Today is my 31st birthday and rather than continue with birthday traditions of the past I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself.  Would you consider being a part of project 31???

project 31 - celebrating my 31st birthday with 31 friends who give $31 to charity: water...

When Scott Harrison turned 31 he started one of the world's most infuential organizations focused on bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations, charity: water.  Scott's 31st birthday sparked a movement that is changing the world...it's an honor to join this cause.  Check out Scott's story here.

Today, our goal is $1,000 which would provide clean drinking water for 50 people, let's do this!  Thanks for being a part of the Catalyst family!  It's an honor to celebrate with you...

LV
(and thank you Scott and the whole charity: water team for this chance to join you in your work.)

All you smart, creative, connected Catalyst leaders out there, let's brainstorm today.

We are the Body of Christ & each one of us has important gifts for the rest of the body. We want to help facilitate more connections in the body. We want you to meet & collaborate with more people. How can we help you do this at our events? What have been your best networking experiences? What intentional strategies would work to cultivate connections?

Share some ideas below. If you have the best idea, we'll send you a book! GO!

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Thanks everyone for your participation. The winner of "Best Idea" is .... JOHN WALDO!

This was a hard decision, but he commented twice, had some interesting insights, and also emailed me some more ideas & retweeted. You guys gave some PHENOMENAL ideas, which we are processing now & seeing what we can incorporate into our conferences. I encourage you to take these great ideas and implement them yourself in whatever way you can. The Body needs more connection, collaboration & unity!

This is a guest blog post from Todd Rhoades. Todd is a super-maven, keeping you up to date on everything interesting happening in the Church.

Dave Ferguson, pastor of Community Christian Church in Chicago, gave an passionate plea to Verge conference attendees last week: "Ordain every Christ Follower".

From the Christian Post:  

"Preaching from the New Testament, he told members of the church, "You are a royal priesthood. ... You're a priest. As a priest there's a particular people or there's a particular place that God has called you to."

The Chicago pastor invited those who felt God's calling to come forward to be anointed. A couple thousand people came forward, named the people or place (neighbors, co-workers, underprivileged children, etc.) they felt called to go and share Christ with, and were "ordained."

Encouraging church leaders to foster an apostolic environment and build a church community where everyone carries the divine calling of reaching and saving the lost, Ferguson challenged fellow pastors to "ordain every Christ follower."

What do you think?

Todd

Our good friends at ARC (Association of Related Churches) are hosting their annual conference In Baton Rouge, April 27-29.  For church leaders, and specifically church planters, this is a chance to join with other like minded leaders who have a heart for leading healthy local churhces. 

We love supporting their work and hope you get a chance to join this amazing team...

ALL ACCESS // TWENTY TEN
(this is an unbelievable lineup including Hillsong United!)

Learn more about ARC by clicking HERE.