Catalyst Atlanta Speaker Spotlight // Jen Hatmaker

We are so excited about Catalyst Atlanta 2012. If you haven't entered for a chance to win new kicks or a dream vacation do so NOW! You also get 35+ songs as a FREE download gift from us & a few of our favorite musical artist friends.

Continuing through to October we will be featuring a different speaker answering some questions about the MAKING of a leader. We are really pumped for YOU to get to know these leaders on a deeper level & have them answer some tough [and some fun] questions about leadership. We had such a great response from our speakers we are excited to be able to share two speaker spotlights with you each week, on Tuesday & Thursday.

Today we chat with blogger, author, AND speaker, Jen Hatmaker!

Looking back at the past 10 years what are some of your biggest mistakes that you learned from that you would share with others to not repeat the same thing?
Looking back over the last ten years of ministry, one of my biggest pitfalls was pigeonholing myself into a particular Christian groupthink. Blame on being a first-born, blame it on being a rule follower, blame it on Christian guilt (or just blame it on me if you're judgmental like that), but I drank the Church Leadership Koolaid being served up in our little corner without batting an eye. I feared dissenters and distrusted upenders of the status quo. I liked being popular and avoided controversy. I listened to the same kinds of thinkers, the same sort of leaders from similar church models, the same thread of soft theology; all super helpful because they endorsed our decisions and paradigms carte blanche, and I was excused from thinking critically about why we do what we do, why we teach what we teach, why we spend like we spend, and why we lead like we lead. I ran in the middle of the herd where all of us looked the same, so I was never challenged or questioned, never stretched or criticized. It wasn't until I peeked over our tiny fence at new thinkers, radical visionaries asking new questions that my inner tension found the language it was looking for. I wish I would've been braver sooner. I wish I would've waded into difficult territory and counter-cultural waters earlier, even if that meant risking position or security. Think of how many critics I could've had by now!

What is one mistake you witness leaders making more frequently than others? What are the steps to avoid this mistake?
One mistake I see leaders slip into is this: Leading kingdom work instead of living it. None of us mean to. We started out well back when the gospel was raw and electric and coursing through our veins like mercury. We committed our lives to the kingdom, because it transformed us once, it healed our brokenness and changed our trajectories. We watched it salvage our friends' lives and restore our families and alter the very air we were breathing. So we committed our lives to ministry, to seeing Jesus' kingdom come. We went to seminary or joined a church staff, putting all our eggs in this basket. But organizing religion often exacts a cost: the administration of the kingdom can reduce the gospel to emails and meetings, boards and committees, fundraising and budgets, sermons and studies. The machine takes tending. One degree at a time, we transition from living on mission to simply talking about it on Sundays. Our stories become stale, yesterday's bread. Paul wrote, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." What would our faith communities look like if they followed the example of most of their leaders? I suspect the world would be rife with sermons, answered emails, and dispute resolutions, but I wonder if our cities would be bursting with hope, burgeoning with mercy, or alive with the gospel? And in a world where our Christian rhetoric has become white noise, perhaps what we need from leaders isn't administrative savvy but reckless obedience, ordinary disciples in ordinary places chasing the kingdom to the ends of the earth.

How would you describe yourself as a leader?  
How would I describe myself as a leader? This is the straight truth: I am a ridiculous excuse for a leader. It is pure folly that God is using me. When I tell you I have nothing good in me apart from Jesus, I mean that as sincerely as the day is long. I told Jesus to choose someone else, someone who didn't represent a legitimate threat to the kingdom, but He didn't listen. I can be rash and short-tempered, impulsive and reckless; I married Mr. Responsible who is in cahoots with the Holy Spirit and has rescued me from self-destruction innumerable times. God manages to wrestle glory from even the most ludicrous vessels. Please believe me: I am a jar of clay. That's it. I know it. God knows it. My people know it. The only thing I have going for me is that I really, really love Jesus. The gospels still destroy me, and I've been reading the Bible since the womb. As long as I live, I will never get over the story of the Prodigal Son. Jesus unhinges me. When He calls Himself my brother, I am slayed. I have no interest in trendy leadership models or growth strategies or climbing the ladder, which really just affirms that I'm a terrible leader. Have I read that one book about that guy who did the thing? No.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? 
When I was 29, holding the embryonic manuscript of my first book at a writer's conference, absolutely no idea what I was doing, having never published a solitary word, a leader from a well-known megachurch pulled me aside. She had virtually no reason to say this to me, so I can only guess this message was divinely appointed: "Jen, they will try to make a starlet out of you. From here on out, you have to love Jesus more than anyone or anything." Leadership and notoriety can be insidious idols; I've seen them turn the best saints into ruthless abusers. I am well-aware of my destructive tendencies; I am capable of hijacking the gospel for my own gain as easily as the next person. That leader gave me the single best piece of advice I've ever received: Love Jesus most. That devotion secures the most important quality we need as a leaders: humility. Loving Jesus most makes us brave, strong, unafraid. It checks our selfishness and curbs our personal ambition. It keeps our viewpoints accessible for reform, reminding us that Jesus is never wrong, but sometimes we are. It elevates truth over success and directs glory where it ought to go. If we love Jesus most, we need not fear change, controversy, danger, or obscurity - the ballasts of the selfishly ambitious. The kingdom needs no more starlets, only disciples contending for God's glory.

What did you want to be when you grew up? 
Growing up, I wanted to be Janet Jackson. You can imagine how disturbed and confused I am to find myself as a Bible teacher.

What did you want to be when you grew up? 
If I could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would I choose? I realize I should say Jesus or Moses or Bono. But I would pull up a chair with Michael Jordan. You can't understand how much I love him. Dear Michael, where did you go?? We miss you. Why aren't you commentating on Sportscenter or hosting a talk show? One Hanes commercial a week is simply not enough for me, MJ. Why must you shun the spotlight?! Is one measly reality TV show asking too much? Not too long ago I mentioned your name, and one of my children asked, "Who is Michael Jordan?" and I realized that I was an utter failure as a parent and also they've missed the glory years of professional basketball and should just take up cricket. I don't want to be too forward, but can we be best friends? I have a basketball goal at my house, and we could shoot hoops. (I played for my church team one season. Don't make a big deal out of it, Michael.) Anyway, I've gotten a look at our Olympic team this year, and let it be said: If anyone thinks the 1992 Dream Team will ever be displaced from glory, they can drive to Austin and I'll fight them.