" Ah Kuoi was gone for a few days, which resulted in an onslaught of John Maxwell resources.