The Catalyst Conference is always a worth-while investment. This year was no exception. Something incredible happens when twelve-thousand leaders converge in one place - God speaks. For instance, just standing during one of the many times of worship, looking across the convention center at nearly every hand raised, twelve-thousand church leaders crying out in one voice,
"There is no one higher, no one greater; no one like our God! There is none more able, Christ our Savior, Great and Glorious."
The hair on my neck stood straight in the air. God was speaking in that moment.
"You are not alone. Look around you. I am raising up the next generation. I am with you. There is none more able. There is no one greater, no one higher. You are not alone."
It's always something when God speaks. It's something to think that, this vision that He has given Rock City is part of something so much greater, so much bigger...that Christ Himself is building His church, placing all of the pieces in perfect order, in perfect harmony.
God also spoke this year through the theme of the conference - through every speaker and guest that graced the stage -
"The Tension IS Good; The Tension IS Necessary."
Every wish the tension would just "go away?" Ever wonder what life would be like, what ministry would be like without the tension? Listen to what Reggie Joiner says of tension -
There is not one aspect of life where tension doesn't have critical value. Tension between the parties and branches of government creates a needed system of checks and balances. Tension in science can lead to remarkable insights and discoveries. Tension in the family provides an opportunity to demonstrate commitment and unconditional love. Tension within a team pushes them to better perspectives and deeper relationships.
Tension is good. It is absolutely required if you want to have an authentic faith. It is critical if you hope to engage in God's story of restoration and redemption. Tension compels us to respond to a higher calling. Tension helps us face our doubts. Tension challenges who we think we are. Tension clarifies what we believe about God. Tension prepares us to live our lives with a deeper message as a part of a bigger story.
So invite it. Create it if necessary. If you avoid tension as a leader, you are potentially robbing yourself and your team of the kind of defining moments that shape their character, stretch their faith, and clarify powerful insights. So choose to embrace it, even pursue it. By doing so you add an essential ingredient to your team that will give them the potential to change the world around them.
So here we are...living in the tension. We love the church, but at the same time, we want to reclaim it, redefine it. We want to build a community committed to loving and serving one another, but at the same time, we want to build a community that is focused on taking the love and message of Jesus to the lost, the hurting and the oppressed in our cities and around the world. We want the Spirit of God to lead us, but at the same time, we resist Him when it disrupts our schedule or becomes too uncomfortable. We want change within the church, but at the same time, are we willing to do what it takes, to sacrifice everything, to have skin in the game?
It's the tension that makes us. It's the tension that creates our need to rely on God.
Andy Stanley says that "there are problems that shouldn't be solved and tensions that shouldn't be resolved. Progress depends not on the resolution of those tensions, but on the successful management of those tensions."
The Tension is Good.
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