Andy Stanley, pastor at North Point Community Church, opened the main sessions at Catalyst 2011.

He challenged those at the conference with these statements as they related to the theme, “Be Present.”

The more successful you are, the less accessible you will become.

For many this is frustrating. For others, this is liberating. But this is simply a leadership truth. And it’s not a bad thing.

There’s part of us that reads this and says, “Not me. I’ll always be accessible.”

 Refuse to face this reality and burn out by trying to be accessible to everyone.

You get stretched really thin if you ignore this principle. You can only be really, truly accessible to very few people. Over time, your body is in many different locations, and your mind goes with it.

 Some people use success as an excuse to become more inaccessible than necessary.

We see people using success as an excuse. Over time, the one who spreads himself too thin is no longer “present.”

Some people like to live with the mantra:

Unawareness is bliss.

The more aware you are of the needs around you, the more you often feel helpless and put-upon. Because no problem is fixed in 30 minutes, is it?

Being aware of the problems around us wears us out.

The Apostle Paul helps us with this.

Let us not become weary in coing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:9-10

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

You have limited time and opportunity, but as you have time and opportunity…

Here’s the truth from this passage:

• You can’t shut it all out.
• You can’t hide in your office from people.
• You can’t take it all on.

In ministry, this is one of the primary tensions you have to manage. There is no solution for this. If you ever solve this problem, your heart is hard towards people.

This is the phrase that Andy lives by, and the one he lives out with his family all of the time:

Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.

In school, when people asked the lunch lady, “Can I have an extra cookie?” she’d respond with, “If I give it to you, I have to give it to everyone.” To which you reply, “No you don’t…you can just give it to me!”

Fairness ended in the garden of Eden.

Nothing has been fair since. Fair is nothing to shoot for.

Don’t be fair. Be engaged.

3 tips to be engaged:

1. Go deep rather than wide.
2. Get involved with an individual couple.
3. Go long-term rather than short-term

If you give every single one of your leaders who’s struggling an hour…you’ll be burned out. You’d be better off giving one couple 20 or 30 hours. If you don’t, it’ll rob your joy.

This is a challenge for me, personally. I would like to be able to “fix” everything. I’m grateful for Andy’s wisdom here. I needed it for sure.

Are you tempted to “fix” everything and everyone?

 

I’ve heard Andy Stanley say that vision “leaks.”  Here’s what he means:

Vision doesn’t “stick,” so you need to continue to cast the vision of your organization.  If you don’t continue to cast that vision, it disappears from the hearts and minds of those in your organization.

And I agree with that.

But let me put a twist on it.

Vision “leaks.”  Here’s what I mean:

If you cast your vision well, then everybody in your organization will “leak” that vision on a consistent basis.

You’ll see the effects of clearly communicated mission and vision in all of the different areas of your organization.  As people put on the lens of the worldview of your church, every idea that they have and every plan they make will fall in line with the vision you’ve cast.  It will leak onto everything they touch.

The goal of casting a vision is that people would not just nod their heads in agreement.  You want people who buy in so much that they become marketers and salesmen of the vision themselves, working to persuade others that their vision is too small, too weak, and too bland.  In effect, they begin to do the same thing that you do: cast vision.

But the vision has to start “leaking” with you.  If you’re not invested to the point that the vision “leaks” out of you in your conversations, ideas, current plans, future plans, and how your corner of the organization impacts the rest…then you need to ask God for a new vision.  Because if it’s not leaking out of you, then I can guarantee it’s not leaking out of those you’re leading.

If your vision isn’t “leaking,” maybe you should recast it.

Or get a new vision.

Have you ever seen your vision “leak” in the way I’ve described it, leaking out to others inside and outside the organization?

Ever had to recast that vision because it quit “leaking”?

 

I’ve spent the week at Catalyst Conference, and have been completely impressed with the way this conference has run.  I thought I’d mention a few of the folks that helped pull this event together.  You can read all of my Follow Fridays HERE.

1. Brad Lomenick – Brad’s leads the Catalyst Conference team, and did a great job pulling everything together this year.  It was a great success.  Brad blogs on leadership HERE, and you can find him on Twitter HERE.

