Are you risking?

I admire leaders with courage. Leaders willing to risk. This is really basic, but Step out and Step up.

1. Step out. This is the Risk. Take the first step. If you are part of an organization, many times the “paralysis of analysis” can creep in. Or the “delay mentality”- “we’ll just wait unit next year…..” If it’s time to move, step out. Throw the idea on the table. Talk about the elephant in the room. Make a call. Send an email. Schedule the meeting. Make it happen.

2. Step up. This is the Responsibility. Be willing to lead. If you are willing to step out, you need to be prepared to step up and take ownership and responsibility. Big ideas and big dreams get fulfilled because someone has the drive and focus to make it happen. If you are an entrepreneur, then this is a no brainer, because the responsibility always falls on your shoulders. But in organization life, many times the idea gets lost because no one wants to drive it.

Interview with Eugene Cho, founder of One Days Wages

Had the chance to catch up recently with my good friend Eugene Cho, founder of One Days Wages, an international grassroots movement dedicated to fighting and ending extreme global poverty.

Along with One Days Wages, Eugene is pastor of Quest Church and founder of Q Cafe, a community cafe featuring great coffee. music, and live events.

Please consider how YOU can get involved with One Days Wages and the great work happening among this community and movement to end extreme global poverty. Especially in regards to the One Days Wages and Catalyst project. Our goal is to raise $50,000.

Millenials- the EPIC generation

My good friend Tim Elmore is one of the leading experts on understanding the Millenial Generation. He is the founder and President of Growing Leaders, a great organization focused primarily on helping college students and those who work with college students to become better leaders.

I recently had the chance to join Tim while he was training coaches part of the University of Oklahoma Athletic Department. Tough assignment for me……In the room were coaches from basketball, football, soccer, tennis, track, gymnastics, golf, and several other teams.

One of the things Tim discussed was the idea of the “next generation” of Millenials being an E.P.I.C. Generation. Thought this was interesting. Here is what he meant, and very useful in understanding the 20 somethings that are on your staff or your team.

1. Experiential- all about the 5 senses. Sensory engagement is critical and a reality in terms of what Millenials have grown up with.

2. Participatory- want an experience to be customized. Millenials have grown up in a participatory culture. Don’t just listen. Actually want to participate. This is very important in terms of creating a work environment/team culture that is attractive to 20 somethings.

3. Image-Rich- all about pictures, video, large screens, large TV’s, high res pics on your phone, etc. Pictures/video are an incredibly powerful learning medium for Millenials, vs. just text. Especially in terms of memory.

4. Connected- information is constant for Millenials. Text, facebook, twitter, phone, email. This can be both a positive and a negative. But still a reality.

I HIGHLY recommend you buy Tim’s new book Generation iY when it releases later this summer. It’s a must have resource if you want to understand the Millenial Generation, and how best to lead them.

Joshua Dubois, Scott Belsky, Michael Hyatt, Carlos Whittaker

Four leaders all part of the latest edition of the Catalyst Podcast. A power-packed lineup. This episode features an interview with Joshua Dubois, director of the White House office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Joshua and I discuss the President’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative, which just was rolled out on Monday earlier this week.

Also included on this episode is a roundtable discussion between Scott Belsky, Michael Hyatt and Carlos Whittaker. Scott is the founder of the Behance Network and also author of Making Ideas Happen. Michael is the CEO of Thomas Nelson, and Carlos is uber popular blogger at Ragamuffin Soul, worship leader and musician. This conversation happened backstage at Catalyst West.

Plus the usual banter between Ken and me.

You can listen here or, even better, subscribe and download from itunes.

Register TODAY for CATALYST to get best rates

A reminder to the blog community…. TODAY is the early registration deadline for Catalyst in Atlanta. If you are planning on attending, go ahead and register today so you can save on ticket prices. Rates will go up tomorrow, so don’t delay.

Speakers this year include Andy Stanley, Seth Godin, Daniel Pink, Francis Chan, TD Jakes, Craig Groeschel, Beth Moore, Gabe Lyons, Christine Caine, Rani Hong, Tad Agoglia, Scott Harrison, and Perry Noble. And the LAB lineup is the best yet, featuring 20 leading voices on 10 key topics.

We are giving away 10 tickets throughout the day today through the Catalyst Blog and Catalyst Twitter feed. Check it out.

Look forward to seeing you in October!

Notes from the Lausanne Conversation

Had the chance to be on a panel last week in Orlando as part of the “12 Cities/12 Conversations” Tour that is leading up to the Lausanne Congress in South Africa this October.

On the panel with some amazing leaders, and I took notes pretty much the whole time because of some great nuggets from the panelists. Here are a few of my notes:

- The new wave of Millenial believers are just as passionate about the Gospel, Scripture, and the core foundations of our Christian faith as any other generation that has come before.

- In terms of cultural engagement, we should be a thermostat, not a thermometer. Focused on Timeless truths in relevant ways.

- Engaging in culture for many Christians has been about Us vs. Them. It should really be Us for Them. – (Erwin McManus)

- We have to fight against the idea of just wearing a wristband and then feeling like we’ve done something.

- The new generation of leaders doesn’t care who gets the credit. It’s all about collaboration. Not about personalities, but more about the outcome.

- The global church is now the influencer in terms of sending and teaching. Leaders in the US need to realize that we are really no longer the leaders and in charge, and that’s ok.

- One of the greatest needs right now for many evangelistic organizations is online missionaries. The internet has changed the game in terms of reaching the lost.

- It’s God’s responsibility to change culture, not ours. But, we do have cultural power that we can use as Christians.

- Justice makes for great Evangelism and Evangelism makes for great Justice. Those don’t have to be separate. We really need to bring these two back together.

- Those of us under 40 have watched Christians in the US try and create policy and defend our position, all the while losing ground, over the last 30-40 years. So now the generation of leaders under 40 just want to go “live out” the Christian faith, and just do something. Activism for our generation in many ways is a response to what has happened previously.