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My Name Is...

...not Jason. Yet, The Greenville News seems to think it is. Oh, and Andy's dad is now known as Chuck Stanley, not Charles. Not sure how you write a feature story and mess up the primary subject's name. And, I have no idea where they got "Chuck" from - I have never heard Dr. Stanley referred to as "Chuck." Yes, an email has been sent. :-)

The story ran in today's City People section of The News. Overall, it's not great, but not bad, either. There's a risk in doing these types of interviews/stories - you really don't know what's going to actually make it into print. But, we've already received some emails from people who read the story and are interested in Catalyst. We'll see what happens with it.

UPDATE: I spoke with an editor at The Greenville News.  They have corrected the online version and will run a correction in next week's City People.

2 Corinthians 4:1-2

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."

I've been chewing on these two verses for a week now. As God has poured out increasing favor on Catalyst, the leadership bar has been raised significantly. There are several things in these verses that help me see what I need to do, what I need to lead our staff to do, and what our influencers need to do in order to allow the window of favor to swing even wider.

"...through God's mercy, we have this ministry..." - remember Who is building the church; this ministry is a gift from God not to be taken lightly and not the result of merit

"...do not lose heart..." - He is faithful; the gates of hell cannot prevail (yes, that rhymes if you're from the deep south and say hell like it's the icy stuff that falls from the sky...:-))

"...renounced secret and shameful ways..." - the Kingdom loses when leaders try to lead with dirty hearts, minds, and motives

"...do not use deception..." - paint the true picture, not the picture of your exaggerated dreams; you can't lead into the future if you have a distorted view of the current reality; there are no secrets

"...nor do we distort the Word of God..." - if you want to fail in ministry, start making the Word say what you want it to say; if you want to succeed, make it the authority on all matters

"...setting forth the truth plainly..." - use what is cultural to say what is timeless; make the truth clear, but don't for a second present something other than the whole truth

"...in the sight of God..." - He's still Sovereign; He knows what we do, when we do it, how we do it, and why we do it; in all things, honor Him and His Word

At Catalyst Conference last year, Andy said:

"Leadership is a stewardship; it's temporal and you're accountable."

As quickly as God gave us this ministry and this season of favor, He can take it away. And, we're held accountable now and will one day stand before Him and be held accountable for what we did with the ministry and favor He gave us.

Big Idea: Be resilient. Be pure. Be honest. Be bold. Be clear. Be humble.

Relevant Environments

We cranked up an experiment on our website this week. We created a new landing page and on that landing page is a button called "Free Gift." People in the Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson area can fill out a brief survey and in return, we'll ship them a free copy of Andy's book How Good is Good Enough.

We're excited about this for a number of reasons. One, people are going to get their hands on a great explanation of God's grace and forgiveness. Two, it's another avenue for CC'ers to use to invite their friends. Three, the people who receive the books may just tell a few of their friends and may show up at Catalyst. Fourth, we get to peer into the minds of people we don't know and ask them questions we want answers to.

One of the questions on the survey is "Why do you think most people don't go to church?" The answers to that question have been eye-opening. Not one person has said, "Because Jesus is a loser." Or, "Because there is no God." EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM has said something about church being boring, disconnected, out of touch with reality, or confusing.

The answers are even more interesting when we put them up against the answers to the previous question on the survey: "What do you feel most people are looking for in a church?" Every answer so far has said something about a comfortable place to learn more about Jesus, to have my questions answered, to figure out what a relationship with God means, etc.

Bottom line: People don't have a problem with the God of the Bible. People don't have a problem with Jesus. In fact, most people are interested in both. But, people have a BIG problem with the local church. For whatever reason...a bad experience in the past, a weird preacher they saw on TV, a overly religious family member, the boring church they grew up in...people have decided church is out of touch.

In fact, I met a guy yesterday who desperately wants his daughter to connect in a church. Here's the problem...she says she is spiritual, but doesn't want to go to church. She doesn't think it's necessary.

If we needed any more argument for why one of our core values is "Relevant Environments," we have it. Another phrase we use is "create irresistible environments." Some people get rubbed the wrong way when they hear either of those phrases...it seems too man/entertainment-centered. Not so...not even close.

Our goal when we say "create irresistible environments" is to do everything we can to use what is cultural to say what is timeless. Saying what is timeless without any cultural compass comes off as dry religion. Changing what is timeless to be more cultural is diluting the power of the gospel. Using cultural avenues to communicate a never-changing, timeless message of grace and forgiveness...that's creating irresistible, relevant environments.

