I’m hanging out at Catalyst today and loving every minute. After missing the big Atlanta shindig last year, it’s so nice to be back, to be learning from such gifted leaders, to hang with friends from around the world and to rest, reflect and worship with 13,000 believers.

Since a lot of you couldn’t be here., thought I’d recap each day so you don’t have to miss everything! The theme this year is MAKE.

Andy Stanley – The Making of a Leader

When leaders tell their stories, they talk about what MADE them leaders.

Information and insight alone do not a leader MAKE.

When leaders tell their stories about what MADE them a leader,  very rarely do they mention podcasts, articles, or blog posts.

3 Things That MAKE a Leader:

• Unexpected Opportunity
• Unavoidable Adversity
• Unquestionable Calling

But it’s not only the opportunity, adversity or calling that MAKE the leader. It’s the response to those things that MAKE the leader.

You need to write a story worth telling. God is MAKING you a leader. Respond well.

You have no control over any of it, except for how your respond.

3 Significant Things That Shaped Andy Stanley:

• Growing up his father told him rover and over again. “God has a plan for your life and you don’t want to miss it.” There was a sense of destiny that was constantly spoken over Andy and his sister. His first journal entry as a 17 year old, “I need to tell my son at a young age that God has a plan for his life.” Not only is God making you but he’s making your children, your grandchildren, and other people that are watching. Actions can echo into the next generation. Your response to opportunity, adversity, and calling can have more impact than you could ever imagine.
• A college leader once said to Andy, “I have a postion and I have a title, but you have influence. I want you to use it. Because influence is more important that position or title.” This was important because it was the first time Andy was thrown into an arena and didn’t know what to do.  It was an unexpected opportunity and Andy felt unprepared. But he stepped up and started sharing the Bible with his peers.
• As a result of a growing tension between Andy’s church and the gay community, at 27 Andy preached a sermon  on homosexuality. It was the first subject he’d ever heard on the subject.  It’s better to MAKE a difference than a point. Every once in awhile you are going to be disturbed by something, pay attention to that tension. God MAKES a leader by stirring our hearts. Leaders walk into messes.

Last week I attended The Story Conference, an incredible gathering of creatives that takes place every September in Chicago. There were several incredible speakers…Bob Goff, Erwin McManus, and Anne Lamott to name a few. But one of the highlights for me was seeing a young and incredibly talented spoken word artist, Micah Bournes, perform with the band that I can’t stop listeing to, All Sons & Daughters (don’t forget to buy The Longing EP).

Micah’s poem (yes, I clarified that spoken word pieces can be called poems) “Who Broke Africa?”  is one that will leave you questiong what poverty really looks like and the steps that we should take to ‘fix’ it. Here’s a video of a live performance “Who Broke Africa?” during last year’s The Justice Conference. Take a few minutes to watch it, it’s POWERFUL.

Speaking of conferences, conference season seems to be in full swing and I’m hitting up several of them. Please let me know in the comments if you will be at Catalyst East, Resurgence, or Allume. I’ll be at each and would LOVE to connect!

Have a great weekend! 

One of the things I am really excited about in this season is contributing to a new channel of Deeper Story, A Deeper Church. The writers that will be contributing monthly are friends, old and new, who love wrestling, engaging, and exploring stories to find common truths. I hope you will take this opportunity to follow along.

I was one of those kids who grew up in the church. Literally. Sunday School. Big Church. Summer Splash. Mystery Trips. Lock-Ins. Communicants Class. I grew up in The Church.

But in college, I began to wrestle. Not literally. The church lost its authority, its familiarity, and its appeal. I didn’t need the rules, the judgement, or the guilt. I figured that I could keep God around, but not necessarily as a Savior, more as a wise bet, a guarantee, that I wouldn’t spend an eternity down under.

Read more here. 

I’m guest posting over on the Catalyst blog today about an event I’m really excited about.

