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A few weeks ago I attended my first Catalyst conference with the staff at RVC. Matt, Gordon, and I were all looking forward to the opportunity to get out of town and spend some time refreshing our perspectives towards ministry and casting some dreams and vision for the future of the church. None of us had attended a conference in over 5 years (it’s been since 2003 for me) so we were excited to hear some fresh teaching.

The theme of this year’s conference was Take Courage–a timely topic in a time when many church leaders feel uncertain about the future. Most speakers focused on the fact that ministry and leadership are difficult callings and that we need to hold onto the convictions that first called us to serve, trusting God for the rest.

I was incredibly encouraged by the two day event and am just now getting time to unpack and personalize much of what I heard. Here are some of the highlights.  (Comments in italics are my own insights):

Andy Stanley

• There are singular “tipping points” in your life and ministry. These may be large, dramatic moments or relatively small decisions.
• Living courageously in the mundane details of our lives prepares us to face the decisions we make in these “tipping point moments.”
• Above all else, we ought to fear living outside of God’s will for us. There is nothing worse than living without the confidence that God has us where we should be.

John Acuff

• “If you’re not a leader at home–if you only lead on stage–you’re not a leader. You’re an actor.”

Dave Ramsey

• People matter. This includes people on our teams, people we’re trying to serve and (in the business world) even our competition. The decisions we make as leads have a direct affect on all these people.
• When your house (finances) are in order it frees you to live courageously. (I know this is nothing new from Dave, but it packed a particularly powerful punch this time. So many Christians are held back from pursuing God because debt, materialism, and financial mismanagement hold them back. I know it’s true in my life and I’d like to take steps to change it.)

John Perkins

• Plan and work alongside the people you serve. Give them the dignity to own their problems and the joy to work towards a solution together. Otherwise you end up patronizing them and become frustrated and burnt out. (His comments were given in the context of urban ministry, but I feel they apply in any service context.)