Catalyst One Day - Baltimore

Huge fun having Catalyst One Day at Grace yesterday. Loved that we could be part of inspiring and resourcing leaders around the Balt/DC area and even farther.

The content of the talks was amazing - lots of great insights. Learning from Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel never gets old. Just as much fun was seeing and meeting all my friends [hey, I'm a WOO] from the Internets. This part is just as inspiring - these friends do what they do because God has called them and there is no other good reason.

Here are some of my selected notes:

+ Andy - Gaining and Sustaining Momentum
three components of sustained momentum - new, improved, improving
:: New - triggers momentum
Org momentum is often triggered by
new leadership
new direction
new product <-> program
Do we need a new leader, direction or product?
Momentum is never triggered by tweaking something old. It is triggered by introducing something new.
New does not guarantee sustained momentum. But new is an essential trigger for momentum.
:: Improved - new must be noticeable difference over the old.
If cost is an issue for something new, you are probably doing too much.
:: Improving
momentum is sustained through continuous improvement.
Continuous improvement requires systematic evaluation.
Continuous improvement requires unfiltered evaluation.
Continuous improvement requires that nothing and nobody be off limits. - everything is on the table.
Evaluation must be built into rhythm of your org.

+ Craig - Busting Barriers with Mindset Changes
3. think differently about the mission
we can't hurt someones feelings vs. we can't allow someone to hold back the mission of the church
roles -we hire for current instead of for future capacity
5. think differently about limitations
we can't because we don't vs. we can because we don't.
limitations -> innovation

+ Andy + Craig - Elder teams
: lifechurch:
14 people
5 staff
6 lay
3 pastors of other churches
can only fire him for big breaches - immorality or heresy - not for other stuff
no congregational vote
: NorthPoint
10-12 elders
Andy is permanent
elder selection team, only serve for a term
elders meet with andy once a month - their only job is to evaluate andy
church is staff run

"get the right people to the table to make the decisions"

+ Craig - Creating Personal Spiritual Momentum
1. do something to defeat your dark side
identify your dark side: my leadership dark side is ____
4. do something only you can do
You can only be the husband of your wife, the father of your children, only you can seek God on your behalf

+ Andy - Don't Be That Couch
[If you liked this talk, you should also read Erwin McManus' chapter entitled "Change Theology" from An Unstoppable Force. This talk also reminded me of Built To Last]
The Dip - Seth Godin
How The Mighty Fall - Jim Collins
Whereas programming begins as an answer to a question, over time it becomes part of org culture - it becomes to beat up old couch that people are emotionally tied to.
We must continue to be more committed to our mission than to our programming or our model.
"If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what would he or she do? Why shouldn't we walk out the door, come back in, and do it ourselves?" - Only the Paranoid Survive - Andy Grove [don't you love that book title?]
Leaders must bring the underlying assumptions that drive company strategy into line with changes in the external environment.

Here are two of my big takeaways:
+ If you want to know your dark side, ask your wife. Or your family. With some healthy and uncomfortable discussion [and I know I'm better for it,] mine are probably: a high aversion to risk, not nearly praying enough, a tilted view of success, and a gradual lessening of deep friendships. Yup, that's going to take some soul work.
+ Evaluation for improvement. Consistent and unfiltered. Like the item above, nothing about what we do should be off limits when we talk about whether it is working or not. Very relevant for Ember since culture and context are high values of ours - we have core tenets but seek to engage those in very adaptable ways.

The twitter hashtag for the event was #catoneday. Also, take a look at one of the intern's posts about the day.

Thanks again to the Catalyst team. DC will not be the same because of yesterday.

[Related: My Catalyst West Coast 09 notes.]