Kraig Krempa

Catalyst has “official bloggers.” I am not one of them.

However, I think the concept of an official blogger might be an oxymoron. Isn’t the idea that blogging gives everyone a voice?

I was at Catalyst, and I have a blog, so I am dubbing myself an “official blogger.”

Here are some of my favorite quotes and quips from day 2 of the Catalyst Conference:

FROM PRISCILLA SHIRER:

1. “When God interrupts your life, you have to decide whether or not you will go.” Priscilla used Joshua as an example and showed us four things Joshua did when God interrupted his life: (1) He acted immediately in obedience to God (Joshua 3:1). (2) He acted fearlessly (Joshua 3:2). (3) He acknowledged the presence of God (Joshua 3:3-4). (4) He anticipated God’s miracles (Joshua 3:5).
2. “There are lots of great opportunities out there, but if God isn’t going that direction — you shouldn’t either, no matter how exciting it looks!”
3. “We’ve never been this way before, but God has! Follow Him!”
4. “We must think we are God; If we didn’t, we wouldn’t try to control things the way we do.”
5. God has interrupted your life for His plan. You are either on your way to the interruption, in the middle of it, or walking away from it. That’s the nature of the interruption.” 

FROM DAVE RAMSEY (The Momentum Theorem):

1. “When you have momentum, you look better than you are. When you don’t have momentum, you are better than you look.”
2. “Momentum is created. It does not randomly occur.”
3. The Momentum Theorem: Fi/T(G) = M (“Focused Intensity, over Time, multiplied by God, equals Unstoppable Momentum!“)
4. FOCUS: “Focus is lost for two reasons: Fear & Greed.”
5. INTENSITY: “Pour intensity into things that really matter….Intensity causes things to move.”
6. OVER TIME: “‘If I persist long enough I will win.’ – Og Mandino; In reference to The Tortoise and the Hare…’The tortoise wins the race every time.’”
7. MULTIPLIED BY GOD: You and I are finite. God is infinite….He is in control and He carries you in the palm of His hand….Get plugged in to Him as a power source, and your momentum will become unstoppable.”

FROM CHUCK SWINDOLL:

1. “When God wants to do an impossible task, He takes an impossible person … and crushes Him.”
2. “I’m proud of you and all you are planning; but I want to encourage you to leave room for the crushing.”
3. TEN THINGS SWINDOLL HAS LEARNED DURING HIS 50 YEARS OF MINISTRY: (1) It’s lonely to lead. (2) It’s dangerous to succeed. (3) It’s hardest at home. (4) It’s essential to be real. (5) It’s painful to obey. (6) Brokenness and failure are necessary. (7) My attitude is more important than my actions. (8) Integrity eclipses image. “The best things you do are not out front; it’s what happens behind the scenes that counts.” (9) God’s way is better than my way. “The problem with you is you’re too capable.” (10) Christlikeness begins and ends with humility.
4. “Tradition is the living faith of those now dead; Traditionalism is the dead faith of those now living.”
5. FIVE STATEMENTS WORTH REMEMBERING: (1) “WHATEVER you do, do more with others and less alone.” (2) “WHENEVER you do it, emphasize quality not quantity.” (3) “WHEREVER you go, do it the same as if you were among those who know you best.” (4) “WHOEVER may respond, keep a level head.” (5) “HOWEVER long you lead, keep on dripping with gratitude and grace.”

FROM LOUIE GIGLIO:

1. “I don’t know that much about leadership, but I do know this: It’s all about the person of Jesus Christ.”
2. “Everything in life is about Jesus. If I make my life about Jesus, I make my life about what everything life is about, and that’s what I really want my life to be about!”
3. “‘On your mark…get set…GO!’ But before you can go, you have to know where you’re going….So where are you going?”
4. “We’re all going to the same destination ~~~> The face of the Son of God.”
5. “Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.” – Thomas Merton
6. “Life begins and ends with God.”
7. “Leadership is choosing wisely to seek God’s face and then reflecting His face to the world.”
8. “We find matchless beauty and significance in the face of Jesus.”
9. “The confidence and courage to become the leaders we were meant to be is found in the face of Jesus.”
10. “Leadership is not about getting ahead; it’s about recognizing the church already has a Head.”
11. “I’m a complete mess but He’s an awesome Head and I’m never going to embarrass Him by saying, ‘I don’t know if we can do that.’“

FROM ANDY STANLEY (on church organizational leadership & staffing):

1. “I’m all for having a ministry, but I try very hard not to hire a ministry.”
2. “Occasionally, there are gaps between what we expect people to do and what they actually do….We choose what goes in those gaps….We choose to believe the best or assume the worst….Two things make it difficult for us to assume the best: (1) What I see, and (2) Who I am.”
3. “Developing a culture of trust is critical to the health and success of your organization….Trust fuels productivity….A culture characterized by trust attracts trustworthy people and quickly surfaces those who aren’t….You will never know who you can’t trust until you trust them….You will never know who you can trust until you trust them….Trustung is risky. Refusing to trust is riskier….Trust enables an organization to move faster.”
4.  ”Developing a culture of trust begins with the leader….Trust and suspicion are both telegraphed from the leader throughout an entire department or organization….When you can’t choose to trust, you must choose to confront….Concealed suspicion poisons the entire relationship….The consequences of confrontation are far less severe than the consequences of concealment….To develop a culture of trust, leaders must be trustworthy.”
5. FIVE COMMITMENTS: (1) When there is a gap between what I expected and what I experienced, I will believe the best. (2) When other people assume the worst about you, I will come to your defense. (3) If what I experience begins to erode my trust, I will come directly to you about it. (4) When I’m convinced I will not be able to deliver on a promise, I will inform you ahead of time. (5) When you confront me about the gaps I’ve created, I will tell you the truth.

FROM KRAIG KREMPA (Official Catalyst Blogger):

Hopefully that’s given you a feel for what Catalyst is all about. It’s designed to challenge Christian leaders to move toward significant action; following God with reckless abandon in the midst of a lost & hurting generation. There’s a world that needs us … because it needs Christ.

What has Catalyst done in me?

It’s too early to tell. There are thousands of things bouncing around in my spirit right now. Most of those things will dissipate over the next few weeks. Some things will stick around for a few months. If I am lucky, one or two of the things I saw, heard and/or experienced at Catalyst will nudge me toward God’s ultimate destiny for my life.

My prayer is that the things written here will do the same thing for you. Maybe the better question is, “What is God saying to you?“

 UPDATE 10.20.09: Thank you Catalyst for adding me to your list of bloggers! That was an unexpected surprise! Maybe next year I’ll dub myself a “Catalyst speaker” just to see what happens!!

 

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