Jesus was irresistible and relevant. The Pharisees...not so much. People flocked to hear and see Jesus. People rolled their eyes and ran in fear when the Pharisees came around. People who should have hated Jesus absolutely loved Him. People who should have loved Jesus...the Pharisees...hated Him and had Him killed.

Some of the stuff we do on Sundays can be a little odd to church people...sometimes it's odd to me. When people ask me why we played a certain song, showed a certain video, gave away an iPod, etc., I tell them, "Hey, that wasn't for you. It was for the guy or girl who is here for the first time and this is the one chance they're going to give our church or any church." Of course, there are elements of our service that are for everybody - our worship songs, the sermon, corporate prayer, etc. But there are some things that are purposefully there for outsiders...to connect with them, to show them that we are connected to their world, to help them feel like this is a place where they can figure out what a relationship with God really means.

So, every week, we try to do the absolute best we can at presenting timeless truth in a relevant and irresistible environment. We believe the gospel deserves nothing less. And...it's working! Over 30 people have publicly prayed to begin a relationship with Jesus in our worship services. Many more are very close. Every week, we hear from people who haven't been to church in a long time if ever at all and they ALWAYS comment on a song, or a video, or some other element in the service that surprised them...or connected with them. And then, they tell us how God spoke to them.

A girl, who has grown up Muslim, attended Catalyst this past Sunday. She's not really ever been to a Christian church. She's most definitely not a Christian. But after attending Catalyst this past Sunday, she said, "I don't know what it was, but something was happening inside me. I felt like God may have been talking to me." And that was after she went crazy when the band opened the service with "Dirty Little Secret."

I'm going to stop now. I'm sure I'll get some emails about this...but folks, I believe in it. I believe in it because I see and hear how God is using it. It fires me up. And...YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET!

A Record Month Already

Just got our giving report from this past Sunday. Two things jump out:

1. February is already our highest income month ever and we still have a week or so to go!
2. The number of percentage givers at Catalyst appears to have almost doubled this month, hereby at least partially explaining number 1!

No, we didn't beat people up. No, we didn't promise people they could have their name on a brick in our first building. No, we didn't guilt people into giving.

People's hearts are engaging more and more in the mission God has given us: leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. It's become personal.

The momentum wave is building...:-)

Catalyst Heroes: Greg Harris

A couple of months ago, we made a major staff transition in our service programming/production area. It was easily the most difficult decision I have ever made in ministry and created a huge void that we needed to fill quickly. After all, Sunday's coming, right?!

Little did I know the potential that existed and was already on our volunteer production team. Every one of them has taken their game to the next level, going above and beyond the call to duty. They've come late on Saturdays (like 10:00pm-2:00 am), super-early on Sundays (like 5:30 am), stayed late on Sundays (like 2:00 pm), made road trips, the whole nine yards. And, they've done it all with a passion to serve Jesus and create irresistible environments for people that don't know Him.

But the leader of the pack is my man, Greg Harris. Greg is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and he absolutely loves the local church! He has been using his gifts in production and technical support for years, including his time with Clemson FCA and helping out some at NewSpring. It amazes me how much he knows and how quickly he can figure out problems. But that's not even the best of it.

Greg has taken on a ton of responsibility in this transition season. He has done it willingly and has done it with passion. He pushes me to hold him accountable. He admits when he messes up (which is pretty much never). He gets pumped about unchurched people meeting Jesus at Catalyst. And the bottom line result: service programming and production at Catalyst is better because of Greg Harris!

Greg, thanks for going the extra mile. It's awesome to watch you work and grow as a leader! And his wife Amy is a super star, too! she serves in Waumba Land, our preschool environment, and she is an awesome encourager for Greg, me, and so many others. Catalyst is a better place because of you guys! Thanks for your investment!

That's Quotable: A.W. Tozer

"To be right we must think worthily of God. It is morally imperative that we purge from our minds all ignoble concepts of the Deity and let Him be the God in our minds that He is in His universe. The Christian religion has to do with God and man, but its focal point is God, not man."

A.W. Tozer from The Knowledge of the Holy

Sunday Reflections

This morning at Catalyst was a thing of beauty! Set-up was seamless...at least from what I know, saw, and experienced myself. Both services went off without a hitch. Our people were like machines during tear-down.

But what happened in between all of that was a shot of Big Mo!