One of my favorite things about blogging is the way a community is formed around mutual beliefs, interests, and passions. And, one of my favorite things about Catalyst is the way community is formed around mutual beliefs, interests, and passions. That’s why I am so excited about the Bloggers Meetup that is happening the Wednesday, October 3, at the Old Towne Tavern and Grill.

Here’s the way I think of it…

Online Community + IRL Community = Friends Are Friends Forever

Click here to continue reading…

I miss Africa. The landscapes. The amazing bloggers I shared the experience with.

The children. The smiles. The joy.

The opportunity to disturb and disrupt.

The puns. The kung-fu moves. The inside jokes.

 It has been two months. Eight weeks. Sixty days.

Since the FH Bloggers trip were on the ground in Ethiopia.

Breaking new ground.

Making new memories.

Writing new stories.

And.

I.

Miss.

This.

What are you missing today? 

At 35, memories of high school are starting to get a little blurry. But the feelings of insecurity and unworthiness that I felt as I lugged my mammouth backpack down the halls of Highland Park High School, well, they are still crystal clear.

Being a high school girl, and a junior high girl for that matter, is tough. Tough. It was tough 20 years ago when Thursday nights were for gathering around and watching Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica and the gang. And it’s tough today as we all scratch our heads and wonder who are the Kardashians and how might we keep with them. Battling eating disorders, self-loathing, doubt, insecurity and peer pressure in our celebrity-obsessed and screen-addicted culture has got to be tough.

So, how do we equip girls today? What tools can we give them to make them feel loved, understood, and to direct them to the One that strengthens, heals, redeems and restores? And how can help them see that they are perfectly unique? 

I don’t have all the answers but I do have a tip. Buy the young women in your life a copy of Annie Down’s new book, Perfectly Unique. 

Perfectly Unique is a candid, easy-to-read guide that uses real-life examples and faith-based instruction to equip Christian girls with the confidence, faith and moxie they’ll need to face their teen and college years.

And Annie Downs is hilarious, approachable, faithful, and passionate about speaking truth to girls today so they know what I’m still trying to figure out at 35….we are loved, we are known, and we are perfectly unique.

For one of you lucky readers, Zondervan has generously shared a copy of Perfectly Unique with me to giveaway.

If you would like to enter to win a copy of Perfectly Unique, just leave a comment below about a time that you remember feeling insecure and unworthy as a teen.  I will pick the winner on Friday and notify them via email.

You don’t want to miss the Catalyst Conference, where 13,000 young leaders will converge for the leadership experience of the year, including high-octane speakers, powerful worship, innovative programming, and a leadership experience unlike any other. It is going to take place October 3-5, 2012 in Atlanta, GA.

Hear from leadership authorities including Andy Stanley, Patrick Lencioni, Francis Chan, David Platt, Christine Caine, Craig Groeschel, Perry Noble and Matt Chandler, along with several innovative thinkers and practitioners like Emmy award winning executive producer of Survivor Mark Burnett, Harlem Children’s Zone founder and TIME 2011 Most Influential People list Geoffrey Canada, Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson, musician Israel Houghton, uber blogger and best-selling author Jon Acuff, and best-selling authors and TED Talks sensations Susan Cain and Simon Sinek.

Plus, be sure to go in early for Catalyst Labs, featuring thought leaders like Reggie Joiner, Michael Hyatt, Mark Batterson, Tim Elmore, Lysa Terkeurst, David Platt, Carlos Whittaker, Eugene Cho, Bob Goff, Lynne Hybels, Nick Vujicic, Tullian Tchividjian, Jen Hatmaker, Jon Acuff, and others.

A special registration rate of $219 is being made available to you (over $100 savings). To take advantage of this Exclusive offer, call 888.334.6569 to speak with the Catalyst Concierge team, or register at www.catalystconference.com and use RATE CODE FOB. The special rate expires this week on Thursday, August 23rd, so make sure and register early.

