My Trip to Catalyst '07

Last week I had the privilege of traveling to Atlanta for the 2007 Catalyst Conference. It was my first time so I didn't really know what to expect. At this point I can tell you that it "Rocked my World!"

It was held in an arena with 11,000 people attending. It had unbelievable music (my seat was shaking at one point it was so loud!). The North Point team is very creative so there was always something funny and entertaining filling in the gaps (i.e. they gave John Maxwell a live camel as a gift for the "man who has everything", they also had a dueling orchestra/electric guitar segment that was way cool).

The lineup of speakers was incredible.

• Andy Stanley
• Patrick Lencioni
• Francis Chan
• John Maxwell
• Tim Sanders
• Erwin McManus
• Rick Warren
• Dave Ramsey

Many have already blogged about the content of these incredible speakers. (See Tim Stevens blog for a great recap of each one.)

My highlights

• Being challenged in my passion and love for God - BIG TIME!
• Worshipping with 11,000 fellow believers with an unbelievable worship team and band that literally shook the house
• Hanging out with my travelling com padres and discussing everything under the sun
• Finding a great Italian restaurant that was so good we ate there two nights in a row!
• Seeing the winning hit by Travis Hafner (NY game 2) in the airport because our flight home had been delayed
• Atlanta traffic - NOT!

While I was definitely challenged by each speaker, my favorite was Craig Groeschel, founder of Lifechurch.TV. He started by declaring he was a "Practical Atheist". A practical atheist is someone who believes God exists but lives his life as if he doesn't! Wow, does that hit home, or what?

Questions you can ask to help determine if you are a "Practical Atheist":

1. Do I believe my Effort/Ability is better than God's power?
2. Do I blame myself for failures or declines in my ministry? If so, then I also must take credit for the successes (instead of God)
3. Do I believe my private life can be separate from my ministry life? Do I have "hidden" sins that no one knows about?
4. Do I worry more about pleasing people than I do God? I am more nervous about what people think than what God thinks?

If you answer "yes" to one or more of these questions than whether you like it or not, you are acting more like an atheist than someone who fully understands and believes in the power of the Almighty God!

Ouch... That doesn't feel good, does it? Craig went on to say that this should "Disturb" us. It should get our every attention.

If I truly believe there is a God who loves me, leads me, empowers me, forgives me, and trusts me, then I need to be disturbed about:

• The Lost
• The Poor
• The Sick
• My Sin
• My Lack of Faith

Wow! Now you can see why this message challenged me so much! We can't just say we believe in God. We have to live it. We can't be full-time ministers and part-time followers of God!

"God, I pray that you DISTURB ME to the point where I have no other option than to seek you as the sovereign ruler of this life!"

What should be DISTURBING you???