Craig Groeschel gave a straightforward talk to Pastors (or maybe I felt that way because he was spot on in so many ways). His main text was from Acts 20:22:24 – some of my favorite passages in the Bible. His thoughts focused on the making of a spiritual leader. He gave Four Phases God takes a leader as He prepares them for ultimate impact.

1. Spirit’s Prompting (compelled by the Spirit)

There is a moment in life that God will compelled you to do something for Him and it will drive you to take a risk. He made the statement, “Step away from your security to step into your destiny.” Whoa. This is how I felt when it came to becoming a Pastor. I left what was secure, what I knew how to do and what I was successful at, and took on an opportunity that was part of God’s unfolding plan for my life.

So, we’re to pay attention to the ways God is moving, and to look around and see what we’re not okay with and that very well may be why God is compelling you to do.

2. Certain Uncertainty (22b)

Many of us know what we want to do, but we don’t have the clue as to what that means. Craig encouraged the group by saying that was okay. It’s okay to have a level of certain uncertainty. Many times in fact, God won’t give us all the details because we couldn’t handle all of them anyway. You are just to be faithful to him.

God often puts something on your heart. If you knew how something was going to get done, then he wouldn’t get the glory. If you’re not afraid, then you aren’t being led by the Spirit.

3. Predictable resistance (23)

One of the things many leaders forget is that any time you lead, tough times are coming. Leading will not be easy. How easily I forget this!! This was a massive statement that seared in my heart:

If your not ready to face opposition to be used by God, then you’re not ready to be used by God.

This was powerful. Any time there is something new and effective, it will always be met with resistance. God often uses resistance to move you so that he can use you. “Don’t worry when you face resistance. Worry when you don’t.”

4. Uncommon Clarity (24)

This is that urge in a person when they know why they are where they are and what God has called them to do. When that clarity comes, you then are to finish the race and complete the task God has given you. Why? So that you could testify of the gospel of the grace of God.

THEN – Craig laid into what I think was the best part of his talk. He talked about three levels of effectiveness and it was like a hammer in the throat. Here they are:

1. Make a name for themselves – “better believe I am good, and everyone is bad” (this is a lie). There are those who set out to be famous and they orient their entire life around making a name for themselves. It’s the worst position of leadership.

2. Make a difference – “we know that I’m not good enough (but pretty good) to do this alone, and those in a similar field are a threat (other pastors).” The problem is that we believe the lie that we’re good at what we do. This is a lie. It comes out by taking shots at others. So we set our entire ministry around the point that we are better than others and we see ourselves as better than everyone else. This is a negative view of what making a difference actually is. You end up hurting others in the process and not really being as effective as you could be in ministry.

3. Make history – “Know that God is good and we only have one enemy and that is satan.” When we understand that God is good, that’s when you’ll make a difference in our church and city. It’s not about us, it’s about Him.

This was a HUGE reminder and challenge. I spent some time reflecting on this session, and was convicted that often times I dwell in the “make a difference” category rather than the “make history” line. I pray that I attempt to make history…

One last quote to end:

Don’t be so stupid to make a name for yourself, but make a difference in history by making much of Jesus.

Last year, I attended Catalyst and found myself gleaning some good things, but found it wanting. You can read that here, here, and here. My responses in many ways were due to the sessions I chose to be at, and nothing really to do with the conference itself, but also, during that time, I don’t think I received the messages fairly. The content was good, I just entered into the conference with the wrong mindset.

So why did I choose to come back? Well, since coming to FBC Bellville, I was determined to expose our team to some of the ideas Catalyst presents on leadership, worship, cultural engagement and mission. I knew Catalyst would be helpful for our team to be exposed to a variety of ideas and perspectives… always a good thing.

Another reason is that I began following Brad Lomenick’s blog. Brad is the chief leader of the conference and his insights to leadership have fueled me in my time as a Senior Pastor. I know that may seem strange that a blog would have that kind of impact, but it did. Thus, I’m giving them another shot. And I’ll do another review at the end of day one and two. Unfortunately, our team has to jet after the first session on Friday due to some community events in Bellville we need to attend.

Here were some of the highlights of the LAB’s (which is like pre-conference bonus material):

+Bob Goff: He gave, as always, a sporadic, story infused talk about loving our enemies. He talked about loving our enemies and how difficult that is – btw, his enemies are witch doctors who are into child sacrifice. He described how difficult it is to love them, but he’s doing it as best as he can.

Here was my favorite quote:

How can I point people to Jesus? The smallest act of love answers the questions that Jesus is real. We get scared that we’re going to get it wrong but we never actually do anything. So, do something for your enemies.

+Jon Acuff spoke about how not to wreck your life as a young leader. I felt this session was highly practical for me, and am thankful that I went to it. This was helpful in regards to preventive maintenance for my heart. He shared four major flaws to be aware of:

Pride and Ego
Impatience
Expectations
Fear

Here was my favorite quote:

Celebrity is the worst drug in Christianity.

+Jo Saxon: I’ve heard Jo speak before and have always found the way she communicates fascinating. Maybe it’s because she’s from South Africa, but I really appreciate her perspective on missional living/community. She gave some marks of a missional life, they were:

Passionate spirituality
Radical community
Missional frontier (expansion)

Here was my favorite quote:

You can’t teach missional living if you aren’t living on mission.

+Matt Carter: This was by far my favorite session, as I was able to hear, and be reminded of some foundations and I was able to be affirmed in much of our direction as well. He shared three guiding principles to leading a church from Revelation 2:1-7:

Lead people to love their Savior more than they love their mission.
Lead people to understand the urgency of the mission.
Lead people to be agents of change in their context.

He asked some very good questions like: If our church packed its doors, would the city grieve. Would the city notice? If your youth group stopped, would the city grieve? Would the high school notice? You could have heard a pin drop. Questions I’ve heard before, but they rattled me more today for some reason.

Here was my favorite quotes:

When was the last time the gospel has moved you to tears?
Often as a Pastor, you need to remember that you’re a Christian too.
God wants to do more through you than just passing out bulletins.

By far, this has been the LAB that had the most impact on me. Loved it.

+Lysa TerKeurst: During this session, I laughed, cried, laughed some more, smiled, and cried again. Her story is riveting and all the guys felt the same way. We felt every emotion was brought about. Amazing. Very compelling story.

Here was my favorite quote:

If you serve The Lord right, there will be a wall of impossibility. Show up each day, and follow hard after God, and God will meet you at your impossibility.