Catalyst Articles

A few tips for those of you attending Catalyst for the first time this year, or maybe it’s your 2nd or 3rd time, or maybe 14th in a row! Hopefully these are helpful and allow your Catalyst experience to be the best ever!

Improvement is within the reach of anyone, no matter how experienced or green, educated or ignorant, rich or poor. To start improving today, do these two things:

With only a handful of organizations focused on Christ-centered microfinance, HOPE International suddenly appeared on the map and in Google searches. Our fundraising budget grew 700 percent, and as HOPE rapidly expanded from 3 countries to 16 counties, I began traveling extensively year round. Yet while I was seemingly giving my life to God and serving the physically poor, internally I could sense that I was heading in the wrong direction.

As hour after hour passed, I wanted to scream, having no idea what to say next. My frustration boiling up, I would desperately turn to God in need of Him to put words in my mouth. Sometimes I laughed, most of the time I wept, but through it all the most amazing realization was that God was at work and He was choosing to use me. I had glimpsed for a moment what many of you have chosen to do for a lifetime; I felt the exhaustion of meeting with one person, when every day you meet with so many.

Having a ministry background myself, I understand the frustration of wanting to build a better social media presence for your church or ministry but simply not having enough time, energy, or resources to do so.

Yet the same Gospels that report Jesus’ rhythm of spiritual disciplines also reveal a remarkable ability to improvise and change plans on the spur of the moment.

Needed statements from leaders. Hard to say, but very powerful.

Malcolm Gladwell answers questions about his book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.

Here you go, the September edition of the Young Influencers List.

I had a colleague that I used to work with who had “Don’t Be That Guy” written on the whiteboard in his office. The phrase carried a story with it about someone he had seen doing something that he didn’t want to see repeated in his own life. The truth is that, despite our best efforts, we all are “That Guy” from time to time. When the moniker becomes yours, here are some words of advice.

When pastors stop merely doing ministry and start training others for ministry, the body of Christ is healthier—even measured by Christ’s fullness.

Now is the time to discover your passion and purpose in life and chase after it with everything in you…but one question is holding you back: Where do I begin?