Catalyst | Five

Erwin McManus opened the morning by challenging us with this message: We all must go to that place where we are sent by God. Sometimes God is calling us to go to a place called “sent.” Part of the danger is that we’re doing all that we can to become better and better leaders, but we’re not going to the place called “sent.”

Here are some additional insights from his message:

Aren’t you tired of being relevant? It means someone got there first. We need to stop being relevant and we need to start leading the way. Wouldn’t it be something if the culture said we need to catch up with the church?

If the church is going to be effective in today’s world, it must value…

Uniqueness over standardization — The church is known for standardization. Discipleship is all about standardization. Jesus didn’t die for us to clone us all.

Creativity over utility –- Rather than focusing on utility—getting things done—we need to pursue creativity. Rather than asking people give their life to a vision, we need to call people to a visional community. We need to create an environment where dreams and visions are unleashed. We need to tell people “you are the light of the world.” And we need to release that light. We don’t need any more “dream suckers.” The spirit of God is not dwelling in property or programs you need to maintain. The spirit of God dwells in people. The sin that is consuming is “average.” We just want to be like everyone else. That’s not how God designed us. We need to unleash dreamers and visionaries.

Diversity over homogeny — We need to like people that are different than us. We want people to go to church with us, but we don’t want to live our lives with people that aren’t like us. Find a peer that’s different then you and earn their respect. Create space for leaders that aren’t like you. Homogeny communicates “we are everything.”

Mysticism over pragmatism –- People are becoming increasingly aware of their spirituality. But, people don’t view us as spiritual. We’re not losing the game because people are becoming too secular. People outside the church are becoming more and more spiritual. Yesterday was all about evidence that demands a verdict. Today we need to help people see the evidence of an invisible God and let them know that we’ve met Him. There’s a deeper knowing that is real.

Compassion over conviction –- We need to help wrap people into compassion. The Holy Spirit convicts. We don’t need to convict. Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world. We don’t need to condemn the world. We are to be a movement of compassion. We need to love people. People without God are asking does love really exist? We need to live out the love of God. Then the presence of God will be undeniable.