2. LV – I first met LV when we rode from our church offices to Ruby Tuesday’s in a 1985 Volkswagon Vanagon.  Nope, not kidding.  LV was on a road trip around the country to connect with leaders who had been impacted by Catalyst.  LV does a great job investing in and coaching young leaders.  You can follow him on Twitter HERE.

3. Reggie Joiner – Reggie’s talk at the opening labs was phenomenal.  You can read my notes HERE.  I love the work Reggie is doing with his ministry, Orange, revolutionizing the way churches lead students and families.  He stays around all week at the conference, also, to emcee.  You can follow him on Twitter HERE.

4.Andy Stanley – I know, I know…Andy isn’t technically on the team that organizes and pulls off the conference.  But he spoke to launch the conference, and will close the conference this evening.  You can read my notes from his session HERE.  I love hearing him speak, because I feel like he communicates in such a way that he can take a difficult concept and explain it in a way that makes me feel like it’s easy to understand.  You can follow him on Twitter HERE.

5. Tripp and Tyler – I’ve mentioned them before, but I’ll do it again.  These guys emceed the event, bringing a twist of creativity and humor to the announcements.  You can follow Tripp on Twitter HERE, blog HERE.  You can follow Tyler on Twitter HERE, blog HERE.

 

Opening Catalyst Conference, Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church, discussed the internal tension that we all carry that’s associated with our appetite for more.

As leaders, certain appetites are heightened:

• progress
• greater responsibility
• respect
• desire to win
• growth
• fame
• achievement
• to be envied

There are 3 things that are universally true about our appetites:

1. God created them, but sin destroyed them.
2. Appetites are never fully and finally satisfied.  Though we think there’s some amount, or size, or goal that will fulfill our appetite…which leads to tension.
3. Your appetite always wants what it wants now, never later.

How you deal with your appetites will determine the direction of your life.  If you are ruled and controlled by your appetites, the end will be embarrassing.

Genesis 25 centers around a birthright.  Esau was set to become instantly wealthier than all of his siblings, receive the highest status in his family, and receive the best of God’s blessing.  Who, honestly, would trade that for a bowl of stew?  Who would trade their future for something as temporary as that?

Scientists have shown that a your brain chemically changes when appetite happens:

1. Impact bias – your brain takes a simple appetite and blows it out of proportion (ever experienced buyer’s remorse?).
2. Focalism – your brain focuses your mind on one thing and blocks out everything else.

What we need is for someone to reframe our appetites.  Because whatever we want, we’ll find ourselves wanting more of that.

Don’t allow your appetite to dictate and control your leadership.

What’s your bowl of stew?  What’s hard to say “no” to now?  What are you trying to talk yourself into?

What are you contemplating that your spouse is uncomfortable with?

 

Looking back over my spiritual growth, I can definitely notice ups and down. I have had periods of no growth and periods of slow growth. I’ve also had a few times when I’ve grown rapidly.

The most memorable time of spiritual growth for me was when I was in late high school.  Every Friday night, I met with a group of my friends (about 10-12 guys) to study the Bible and talk about life.  We chose various curriculums to guide us, but it was the relationships that were formed in that group that really helped me to grow in my walk with the Lord.  They helped me to see the possibilities God had for me, pointed out areas of my life that needed to change, prayed for me, and helped my walk with the Lord to expand and prepare me for what God had next.  Little did I know that those Friday nights would be a training ground for the call to full-time ministry that God would call me to 5 years later.

Andy Stanley says that there are 5 things God uses to grow our faith:

1. Practical Teaching

2. Providential Relationships

3. Private Disciplines

4. Personal Ministry

5. Pivotal Circumstances

I see small groups as the place where each of these is realized.  Fleshed out.  Nourished.  Given the chance to succeed.

Looking back over my life, I can see how God has used small groups to shape me and help define the calling God placed on my life.

Have you had a similar experience?  Leave a comment and brag on what God has done in your life through small groups.

God has used small groups to change my life.  Have groups changed yours?