After a decent night's sleep we all were much more alert this first day of the Catalyst main event. Us and the other 12,997 people who are at this year's Catalyst. Crowded? That proved to be an understatement. But the energy was palpable. Fortunately, our good buddy, Tim Prickett from Kingsway is also down here, and he managed to snag us some great seats up in the balcony.
The theme of this year's event is "On Your Mark" and the importance of leaders leaving a mark on those under their influence. As with last year's event, there was so much good content, that I would regenerate it all here. But I do want to at least bring you a few of the highlights from the top-notch line-up of speakers.
Andy Stanley: pastor at NorthPoint Community Church here in Atlanta. Every leader leaves a mark. What mark will you leave? Am I willing to submit my leadership gifts and opportunities to God and promoting His story? It's not about making your mark; it's about God making His mark through you. We all leave a mark--whose mark is it going to be? (Note: This basic idea of everyone leaving their mark reminds me of one of the things I have shared not just with leaders, but with Christians in general. Essentially, all Christians leave an impression about Christ. What impression is it? After all, you may be the only Jesus people ever see.)
Jessica Jackley: Founder of Kiva.org. No real content that I took notes on, but I did want to share about her organization which is dedicated to microfinancing entrepreneurial endeavors in developing countries. Fantastic idea, which is having huge success. Four years ago, they financed 7 people at $3,000, the next year was $500,000, last year was $15 million, and they are anticipating over $100 million by next year. Incredibly effective effort! Check it out!
Malcolm Gladwell: author of The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers. He talked about the danger of overconfidence as a leader. A sign of overconfidence? The leader stops listening to others. On the contrary, humility = listening to others and soliciting their input as the organization evolves and develops.
Rob Bell: author of Velvet Elvis and pastor in Grand Rapids. Rob also produced the NOOMA video series. One of the things which really caught my attention was his emphasis on the second of the Two Greatest Commandments, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Specifically, he emphasized the second part of that, the assumption that we are actually loving ourselves. The truth, as he pointed out, is that we often don't actually love ourselves or take care of ourselves. Are we getting enough sleep? Are we taking care of our bodies physically? Are we taking the Sabbath seriously? More personally, does our spouse and family get the best of us, or just the leftovers, after we've given everything else to our work or ministry? Very unsettling for me personally, as I struggle with these very same questions in my own life and leadership.
Tony Dungy: As you might imagine, Coach Dungy was the highlight for me and those in our group who reveled in the fact that our coach not only took the Colts to the 2006 SuperBowl, but most importantly, because of who he is as a person and a leader. He didn't give a speech, but was interviewed about his life, his coaching, and his leadership. The takeaway for me was when he mentioned that the most important leadership is done in the down times. He recalled a week during the 2006 season after the Colts had been blown out late in December. The naysayers were all counting the Colts out. And yet, Mr. Steady Eddy said at the team meeting that week that they weren't going to change anything. They were simply going to stick with their gameplan, but tighten it up. The rest is history. He said, however, that many of the players pointed back to that particular meeting as the turning point for their season and really solidified them as a team as they moved into the playoffs.
I continue to be so impressed by him and so proud to have had him as our coach. I had wanted to try to get a chance to chat with him for a minute, but he wasn't around after his session. However, Brother Stephen got a chance to chat with him briefly and tell him how proud we all are of who he has been on and off the field. Couldn't have said it better myself.
(Oh, and did I mention that they actually had a tattoo artist come on stage and surprise the regular emcee Lanny Donoho by giving him a tattoo in honor of the 10th anniversary for Catalyst? Many of us signed the impromptu petition to have Lanny tattoed. I must confess, I didn't think they'd actually do it, but with Catalyst, you never know what they're going to think up...:)
All in all, it was a long, but very good, day. Tomorrow, we round out the conference with Dave Ramsey, Chuck Swindoll, Louie Giglio, and others. Should be a great day! But also will be a long night as we drive back to Indy at the end of the event tomorrow evening. See you then! 
In regards to Tony Dungy's interview: Another great Hoosier Bill Gaither regularly features Lynda Randall singing a song whose main theme is "The God on the mountain is still God in the valley, when things go wrong, He'll make them right, for the God of the daytime is still God in the night!"
Posted by: Don Payne | October 10, 2009 at 08:50 PM