leaders

Catalyst Comes to a Close

Carrie Nye — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:03:38 -0700

What do you get when you bring together gum walls, skinny jeans, confetti, creepy mustache's on twenty-something’s, poetry, comedy, rock music, hipsters, rap music, any and all music really, Tenley from last seasons The Bachelor, time travel, 6 roach coaches and powerful speakers like Eugene Cho, Kay Warren, Mark Driscoll, Wes Stafford and Donald Miller, just to name a few?

Catalyst West Coast.

The two-day leadership conference came to a close yesterday afternoon as Andy Stanley taught leadership to the 3400 leaders present. He made comment like, "As leaders, you should be making as few decisions as possible" and "Only do what you can do." He also said "Leadership is about getting things done through other people."

Earlier in the day, Wess Stafford of Compassion International said, "I'm convinced the prayer of a child in poverty or in abuse is the most powerful force." Just before making that statement, he said something that really struck me. He said, "We may not be committing the sin of endangering a child, but we are committing the sin of omission by allowing a child to be endangered."

Erwin McManus talked about how Solomon got it wrong when he said "there is nothing new under the sun." Erwin said "God created us for originality; not just effectiveness. Everything God does is new. He is constantly creating the new. Only in the new do we find the beautiful. Live lives of story and meaning and create new beauty."

The speakers were all great. The music was awesome. The crowd was very enthusiastic. Some of the highlights for me were hearing Andy Stanley, Wess Stafford and Mark Droscoll. Comedian Michael Jr. was a definite highlight. In fact, you'll want to pick up his documentary Comedy: The Road Less Traveled this fall. The documentary follows Michael Jr. as he tours the nation bringing comedy to Skid Row, drug rehabilitation homes and prisons.

I hope you've enjoyed hearing a bit about the conference and reading a handful of the quotes that I've taken away from the speakers over the past few days. It was pretty cool to be there.

The Evolution of Worship Gear!

brianwurzell — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:57:14 -0700

Earlier today I had the chance to team up with Ryan Axtell to really dive into the nuts and bolts of the evolution of the Acoustic Guitar for the Worship Leader. In this video, Ryan uncovers a new discovery of ours that we think could shape the culture of equipment for Worship Leaders, internationally. Have a listen and let me know your thoughts! This will also be featured on our Cornerstone Worship Arts Blog.

Sonic Awareness - Session 1 from brianwurzell on Vimeo.

Vent

Chuck Bomar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:11:31 -0700

As I write I'm confused, perplexed, bewildered...you name it. Before I go too far here, I admit from the start that this post is about me getting this out - not as much of a help to others. However, maybe this venting will touch something within you for the good.

Vent: frankly, I'm pissed.

As a pastor I'm supposed to be a spiritual leader. This means I lead in spiritual things and have the spiritual health of people in mind in everything I do. Frankly, I'm getting more and more ticked off with "spiritual leaders" who don't care about the spiritual health of people, but rather through actions seem to focus on everything but that.

I'm hearing more and more people say that they've never seen spiritual leaders actually help them focus on their true spiritual health. Giving purely head knowledge, yes, hear that. Putting on programs, yes, hear that. Focusing on behavioral issues, yep, hear that too. Giving funny messages, yes. None of these things are bad in and of themselves, but focusing on purely spiritual issues and moving people toward pure spiritual health is too UNcommon in church leadership today.

Vent: this is what pisses me off.

I long for the day when our churches are filled with true spiritual leaders. I long for the day when our churches are led by those who are ONLY concerned with the relationship between God and those who they shepherd. I long for the day when Christianity has an appropriate reputation, even among believers. Shoot, the reason we don't have a proper reputation with people outside the church is because we don't even have a good one with those inside.

I believe God wants more for His church. I know some faithful people leading in the church today who are leading with true spiritual maturity. I just wish this was the majority, the norm.

Vent: the phrase, "all healthy things grow" is getting under my skin.

Frankly, I don't disagree with the statement. But, I am convinced that far too many "spiritual leaders" are more concerned about numerical growth than they are about spiritual health. This, my friends, needs to change!

Vent: I needed to get this out here, otherwise the next leader that asked me how "our numbers are" in our church would've surely gotten a mouth full.