From a production and creativity standpoint, we went to a new level today. With the launch of our new series, Pause, we made some set-up changes and really pulled together a series "brand" that showed up everywhere. So much so, that people commented on it. We even had apple flavored Jolly Ranchers in the restrooms! The place looked sharp and Wade and Holly's handiwork on the stage backdrop looked incredible!

Chris Brown is easily one of the best worship leaders in the country. The guy can lead a service, can flat out sing, and he's got a heart for God like few others I know. Chris, Sam, Levi, Walker, Davison, and Beth...you guys rocked today! I keep telling Steven that Chris is living in sin so maybe Elevation will let him go, but it's not working. :-) Can't blame a guy for trying though!

We gave away iPods! Yep...in both services, we gave away a red iPod Nano with Steve Fee's new CD "Burn for You." The guy who got the iPod in the first service told me afterwards that he was at Wal-Mart LAST NIGHT looking at iPods and decided he just couldn't afford to buy one. Ummm...think he'll tell a few of his friends that he got an iPod AT CHURCH, on his FIRST visit?! :-) He has to...we engraved our website on the back of it! It was great to see people laugh and have a lot of fun in the first ten minutes of the service.

Waumba and UpStreet were buzzing today. I LOVE watching kids worship God - they're singing, dancing, jumping, laughing...having a blast...AT CHURCH! Molly, our 2 year-old, absolutely loves it and as a parent, I could not be happier that she gets to be in that kind of environment. Sarah and teams...way to go!

I could keep going, but I'm going to put a bow tie on it all...

The most beautiful thing about all of this is that God is using it. He used it today. He'll use it all again next time. People are leaving thanking me over and over again because God became real to them. The God that they thought was so irrelevant became relevant. The God that seemed so far away came close. CC'ers...if you ever wonder if those signs matter, if that lesson matters, if those videos matter, if those smiles matter, if those bulletins matter, if any of it really matters...the answer is YES! And so do YOU!

All in all, today was our best day yet. I hope after our next service, I can say the same thing. As Ben said today about his church, the flywheel is spinning at Catalyst. CC'ers...I couldn't be more proud of you for your hardwork, your passion for people to know Jesus, and your desire to create the environments where it can happen. God used ALL OF YOU today...for His Glory and His Kingdom.

Beautiful!

Catalyst Heroes: Wade & Holly Burch

Remember...a hero is someone who "has the clarity to see what needs to be done and the courage to act."

This week, no one has exemplified that more than Wade & Holly. They have arguably had the most difficult job of anyone else at CC this week - creating the backdrop for our stage for the launch of our new series on Sunday.

I can't tell you all the details of what they have been doing, but know that their fingers have bled from all the tedious work...ouch! Yet, their desire to create irresistible environments where God is free to work in people's lives wins out over the pain!

CC'ers...make sure you have someone with you Sunday! You and your friends will get to see Wade & Holly's handiwork and experience what will easily be our best Sunday yet!

Wade & Holly...you're awesome! Thanks for being heroes!

Gary Lamb

Got to hang out with Gary Lamb this morning in Greenville. It was the first time we'd actually met face to face. Gary is lead pastor of Ridge Stone Church in Canton, GA, which, oddly enough, is in the same town as Watermarke Church, a NPM Strategic Partner.

Ridge Stone is very different from Catalyst, yet it was cool to talk with Gary about what they have learned over the past two years. It was especially interesting to hear what it's like to pastor a church in the same town as a NPM partner. He had some good thoughts that gave me some things to think about.

I appreciate Gary's unbridled passion to reach unchurched men. They've set-up Ridge Stone to connect to a thin niche of the population in Canton and God is using them to reach it.

But...he didn't get coffee. Here we are at Starbucks...and the best Starbucks in Greenville at that (Pelham Rd.)...and he gets a bottle of water! Doesn't Gary know that you can't pastor a cool church unless you're a coffee guy? Someone should enlighten him...:-)

Gary, it was fun...let's do it again soon!

I Hate Being Sick

So, I woke up yesterday morning at 3:47 with a 102 degree fever. Of course, it had to happen on the launch day of our new fund-raising initiative for 2007. I sucked down OJ, ate Tylenol, and slept all day. But, as God always does, He provided enough strength for me to get through the dessert presentation last night and we are already seeing tremendous results!

Thanks to the CC'ers that were there last night...I hope the only thing that spread was a white-hot passion for the 162,000 people in our city that need Jesus!