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Catalyst Conference Blog Post #2

I wanted to mention some of the speakers that were there.  I really enjoyed the variety - preachers, authors, corporate business leaders, etc.  This list is not comprehensive, and you can find the full list on the Catalyst website, of course, but I wanted to give my opinions and feedback.

One of my favorites was Dave Ramsey.  Kevin and I completed his Financial Peace University course (it has been taught in our church for several semesters now).  So, he’s pretty learned in his views on money and the economy.  We have friends who listen to his radio broadcast (in bigger cities) and he does tv shows too.  At the end of his speech (mostly about being a leader in your work environment), Dave talked a little bit about the recent stock market situation.  He said he had the tendency to want to get very pessimistic about it, because he’s watching some of his closest friends do interviews on tv with very pained and fearful looks on their faces.  But, he said ultimately, it’s all in Who we put our trust in… if we put our trust in money, we will fail.  But if God is our trust, then we will not fail.  Amen!

I really enjoyed Paul Young, author of The Shack.  Wow.  And, if you’ve never read the book, I cannot recommend it strongly enough.  (William) Paul Young had some very powerful things to say… I’m still pondering these things and watching them play out in my life.  He said the weekend the book character Mack spent in the shack represented 11 years of his life when God had to truly break him in order to teach him.  He spent only $300 in “advertising”, yet this book has sold 14 million copies, hit #1 on the NY Times Best Seller List, and he will tell you it was all an accident… he was only intending it to be a Christmas present for his kids.  He knows there are flaws in the book, because after all, he’s only human, and he really did intend for it to be a fiction work.  But my, how this book has people thinking.

I think my other favorite was Matt Chandler.  He pastors The Village Church in Highland Park, Texas (near Dallas).  He has quite the delivery, he’s so very down-to-earth and quirky, but most importantly, he’s not afraid to share the Truth just as it is, without watering it down.  And, if you don’t podcast him, you should.

Add comment October 30th, 2008

Catalyst Conference Blog Post #3

We learned about several different organizations that were pretty neat -

- Hoops 4 Hope, started by a then 9 year-old, helped us to realize that truly anyone can make a difference.

- Compassion International.  We’ve known about them for years, but we heard testimony from a girl who lived in Manila - her father told her she was worthless and would never amount to anything.  This same girl is now a seminary student in the US and is sponsoring 2 Compassion children of her own. (as a college student!)

- Operation Christmas Child, part of Samaritan’s Purse - our church gets many of these boxes together every year around this time, but it was neat to hear from a lady who was one of the recipients of a box 11 years ago.  She said at the time she didn’t know who Jesus was, but she had been hoping and wishing for a pair of shoes because her family was so poor they couldn’t afford them.  So, when the OCC team showed up, they gave her a box and inside was a brand new pair of shoes.  God is amazing.

After the conference, we were sitting in the Atlanta airport after the conference and Toney was reading a magazine article about Johnny Depp, who will make a mere $55 million for his next movie.  JD has at least 3 others in the works but that figure is for ONE movie.  All because he looks pretty.  I hope and pray that he and his Hollywood friends give lots of money to charitable causes such as these, but I doubt it.  Our financial advisor told Kevin and me that he has clients making 6 figures but not giving anything away.  And why?  Just so our kids can fight over it when we die?

Matthew 16:26 (ESV) - “For what does it profit a man if he gains the world but forfeits his soul? And what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

Add comment October 30th, 2008