Ok, we realize our website is different on many levels, but we love it. This year we wanted to provide an experiential website and just make people think. Catalyst loves to try new and different ideas and introduce new technological concepts to our audience. As with any website there are always mixed reviews. We would love for you to check out the site - play sudoku, look through our photo albums, check out speaker fun facts, immerse yourself in all of the fun quirks we built in. Let us know what you think about the site-

Craig Groeschel, author of soon to be released Confessions of a Pastor and speaker at Catalyst Labs on October 4th, was featured on the Today show last week. Groeschel is Lead Pastor of the third fastest growing church in America, LifeChurch.tv. Groeschel's latest sermon series is entitled "My Secrets." The church set up a website, http://www.mysecret.tv/, and the site has been getting over 1000 hits per minute since a New York Times article appeared on September 1st. The site allows visitors to post anonymously about the secrets they keep the most hidden, with links to helpful resources as well as a link titled, "pray for me." How do you feel about this idea?

There is quite a buzz about this new read by author Chris Anderson. Some would say it is the most important business book since The Tipping Point. Anderson discusses how the future of commerce and culture isn't in hits (the high-volume head of a traditional demand curve), but in what used to be regarded as misses--the endlessly long tail of options. He uses Amazon and Itunes to make his case. The discussion gets interesting when applying his principles to certain niche markets such as churches or event based businesses. Is it really thought provoking ? Check out this article in Fast Company for more information on the book. If you have read it, let us know if you think the church can learn from it.

We sat down with Louie Giglio and talked with him about the journey of Passion and his thoughts on Leadership. It really impacted our team, and we think you'll be inspired as well. To learn more about Louie and Passion check out their website.

You may have noticed a slight lull in blogging last week - the reason...preparation for our annual Catalyst Programming meeting. Our core team gathers for two days of intense (yet very fun) meetings to work on and work out the Catalyst Conference experience. This includes everything from worship songs to the speaker schedule to the out of the box elements you've come to expect at Catalyst. Let's just say that this year promises to be loaded with tons of creativity, fun, surprises, and powerful teaching. Will we break another world record? Who will make a surprise visit to the Catalyst stage totally unplanned and unannounced? What crazy antics will Lanny be involved in? Stay tuned to the blog over the next two months, as we continue to reveal some thoughts from our Programming retreat.