Thinking through the next several weeks/months of interviews for the Catalyst Podcast and also for some new video interviews for my blog.
Would love to hear of any names to consider for upcoming interviews. Email me or leave a comment. And I’ll add them to the list.
Seth Godin’s book Tribes is one of my favorite leadership books of the last several years. And just thinking of a couple of examples of a tribe acting together for a greater good in the last couple of days:
1. Jon Acuff challenged his tribe today on his blog Stuff Christians Like to give $30,000 towards building a Kindergarten School for kids in Vietnam. His tribe stepped up: $30,000 raised in 18 hours. Done. And still going. You can get involved.
2. Jeff Shinabarger and I had the pleasure of joining Tony Wood at Generate last Wednesday at Crossroads in Corona, CA. Generate is a gathering of students and young professionals. Jeff mentioned Gift Card Giver and asked students to donate cards to those in need. Over $2500 in used gift cards were gathered from this tribe of young leaders on the spot. Out of their pockets and purses. A tribe that’s been taught to be generous.
3. charity: water is up for $100,000 being given by Levi’s to a worthy cause. The charity: water tribe has stepped up and passionately voted for the organization, and currently in the lead for the 100 K with 8 days left to vote. And you can vote here. Over 10 million raised for clean water in 3 years by charity: water. The power of a tribe.
4. Thousands attend the i-heart film in theaters across the US and Canada last Wednesday. Hillsong United correctly stewards the power of gathering shown by their tribe into changed hearts, changed perspective and a renewed focus on the least of these. Well done friends, well done.
What are you doing with your tribe?
This Sunday, November 8, is Orphan Sunday. Thousands of churches all over the world will be joining together through events, small group gatherings, concerts, and sermons to help educate Christian leaders towards our call to take care of the orphan.
If you can’t participate this weekend, there are still ways to get involved. 143 Million Orphans around the world need our help.
As leaders, many times we have to lay down, with our head face down, in the mud, in order for things to get done. What does this mean?
1. instead of standing up and leading forward, many times we have to lay down and get out of the way.
2. No one likes to step in the mud, much less lay down in it, much much less lay down with your face in it. But sometimes as leaders we are called to sacrifice.
3. Just because you may have to lay down in the mud, doesn’t mean everyone else on your team has to do the same.
4. Servant leadership sometimes means someone else walking over our back to get to the next big thing. And not always someone from your team- many times it could be you’re getting walked over by the person you might have been arguing, competing, or at opposite ends with. You may have to serve truly as a bridge between side A and side B.
5. Face in the Mud doesn’t mean you are wimpy or not willing to stand up- just the opposite. Face in the mud leadership is quiet strength. And being confident and competent as a leader.
Head on over to Charles Lee’s blog and take a few minutes to watch my interview with him. We talk about Catalyst, getting things done, what I’ve learned over the years about leaders, and why collaboration is so important.
Charles is a perfect example of what I would consider a true Catalyst- a risk-taker, a leader willing to follow God’s call, a pastor who is impacting his community, a Christ-follower intent on living out the Gospel through word and deed, and ultimately a visionary who is creating opportunities for influence to occur. Check out more of the great work he is doing.
Here is part three of the Producing Events Series. You can find Part One and Part Two below on the site.
7. Engage all of the senses. Taste, Touch, Smell, Seeing, Hearing. Hit all of them as much as possible. Most events or experiences only focus on Seeing and Hearing. Disney is the best I’ve seen at this.
8. Video/screens can be one of your greatest assets, or biggest barriers. Everyone thinks that they have to do IMAG screens and lots of video elements, but anymore, if it’s not HD quality and really well done, it can be a hindrance. The biggest lesson- if you are leveraging video, then invest heavily in the quality.
9. A proper balance of challenge/light/funny/serious is a good grid for the rhythm of your programming. Lots of combinations on these four options. Always build in margin through humor and intentional moments of light-heartedness. Otherwise people will check out.
10. Learn from those who are more talented, have more money, create bigger events, and know more. Regardless of industry or background, learn from those who are the experts. We’re never too good or too big or too experienced to learn from someone else.
The October edition of the Young Influencers List. You can see last month’s list, along with all the past editions, here.
1. Charles Jenkins- pastor of the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, along with being a community leader, entrepreneur and songwriter.
2. Jessica Markowitz- 14 year old from Seattle who started an organization called IMPUWE, which helps Rwandan girls attend school. Jessica will receive the UNICEF World of Children Award this week.
3. Dude Perfect Squad- group of college students at Texas A&M whose crazy basketball shots have become the most recent craze on Youtube. Been on Sportscenter, Good Morning America, and several other shows recently.
4. Pete Greig- founder of the 24-7 Prayer Movement, an international and interdenominational community based out of London.
5. Kari Jobe- worship leader and songwriter from Gateway Church in Dallas, TX. Most known for singing Revelation Song. Opened Catalyst a month ago with that song. Wow.