PS – Wednesday night is the annual Bloggers Meetup. It’s only $5 and it goes to a great cause. {Yes, this year it is benefitting  Food for the Hungry!} The Bloggers Meetup is a great time to mix, mingle or stalk some of your favorite online friends. Go here for more information and here to register. 

What’s your favorite Catalyst memory? 

Sometimes I struggle with prayer.

Not the bow your heads as we all come together to close up this worship service type of prayer. Not the constant back-and-forth muttering, wrestling, surrendering to the Creator of the Universe type of prayer.

But the grocery listing of all the things in this world that are broken and need mending type of prayer. The begging for divine intervention type of prayer. And more specifically, the I have this deep and seemingly God-given desire to fall in love, get married, and have kids, and so I’m gonna plead with the Almighty One to find me a husband type of prayer.

My friend Bianca notices that I don’t seem to have much fight, at least when my personal interests are concerned. My friend Kyle wonders if I have issues feeling worthy. And my friend Joy fearlessly petitions Him on my behalf.

Their words, observations and prayers are of course appreciated but me, I still struggle with saying that prayer.

Yes, I wholeheartedly believe in an all-knowing and all-powerful God. I wholeheartedly believe that God has a plans for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a hope and a future. And I wholeheartedly believe that God can move mountains, He can heal the sick, and He can perform miracles on a whim.

But what I can’t seem to reconcile is that He wants to hear me groan about my singleness. That He doesn’t already know what my heart desires. And  that He would divert His perfect-for-me plan based on my fumbling attempt at words.

So yes, sometimes I struggle with prayer.

How about you? Do you struggle with prayer?

And…what are your thoughts on praying for a husband?

Don’t forge the rules. Be honest but only if you can do be honest while being kind, courteous, and respectful. 

Oh, I’ve been unglued.

I am not proud to admit it, but it’s true.

I’ve been unglued. I’ve been unhinged. And I’ve been unable to keep my crazy under wraps.

There was the time in middle school when two teenage boys were bullying a friend and me, that I slammed my fist down on a glass tabletop to get my point across {we will not be messed with} but all they heard was the sound of table shattering.

There was the time in my early twenties {right before my sister’s big day}, that I let a little squabble elevate into an full-blown family brawl. {Thankfully no food was thrown and we both made it down the aisle later that weekend.}

And there was the time a few years back when it felt like someone ripped my heart out and pulverized it with a wooden club, that I couldn’t fake a smile if my life depended on it and floodgates the size of the Hoover Dam couldn’t slow down my raging tears.

In each instance, my emotions got the best of me. I acted out. And I felt ashamed.

But as Lysa TerKeurst explains in her new book, Unglued,

The one who holds their tongue holds the power.

My feelings are indicators, not dictators.

And … I can face things out of my control without acting out of control.

These nuggets of wisdom {and the countless others that Lysa shares in her lastest release} should be required reading for those of you, like me, who from time-to-time find themselves coming a little unglued.

So without further adieu, go here to purchase a copy of Unglued. For a couple of you lucky readers, Zondervan has generously shared 2 copies with me to giveaway.

If you would like to enter to win a copy of Unglued, just leave a comment below about a time that your emotions got the best of you and you became unglued. I will pick the 2 winners on Thursday and notify them via email.

When was the last time you became unglued? 

While I, like everyone else, am sick of the ‘Christian Chicken Debacle of 2012′. I want to make sure that these grace-filled voices are heard above the thoughtless bickering.

So if you haven’t read these posts/articles, please take a few minutes to dig in and prayerfully consider what the unforced rhythms of grace might look like.

Rachel Held Evans’ When You Feel Out of Step With Your Religious Community…

Matthew Paul Turner’s 5 Reasons Why The Church Failed Yesterday

Jen Hatmaker’s In The Basement and The Basement Manifesto

Andrew Marin’s My Quick Thoughts on Chick-Fil-A

I’d love to hear your thoughts. {As long as they are respectful, loving, and kind.}

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30, The Message