Catalyst_09 pt. 2

Does size matter? So many times we get wrapped up in the idea that bigger churches are better. I've got to tell you that I use to have this same mindset. I felt that the bigger the church equaled bigger resources resulting in the ability to minister on a grand scale. But, I've come to the conclusion that this isn't right at all. Christians tend to be slightly more judgemental then most. This is why we tend to judge success by size, where in fact success has nothing to do with size, but life change. We rank our churches on how fast they grow, or by how many other churches we start. We don't look at how many marriages God has saved, or how many lives God has transformed. We look up at the scoreboard and look at numbers, numbers that don't matter. When we as ministers become content with seeing lives changed and people falling in love with Jesus we find success. When we have this type of success everything else falls into place. Success isn't found in the next popular quote we came up with to twitter, when we submit to the love of Christ and pass that on to others we find ourselves looking through the lens of Christ. This is where true success is found.

Catalyst Recap

What an awesome two days! Now I admit that this years Catalyst was a first for me, so to say I was in awe of everything would be an understatement. If somehow you are not familiar, Catalyst is a leadership conference which attracts many Christian leaders from the Church and business worlds. For the next couple of days I hope to share with you some major points that impacted me throughout the conference.

Before I get too involved I want to share that the theme of the conference was, "On Your Mark". Hopefully, as you read the meaning behind this theme will clarify itself. The first speaker of the conference was Andy Stanley. Now I have to admit, I typically like to read his work more then I do listening to him. Not that he isn't a gifted speaker, that's just my preference. One quote that stuck with me was, "What man is a man who does not leave the world better?" What a thought. So many times we find ourselves consumed with our daily routine & schedules that we negate the fact that we are to truly impacting this world. The question is how are we impacting and what kind of shape will it be in when we are gone? We have got to leave a lasting impression on this world. I understand that the task sounds daunting and can be intimidating. The trick here is not getting caught up in leaving a big mark, it would be nice if we could all leave big marks, but realistically we know that won't happen. So we leave a small mark here, and a small mark there. We don't keep score, but we know that these small marks add up. The question posed by Andy, and I ask you is this, "Every leader leaves a mark, what kind of mark will you leave?"

Another thought that impacted me is this, "God takes full responsibility for the life wholly devoted to him." When we fully devote our lives to God he has our back. He takes responsibility for us and protects us. When this happens he leaves his mark on us, allowing us to leave his mark on somebody else.

Finally, hopefully this will challenge you like it challenged me. When you read this put your name in the blank. "Living to make _______ mark is to small a thing to give my life to. I want to be perfectly positioned for God to make his mark through me." Ultimately, it's not about your mark, it's about his mark on your life and the mark he leaves on others through you.