A year ago, I was fortunate enough to experience Catalyst Conference for the first time.  It was absolutely pivotal in my understanding of Godly leadership and so impactful of my ministry.  And even though my circumstances a year later are a bit different, I was still fortunate enough to be able to go back.

This last week was incredible…full of content, communication, and creativity.   And even though I’m flooded with all the new content and amazing communicators, I can’t help but reflect on where I was a year ago and where I am now…as a husband, as a father, as a leader, as a pastor.  This last year has brought a great many experiences and challenges that I did not expect, but God is still calling me to be a catalyst…whether that is here or somewhere else.

I’m going to attempt to gradually unpack some of the simple truths articulated at Catalyst this year in a short series of posts.  Catalyst ’11 was a call to be fully present.  To be present in my marriage, in my family, in my community, and to be present in my relationship with God.  As I Corinthians 7:17 in the Message says, “Don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else.  Where you are right now is God’s place for you.  Live and obey and love, and believe right there.”

One of the first speakers that I heard at the conference this year was Eugene Cho,the Founder/Lead Pastor of Quest Church & Founder of One Day’s Wages,” a movement of people, stories & actions to alleviate extreme global poverty.”  This guy was hilarious, engaging and sharp.  I found myself scribbling notes the whole time because so much of what he had to say speaks so clearly to our culture and where we find ourselves as Christ-followers.  Cho’s message highlighted our consumer culture’s skewed thought frame: I don’t have enough, but I’ve done enough.  He goes so far as to say, “to reduce God’s vision for humanity to the American Dream is blasphemous.” and I agree.

He said, “We love the idea of compassion and justice until there is a cost…that is why Jesus says to count the cost before following Him.”  I can see that in myself.  I recognize that I am incredibly blessed, but do I live like I know that?  Do I choose to be a blessing?  Am I all in…willing to give up everything?

Because we struggle to count the cost of following Jesus, it keeps us from truly being present in people’s lives, knowing what their needs even are, and meeting them.  And what we become, as Cho says, is “more enamored by telling a great story than by living a great story.”

I don’t want to just tell the stories…I want to live out their truth.  I think people are tired of hearing people say that Jesus loves them…they want people to show them that Jesus loves them.

I want to be a good neighbor, to love them as I love myself.  And that means I want to know my neighbors (both immediate and remote) well enough to know their needs.  I want to be the person that finds the window into people’s lives, wherever I encounter them, to speak into their life, live into their life and love into their life.  I want them to know that Jesus shows up and that He loves them like they’re the only one.

I believe the world is waiting for someone, somewhere to do something that matters.  And what matters most is being present…whenever, wherever, however.