Catalyst Atlanta 2016 Recap

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Catalyst conference in Atalanta, Georga. Catalyst is a gathering of church leaders who want to grow their skills and abilities.

At Catalyst, you’re also challenged to grow in more than skills. You’re invited into tough questions. And that’s what this year’s Catalyst conference was all about.

Catalyst Atlanta 2016 Recap

Image courtesy of Catalyst

There’s been a lot of division within the body of the church. So, Catalyst called a family meeting.

The conference touched on issues from race to how we treat our brothers and sisters to handling money well. They covered a lot in the 2 day conference.

Catalyst Atlanta 2016 Recap

I was thrilled to be a part of Catalyst in that I was able to live blog the event. Sharing the content that was presented at Catalyst is a great honor and I hope you enjoyed what they put together.

Let’s take a quick look at the speakers and highlights from their talks:

Andy Stanley:

Andy Stanley opened the conference as he always does. Andy wanted us to know the church has been called to uncommon fellowship, just like the early church.

The early church was a diverse group. You had Greeks and Gentiles and Romans, slave and slave owner, prostitutes, and various other groups who all came together.

That was the church. That should be the church today.

Mike Foster:

I loved what Mike Foster had to say about failure. When we fail, it doesn’t make us a failure. It makes us human.

We’re able to pick ourselves up, dust off the mistake, and move on. If we don’t, our failure will hold us back from what God intended us to be.

Brandon And Jen Hatmaker:

Brandon and Jen Hatmaker may have said the most profound thing during Catalyst. Jen Hatmaker said

We would never, ever treat anyone we love like a project or an agenda. They are not projects. They are people

And that has stuck with me. We like to look at people as projects. We shower charity on someone because they’re a project we’re working on. Or maybe it’s the time you spend with someone because you feel like you can FIX them.

We’ve got to stop looking at people as projects. Look at them as part of the body of Christ that they are.

Craig Groeschel:

Craig shared about the disunity that’s been in the church. A lot of churches see the church down the road as a competitor. Someone they’re battling.

The truth is, that church isn’t the enemy. The church down the road is an ally.

We’re all in this for one reason: To bring people to Christ. So why are we fighting one another?

Travis Boersma:

Travis shared the story of how his coffee company, Dutch Bros. Coffee, has created a culture where good can be done in a business setting.

You may have heard of Dutch Bros. Coffee from the viral video of their employees praying for a woman who recently lost her husband.

Father Edwin Leahy:

Father Leahy’s story was inspiring. He’s involved with the school St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, NJ.

Their approach at the school is to allow their students to do for themselves what they’re able to do on their own. Their approach to teaching has led to an uncommon fellowship among the faculty and the students.

Brian Houston:

What does the future of the church look like? Brian Houston feels he has a good idea.

The church is the past. But it’s also in the future.

New generations are coming with new ideas that will help propel the church forward. Are you ready for them?

Rachel Cruze:

For those of you that don’t know, Rachel Cruze is the daughter of the money man himself, Dave Ramsey. And I love me some Dave Ramsey.

Rachel brought the idea of unity from a different perspective. What kind of unity and community could you create if you managed your money well?

You’d be able to help the poor. You’d be able to feed the hungry. And you might just change the world.

Simon Sinek:

Unfortunately, I missed most of Simon Sinek’s talk as I was being introduced to the amazing musician Erskin Anavitarte. But that’s okay. I was still able to hera a good portion of his talk.

What was my takeaway from Simon Sinek? Treat your neighbor in the way you want to be treated.

Doing so will solve much of our disunity problem.

Andy Stanley:

Andy Stanley wrapped up the Catalyst conference just like he started it: With truth bombs.

He connected the dots of this year’s conference. With 3 simple questions, we can make it so those in the church know what’s going on.

Have those serving in the church ask:

WHAT are we doing?

WHY are we doing it?

WHERE do I fit in?

Question: Where you at Catalyst Atlanta this year? If so, what did you take away from the conference? If not, what was your biggest takeaway from my time live blogging the event? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

 

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