Interview with Jim Daly, pres of Focus on the Family

The latest Catalyst Podcast features an interview with Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family, and author of Finding Home. Ken Coleman sits down with Jim to discuss the Tebow Superbowl commercial, the future of Focus, and Jim’s personal story of adoption. Also included in this episode is an interview with Jeb Stuart, writer/director of the recently released film Blood Done Sign My Name, and classics such as Die Hard.

Listen to the episode or download from itunes.

Some funny videos

A few funny videos for you to end the week!

Young Influencers List, February Edition

The February Edition of the Young Influencers List. You can see the past months’ editions here.

1. Lance Briggs- founder of Uganda Bible Project.

2. Allyson Felix- Olympic sprinter and 2008 gold medalist in the 200 meters. First women to ever win 3 consecutive world championships in the 200.

3. Pete Wilson- pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, uber blogger, and author of Plan B which will release in May.

4. Billy Williams- Grassroots Movement Director for Nuru International.

5. Ty Clark- CEO and Designer of Veritas, an art fashion brand that includes a unique clothing line aiming to help humanity through art.

Top Twelve Events in 2010

Here is my list of the top twelve events for leaders in the Church to attend in 2010:

1. Catalyst- yep, it’s first on my list. I’m biased, but I would put Catalyst #1 even if I didn’t have a business card by the same name. And this includes Catalyst East in October, Catalyst West in April, and Catalyst One Days throughout the year.

2. Q- April 28-30 in Chicago.

3. Drive- May 3-5 in Atlanta.

4. Chick-fil-A Leadercast- May 7 in Atlanta.

5. The Orange Conference- April 28-30 in Atlanta.

6. Hillsong Conference- July 5-9 in Sydney, Australia

7. ARC All Access Conference- April 27-29 in Baton Rouge.

8. Exponential- April 19-22 in Orlando.

9. Leadership Summit- August 5-6 in Chicago.

10. Unleash Conference- March 4 in Anderson, SC

11. National Leadership Forum- March 10-12 in Lakeland, FL

12. Right Now Conference- November 11-12 in Dallas, TX

This list doesn’t include any online events. Only in-person experiences.

What did I forget?

Interview with Carlos Whittaker

My good friend Carlos Whittaker of Ragamuffin Soul is busy these days. A new album, leading worship all over the country, creative consulting, and of course keeping us all informed, entertained, and inspired through his blog.

I found a few minutes to catch up with Carlos while he was recently in Nashville. Of course at a Starbucks!! I figured I would go ahead and include Part One and Part Two of our interview.

6 Must Haves as a Leader right now

1. Leaders must have courage- the ability to risk and actually make a decision and do something. Quick to action.

2. Leaders must have conviction- a strong and compelling vision, and passion to pursue it.

3. Leaders must have a clear calling- understand how God has wired you.

4. Leaders must have authenticity- honest, humble and sincere. Willing to sacrifice. Willing to protect their teammates and take the fall.

5. Leaders must be willing to learn- leaders are readers. and have an insatiable desire to know more.

6. Leaders must be in touch with reality- ability to understand the context of our day. Plan for the future while leading in the present. Informed enough to make the tough decision.

Catalyst West best rates end TODAY

I’m really excited about Catalyst West this year on April 21-23, 2010 in Orang County, CA. The speaker lineup is powerful- Andy Stanley, Erwin McManus, Louie Giglio, Mark Driscoll, Donald Miller, Dallas Willard, Charlene Li, Kay Warren, and many others.

Chris Tomlin, Vicky Beeching, Carlos Whittaker, Jonathan and Candi Shelton, and Aaron Keyes will be leading us musically.

Plus, Tripp Crosby, Tyler Stanton, and Jud Wilhite as our hosts once again.

If you haven’t registered your team yet, make sure you do TODAY. The best rates on tickets end today, so go ahead and get signed up.

Our theme is Unusual Tomorrow. As you’ll see from Tripp and Tyler below, we’ve been working on time travel, and we think we’ve had a big breakthrough……

Hillsong United, U2 and Coldplay

Three of my favorite bands in the world.

Hillsong United, U2 and Coldplay. Very popular. Love their style. Love their music. Would love to see them all at the same concert. That would be epic.

Even though these 3 bands are very different and very unique, I think there are some commonalities among the three of them. So here’s my 5 things I think they have in common regarding their music:

1. singable- songs that are great for corporate worship, or for concert environments.

2. chantable- lines that are very memorable. and easily chanted among thousands.

3. rememberable- i can still remember lyrics from U2 songs in the 80′s. They create anthem songs.

4. danceable- yep, lots of their songs make you want to dance.

5. clappable- a common trait among lots of songs, but when you combine that with chantable, it makes for uber power arrangements.