Catalyst West, Day 1

It's been a couple years since I've been to Catalyst West, but yesterday was a reminder of the energy, excitement, and fun at the conference. That's what it should mean to be a Christian, and that's what you get at the conference — that an a lot of great information in a short period of time.

But, perhaps my biggest take away from yesterday is that the church should spend more time having fun. Below are a few other nuggets I got from the many great speakers I heard.

Henry Cloud:
Cloud kicked off the conference, and he brought plenty to consider. The theme of the conference is Known, and how we create our identity as leaders in Christ. He had three ideas:

* Leaders need focused attention.
* Leaders can only realize their identity in a positive emotional climate.
* Leadership is not meant to be done alone; it needs to be done from a relationally connected place.

Bob Goff:
I like Bob Goff. I first learned of him through his appearance in Donald Miller's books. He's a firecracker of energy with a heart for sharing the love of God with people. Here's some things I took away from Bob's talk:

* We need to minister at the intersection of hope and fear.
* We need to step out of our comfort zone and minister on the edge of yikes.
* The gap between vision and availability is our ego.
* Finally, we need to trust each other more, especially in our failures, and we need to show love to all, especially those we disagree with.

Simon Sinek:
I had never heard Simon before, but I loved his talk. He looked at the principles of leadership in the military to understand why our approach doesn't work in the civilian world. It comes down to priorities. A leader in the military will sacrifice themselves for their fellow soldiers, while leaders in the business world frequent sacrifice subordinates to protect their bonuses. In other words, we have it backwards. Here's some powerful thoughts I took away:

* Leaders set the environment.
* Trust and cooperation are essential in good leadership.
* Good leadership can only be measured over and extended period of time, and is measured by effect on people, not numbers.
* Be the leader you wish you had.

Francis Chan:
I was excited to hear Francis Chan. I've gone through the study on his book, "Crazy Love," twice. He didn't disappoint. Here's some of the ideas that resonated with me:

* Our identity is found in Christ, and we should be thankful for what we have and secure in the knowledge that we are doing what God made us for.
* God knew us and our potential before we were born, and He laid out the plans for our lives.
* Our joy and security come from being known by God.

On to day two — nine more hours and a bunch more speakers!