Catalyst 2007 part 2

Here are some quotes from the main sessions at Catalyst.

Catalyst 2007 part 1

The Set Up

This was my first year to attend the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, GA. I couldn't have asked for a better set up. The foreshadowing began when I arrived in long term parking at DFW airport and it took me 15 minutes to get from parking, through ticketing, and then through the checkout points and to my terminal. That itself is a miracle of unknown proportions. Our flight was smooth with no turbulence. Checking in at the motel went without a hitch

As we walk into the conference James, the friend I was with, meets a seminary friend who invites us to join him in one of the stadium suites to enjoy the conference. So we aren't crowded in rows but up in a box suite.

I must admit I kept looking over my shoulder. I don't know that I had ever been on a spiritual retreat without some sort of spiritual warfare or struggle.

First Day highlights: The labs

Reggie McNeal:
Some people think the church is a place, others think the church is a vendor of religious services. The church in reality is a group of people on mission with God.

There is a shift from an internal focus to an external focus. The church has gotten to internally focused, they have a church-centric view of the world. the shift is toward being externally focused and seeing the church through kingdom lenses..

An internal focus try's to get people to come to us. An external focus is about the church going out to them in all the domains of life.

Missional emphasis irritates church people. Church-centric people believe we use our gifts at the place (church) and that church staff are paid to serve the place (church).

The Spirit of God is out running in the streets not just hanging out at the church.

The kingdom of God is the destination for people not the church. Like an airport the church is a connector not a destination.

Chris Seay:
We are addicted to buying things. Our identity is tied to consumerism. It is the prozac of our society.

This is the original sin of Adam and Eve, wanting "more".

The church gets caught up in offering people "more".

Christmas is Jesus birthday, not ours, yet we spend much more on ourselves than Him. Let your kids give money to needy this Christmas not just be consumed with what they can get.

Leonard Sweet:
We have become a culture of consumption. Consumption is the opiate of the people. I consume therefore i am.

We need to become a culture of conception. We tend and till Gods garden.

The greatest failure of the church in this generation if the failure to confront the culture of consumption with a different model.