No, I’m not a pastor’s wife
That’s been my standing answer for the past 3 years at Catalyst. Along with these as well:
No, I’m not a pastor.
No, I’m not married to a pastor.
No, I’m not on church staff.
No, I have a ministry that you will probably not remember past today.
No, I’m not part of a group. I came by myself.
You might be asking yourself why I would spend a good chunk of money, time, and energy making sure I at least get to a Catalyst One Day each year if I don’t fit in those categories. Here are 3 reasons I make time to attend Catalyst.
1. I love the part of my brain that it fires up.
I don’t know if it’s the part of the country I live in, or the time period I live in, or the fact I mostly work by myself in my basement, but I just don’t get the synapses firing like I do when I’m at Catalyst. I can really become one of those balcony thinkers while at Catalyst, looking from a different and challenging perspective.There is so much information being fired at you in so many modes you can almost feel your head exploding. It also psyches me to search for connections and transfers between church world and my world. I can move past the “what if” questions to “how can I make this work now?”
2. As DH says, it’s a youth rally for The Quasi Grownup
For the full blown Catalyst experience I probably am close to aging out of the desired demographic. But for 2-3 days I can squeeze into some skinny jeans, dust off the TOMS, and escape to a world just busting out in creativity to the extreme. From media, to content, to praise, to humor, to more temporal thinking Catalyst is a really, really healthy escape. It’s a time to reconnect with God in a new environment but to also return to a younger stage when there is still so much to learn and you aren’t required to have all the answers. I love being enveloped by the ignorant hysterics of Tripp and Tyler, musical talents such as Carlos Whittaker and Candi P. Shelton, and being completely pushed to the edge by the wisdom of Andy Stanley and Dallas Willard.
3. God always calls me out on some fear I have and reveals so much more
Maybe it’s because I’ve stepped out of other responsibilities or distractions for a few days to be able to attend Catalyst that I can hear God better. Whatever it is, everytime I attend Catalyst, God always calls me out on some fear and reveals something far greater than I could ever imagine filling that space in my life. My two phrases I held on today were these. Craig Groeschel told the crowd to “stop whining and fix it.” Andy Stanley followed up with “you’re not special, and there is no way you are annointed.”1500 other people heard these words but oddly enough these were very personal messages for me from God.
I absolutely love the Catalyst culture of continually learning, and stretching, and challenging the status quo. I love Michele Arnold for inviting me 3 years ago. I hope to attend for many more years to come. If nothing else, it’s great motivation to be able to still squeeze into some skinny jeans.
http://catalystconference.com/#section=landing&smile=84
The Rabid Mime 