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Catalyst Vanagon

February 22, 2008 - I24 West (TN)

February 22, 2008


9:36PM
lv-and-reggie.jpg The 2008 Catalyst Road Trip welcomes our next honorary Vanagon Vagabond, Mr. Reggie Goodin! Reggie has passed the vanagon driving test (which basically means he knows where to find the fuel gauge and understands the difference between full and empty:)). We are on the road again... this time towards Texas by way of Memphis, TN and Little Rock, AR. It's been raining all day but the windshield wipers are working great! We continue to live in the right lane of the highway waving at 18-wheelers as they pass us by...

We are looking forward to our first official road trip stop for this leg of the journey - Sunday morning with Pastor Tim Lundy from Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, AR. There is a possibility that we might get a chance to meet up with a former Catalyst Conference guest in Memphis on Saturday, but we are waiting to hear back...

We are currently listening to the Catalyst Podcast interview with Ernie Johnson and Pastor Jon Weece - good stuff! Hope you have a great Friday night... the I440 West exit towards Memphis is just ahead, we will soon be "walking in Memphis!"

Your Friendly Vanagon Vagabonds

Catalyst Vanagon

Thursday February 21, 2008 - Road Trip Change of Plans, again…

February 21, 2008


2:42PM
There are two options when plans suddenly change - frustration or surrender. Unfortunately the former is much easier to embrace than the latter... and that is the struggle we find ourselves in right now. The Vanagon is being worked on and has taken longer than anticipated so our trip to Auburn and Birmingham has been postponed. :-( The plan right now is to leave, at the latest, Friday afternoon for Memphis and then on to Little Rock before making an extended stop in Dallas. Kevin, Jack, and Brad - thanks for your understanding!

On February 11th we asked you the question, "What is your favorite road trip song?" Well, your song suggestions have been heard and the first edition of the 2008 Catalyst Road Trip iMix is currently being finalized. There are 22 songs that were suggested and they have all been compiled to an imix that will be available on iTunes very soon. It is quite the eclectic mix! We will get you that link as soon as it is available - and for those of you that have yet to add YOUR favorite road trip song, stay tuned, a second edition may be on the horizon... keep those songs coming!

New Pictures from the Evolve Conference for church planters have been added to the Catalyst Flickr page and the next Catalyst Podcast will be released on Tuesday, February 26th. The "About" tab (above) has been updated with a couple of fun, short videos and the "Catalyst Voices" tab now includes insight from Bill Pugh, President of Athletes in Action, and Brian Tome, pastor of Crossroads Community Church in Cincinnati, OH.

The Catalyst Team is working hard here in rainy Duluth, GA... we hope you are having a fantastic day where you are! More updates soon, thanks for staying with us through this ever changing road trip adventure.

Your Grounded Vanagon Vagabonds!

Sex Sells


Unfortunately - in our lust-crazed, fallen culture - sex gets headlines.

While looking for something to blog-about yesterday, I ran across this post from Monday Morning Insight. Relevant Church, in Tampa, is doing a relevant sermon series called The 30-Day Sex Challenge.

They're challenging singles to remain abstinent for 30 days and challenging married couples to have sex - everyday - for 30 days. This is very interesting.

The funny part is that I wasn't going to blog about it, I thought it would be too licentious (the picture is a little racy). But then I ran across like 4 other blogs mentioning it, and a co-worker this morning sent a mass email telling people about it - the head pastor at Relevant Church was on the radio this morning in Atlanta, and a mainstream news station interviewed him.

It's interesting that when sex is mixed with church there are headlines. It probably has to do with the fact that the Church has ignored the issue of sex for so long. From their website:

For far too long the church has remained silent on the subject, leading many people to believe that God is against sex, which is completely counter to what the Bible teaches.

read their blog explaining their heart for the series.

Is this what we're talking about when we say we need to use creative means to engage our culture? - I know I'm engaged.

Tattoos, Tofu and Pronouns

February 20, 2008


This is not an emergent blog post, it's the title of Nancy Ortberg's first book - Looking for God: an Unexpected Journey through Tattoos, Tofu, and Pronouns.

In Looking for God, Ortberg encourages readers to break out of a prescriptive, formulaic approach to Christianity, and to embrace the struggles and the joy in order to experience God on a deeper level than they ever imagined. Ortberg poses that God invades every part of our lives, each hour of our days, but often speaks the most clearly in times of weakness, failure, and doubt. With unexpected vulnerability and authenticity, Ortberg leads the way by sharing her struggles and encouraging others that connecting with God doesn't have to look a certain way. It's a very Blue Like Jazz-esque.

Looking for God is scheduled for release in March 2008.
Catalyst Vanagon

February 18, 2008 - New Pictures!

February 18, 2008


10:37PM
Check out new pictures from the Evolve Conference - a conference for church planters held at Mountain Lake Church in Cumming, GA. This is a chance for the Catalyst team to connect with over 500 church planters and share with them about the Catalyst Experience and our desire to help develop leaders on the front line of the church. It's an honor to spend time with men and women risking so much to build the Body of Christ. Catalyst and GiANT Impact exist to "prepare the Bride" for that day when we will see Jesus again... what day that will be! This time at Evolve gives us a chance to encourage and help impart vision to those that are committed to building His Church. It's been a great day! We will be there tomorrow as well - more pictures tomorrow night! Road Trip #4 to TX kicks off Thursday morning...

NEW PICTURES - Evolve Conference 2008

We were able to see some friends from our previous road trips - Jay Hardwick, the team from Westridge Church, and the team from Elevation Church - Pastor Steve Furtick gave a convicting message on the warnings of "cutting and pasting" from other leaders. We must recognize the freedom God has given us to live in the fullness of who He has made us to be, with a unique call, and full of unique strengths. We are freed from the pressure to do what other people do or be who other people are. We are freed to be who He has made us to be! Make sure to check out Pastor Steve's blog - you will find it in the right margin of this blog —>

The Vanagon is back on the road Thursday!

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