Andy Stanley Archives - Page 2 of 5

When the Extraordinary becomes Ordinary

October 11, 2014

As readers of this blog know, I recently blogged the Catalyst 14 conference in Atlanta. The lineup was full of world-class speakers such as Andy Stanley, Tim Keller, Matt Chandler, Charles Duhigg, and more. Worship was led by Matt Redman.

Through my time there I interacted with a number of other volunteers from the local area. It was interesting to see a disconnect.

While the arena was full of 10,000 learners and worshippers, locals were heard to say things like:

“Can we leave early?” and “Do we really need to hear another message?”

I saw many of them staring mindlessly at their cell phones while around them people were paying money to encounter God. Perhaps it was because Atlanta has a world-class event seemingly every month!

The ExtraOrdinary had become Ordinary.

Before we point the finger at Catalyst and Atlanta area volunteers, lets consider other areas. Read more... (499 words, 1 image, estimated 2:0 mins reading time)

In Grace, Leadership, Parenting Andy Stanley, Christian, christian growth, Christianity, church, growth, leadership, marriage, missions, parenting

What Breaks Your Heart?

October 2, 2014

I am blogging from Atlanta, Georgia at the Catalyst 2014 Conference. I have been asked to serve as a part of the Blogger Team at Catalyst!

Andy Stanley, Pastor of North Point Community Church and one of the best communicators out there opens up each Catalyst Conference. He read from Nehemiah 1 and asked us two questions.

Who are you?
What breaks your heart?

Even if small, what is in you that must bring about change?

There is a correlation between leaders and change.

Great leaders make things better.
Great leaders love progress.
Great leaders fix broken things.
Great leaders don’t blame.

“Blame is the most effective change avoidance strategy.”

We, as leaders, hate to see broken things be broken. Broken hearted leaders effect change. Read more... (494 words, 2 images, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

In Leadership Andy Stanley, breaks heart, catalyst, catalyst14, deep and wide, influence, nehemiah, nehemiah 1, rich, what breaks your heart?, who am I?

The Most Overlooked Leadership Traits

July 12, 2014

The Bible is full of leadership traits and characteristics. Many of these are not applied.

We all know of countless examples where leaders had a love of money, did not walk in sexual fidelity, or raise those dreaded “PK’s” (pastor’s kids, indicating they have issues in their family).

None of us apply all the leadership principles all the time. We are not perfect people.

But, are their some traits which we flat overlook?

I’d like to propose the two of the most overlooked leadership traits are found in a list of characteristics of overseers and deacons in 1 Timothy 3.

1. Gentleness (1 Tim. 3:3)
You will not find this in most leadership books on the market. Many consider gentleness to be weak while leaders are meant strong. If you think this is the perspective in modern times, it was much, much more in the male-dominated culture of the first century. Read more... (564 words, 1 image, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

In Grace, Leadership Andy Stanley, Bible, Christian, christian growth, Christianity, gentleness, grace, gracious leadership, hospitality, humility, leadership

Leadercast: Being a Beyond You Leader

May 11, 2014

I had the privilege of attending the Leadercast One Day Event. Often I hear of these events and am not able to attend, instead following the play by play from different bloggers. This time, the event was simulcast in Cape Town. And to top it off, we hosted the session with one of my heroes, Bishop Desmond Tutu! More on that session later!

Andy Stanley started things off. He is hands down my favorite communicator. I would highly recommend his monthly leadership podcasts and even his weekly messages at North Point Church.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Being a Beyond You Leader.”

Andy defined this as, “Beyond You leaders are leaders who fearlessly and selflessly empower leaders around them, as well as those coming along behind them.”

One of the roles of this type of leader is to find next generation leaders and invest in them, going beyond yourself. Read more... (406 words, 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

In Leadership Andy Stanley, growth, influence, leadercast, leadership, next generation leader, servant leadership

How to Be Rich

March 5, 2014

Rich is a matter of perspective. There is always someone richer than you and someone poorer than you.

My wife, Lindsey, wrote blog post which went off the charts with traffic right around Christmas this past year. The post was entitled, “Kid’s, We’re Rich!”

In the post she offers this definition of wealth:

“I think God defines wealth as having enough to provide and care for your family and a bit more to do the same for some of those around you. If you are able to do that… you are rich… Instead of defining our wealth by how much we can consume, we should define it by how generous we are able to be. First to our family and then beyond.”

The entire post is worth a read! Take a look HERE!

How do you define rich?