These are my summary reflections from the Catalyst East Conference in Atlanta, GA. The theme this year was “The Tension is Good”, so the speakers mostly used their talks to explore various tensions we all feel in Leadership. I don’t summarize every speaker.
Craig Groschel is the pastor of the innovative LifeChurch.tv and spoke at Catalyst for the first time a few years ago and has since been a Catalyst favorite. His style is blunt and in-your-face tempered with a large helping of humility and confession. This year, he told us that he’d been asked to speak about generational tension, and since he’s right at 40 years old, felt he could speak to both the older and younger.
To the Older generation:
Don’t resist, fear or judge the next generation. Instead, believe and invest in them. The older generation feels insecure far too often. Remember: you don’t have to be cool; you just have to be real. Don’t give up. If you’re not dead, you’re not done.
To the Younger generation:
Our challenge is that we feel entitled. We want the giant ministries and fame instantly. We typically overestimate what God wants to do through us in the short-term, which leads us to underestimate what God wants to do through us over the course of 15, 20 or 50 years.
If we want to lead up, we need to learn to honor the persons God has put in authority over us. There’s a difference between respect and honor. Respect is earned; honor is given.
Honor publicly leads to influence privately. – Andy Stanley