Francis Chan - Catalyst 2009

If you don't know about Francis Chan, I encourage you to check out info about him Here. I recently listened to the audio version of his book, Crazy Love...So I was looking forward to "meeting" him/hearing what he had to say.

His intro went a little like this:

"I got a phone call from the people at Catalyst inviting me to come - and I asked, What would you like me to talk about? The reply was, "Jesus". And I was just TOTALLY blown away; saying, "you just want me to talk about Jesus"?"

As "Funny" as that may sound, I could totally understand where he was coming from. Sometimes things/life become so fast paced, "structured", thought through, "set up"; that we can almost "forget" what it's like just to BE with Jesus......to come into His presence with NO distractions or noises. Well, let me just tell you, Francis Chan did an absolute Bang Up job getting all 13,000 people to be still and get into the presence of Jesus - and then lead us all into communion. You could just sense the peace throughout the arena.

Here are just some Highlights/Notes/Thoughts from Evening 1 of Catalyst. However, let me first give you a "warning". You know how it is when you read a book, piece of scripture or hear something that just "Rocks your world" - and you just want to share it with all? And then when you do, the person you're sharing it with is not so "taken back" by it, as you were? Well.....just keep that in mind ;)

• Ephesians 2
• "If your not soaking in the Grace of God, your not giving it to others"
• "Pray for grace, beg for it, get on your knees and beg"
• "When you're filled with Jesus, you cannot help but pour it out"
• Romans 5
• "We are Reconciled, Saved; We've been given Hope, Love, Grace, Faith, Justice"
• ~ Now, I understand that that one sentence or one note is not so "profound", but I encourage you to dig into that scripture and ask God to speak to You - and I guarantee you, that He will!
• 1 Peter 5:6 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time"
• We must first humble ourselves, under His Mighty hand.
• We must be watchful and self controlled!
• We must stand firm!
• He (and ONLY He) will restore us...........After we have suffered a little while (AMEN!!!)
• He confirms us & establishes us
• "Giving the grace that God himself gives us, allows people to see who our Father is"
• Galatians 6
• We are NOT slaves, but co-heir's with Christ, known by The Almighty God!

Leadership Thoughts: First of all, my definition of a leader is not just for someone leading out in ministry. While I have not always even seen or considered myself a Leader in any respect, I have been honored with some amazing leaders who have not only called leadership out in me, but have demonstrated that being a Leader goes way beyond the walls of a church building. If you are a Christ Follower, than You're a leader - period! And as a Leader, we MUST always keep our eyes Fixed on the Author and Perfecter of our Faith! How can we truly, effectively lead without that? Don't get too busy doing things for God and forget to be with Him. No matter where you lead, know this; You ARE leading, you are sowing and most importantly, He is watching. Every second matters and every second strikes a cord in eternity.

Father, thank You SO much for speaking to each individual person at Catalyst. I pray right now for the very eyes that may stumble upon this blog. That they dig deeper Lord, asking You what it is You want to speak into their lives. I pray for that leader that might be frustrated or exhausted - I ask that you re-direct their gaze to be fixed on You and You alone. For we are in a race along a narrow road that requires our very best. Father, I pray for those that may have felt forgotten - I pray that see any form of rejection as you wooing them back into your presence. May we continually rend our hearts and not our garments. In Jesus name, AMEN!