Catalyst Atlanta 2012 // Day One Recap

As Catalyst 2012 began with Labs on Wednesday, attendees joined together at the Gwinnett Arena excited to "Make" something of their experience, of their lives and of what God has called them to do. The day began with Aaron Keyes leading worship and welcoming Catalyst Leaders with Psalm 149.

As leaders opened their hearts, Bob Goff, Founder of Restore International and Author of Love Does, graced the stage to share how to discover a secretly incredible life. He challenged Catalyst Leaders to "Love God. Love People. Do Stuff," and explained that, "If you do that, it will rock the world and everyone will want to have what you're having - Jesus." Bob's contagious energy allowed attendees to understand his concept of living and loving extravagantly. He explained that although some people may question the way we act, that we are not defined by what people are telling us to do or be. Instead, we are defined by that which Jesus has called us to do: to live with our palms up and open, to point others toward Him and to change lives.

As the day continued, Mark Batterson, Pastor of National Community Church, Blogger and Author of The Circle Maker, showed that lives can truly be changed by the one thing you cannot delegate: prayer. As many members of the church recognize, prayer is an important part of ministry. However, what Mark proved is that prayer is not just important, but rather a crucial part of your daily life. He urged us to, "Pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you." With countless tasks, people and thoughts taking precious moments of time, Mark explained that delegating other aspects of our jobs is of the utmost importance in order to dedicate our lives to prayer over our organizations, circles, friends, families and cities.

Michael Hyatt, Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishing, Blogger and Author of Platform, offered another vital communication tool for attendees in his session. As he spoke about creating a platform for yourself in a noisy world, leaders learned about the necessity of being heard in today's world. One way to do so is by sharing our passion. Additionally, Michael presented 5 tips for building a powerful, personal platform: Start with wow. Prepare to launch. Build your home base. Expand your reach. Engage your tribe. He challenged attendees to take this opportunity to step up and take the stand on their own platform, ultimately engaging with the people they are most trying to reach.

As the day continued, Christine Caine, Founder of The A21 Campaign and Author of Undaunted, spoke about her own passion and platform by connecting the role of an activist to the role of the Church. She urged listeners to embrace compassion and to not be complacent within our roles in the church.

"A lot of us are sympathetic and empathetic, but not compassionate," Caine said, "But compassion is not compassion until you roll up your sleeves and get involved." As followers of Christ, we are not a threat to the Enemy until we are inconvenienced and involved. Since launching the A21 campaign, Caine has learned that the degree to which you are willing to be inconvenienced is the degree to which God is willing to use you. As James 2:17 says, "See also faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." Caine closed by prompting session attendees to think of how the church can impact the Kingdom of God if we actually DO what we profess to believe?

Jon Acuff, Blogger of Stuff Christians Like and Author of Quitter, ended the day by sharing the five ways we can all be More Awesome, More Often. Beginning in our twenties and continuing through our sixties, we will navigate the stages of learning, editing, mastering, harvesting and guiding. We do so by walking one of two paths: the Path of Average or the Path of Awesome. Whatever path we take, we will harvest and guide. Most importantly, Acuff urged attendees not to climb entitlement ladders-we cannot expect to end up in our dream without experiencing the preceding stages first. Finally, Acuff reminded us to play to the size of our heart, not to the size of our audience. That's when we're living with purpose.

Overall, Catalyst Labs presented leaders with valuable content and inspired them to "Make" something of all they learned today. As attendees prepare for Catalyst 2012 tomorrow, we are expectant of all that God is doing in their lives. Stay tuned tomorrow for a recap of the Catalyst Main Sessions!