Once again, I attended the annual Catalyst Conference two weeks ago here in Atlanta. My favorite day of the conference is Labs. It’s the day where you get to choose who you want to hear, and tailor the topics more to your interest. I was able to sit in on some great ones this year! Check it out…
Reggie Joiner, founder of Orange
- When you establish a habit of showing up for others, it may change you more than it does them.
- You may need to change the way you think about influence. It’s not necessarily success, power, authority, etc.
- Influence has to be earned.
- You have to keep showing up.
- Don’t pass judgement. Press pause.
- Empathy amplifies the truth. It doesn’t change it.
- Pause to imagine or pause to interact.
- When you open the door to Jesus, you ope the door to wherever He takes you.
IF:Gathering Lab 1 (Jo Saxon, Vivian Mabuni, Jennie Allen, Tasha Morrison)
- Jesus sets our example for racial reconciliation.
- People of other colors are not our tokens. They need to become friends.
- John 17, we must be a credible witness – Tasha
- Creating new laws and amendments are not the same thing as dismantling the system. – Tasha
- It’s ok for you to listen to someone else’s pain, and not know what to say. But please listen. – Jo
- It’s ok for you to hear someone else’s pain and not know what to say. But we need to listen. – Jo
- The Church has been the taillights when it comes to racial reconciliation, when it should be the headlights. Aren’t we the ones who have HOPE through Jesus? – Tasha
- If you are someone with a platform, maybe you should use it to pass the mic to someone else with more knowledge on this issue. I have a black son, but I do not know what it is to be black. – Jennie Allen
- Always start with prayer. – Tasha
- Get to know People of Color as people first. Change happens when we find commonality and develop real relationships. – Tasha
- Diversify your life in small ways first. – Tasha
- Reconciliation will cost you. It could be pride or comfort, or even your politics. It’s hard work. – Tasha
- I can support the police while speaking up for justice. – Tasha
- Get off social media, turn off the TV, and get some real-life People of Color friends! Don’t try to understand our culture from a media perspective. It’s often wrong. – Tasha
IF:Gathering Lab 2 (Jenni Allen, Lindsay Nobles, Tasha Morrison, Rebekah Lyons, Esther Havens, Liz Curtis Higgs)
- Romans 12:4-6 Message, Christ’s body and its many parts
- In each of our life stages, we feel at some point that we are drowning.
- Guilt and shame are entirely different. Shame is not of God. Guilt needs to get our attention. And guilt is the only time a good, Christian girl can say, “Go to hell!” – Liz 😉
- Many times we are so overwhelmed in our world, we stay confined there. When in fact, we should get perspective and distraction from other people’s world. We forget that we are all living someone else’s dream. Be grateful for where you are, and run with it. – Esther
- Look up “Simply Christian” by NT Wright (permanence, proximity and presence)
- We all need 3:00 a.m. friends. Be the one to lead with vulnerability. – Rebekah
- Be brave in saying what you need.
- Your vulnerability is one of the greatest gift you have to give. – Rebekah
IF:Gathering Lab 3 (Lindsay Nobles, Esther Havens, Tasha Morrison, Vivian Mabuni, Jennie Allen, Jo Saxon, Liz Curtis Higgs and Rebekah Lyons)
- Don’t put the pressure on others to come to you. Go to them. If you are white, put yourself in a place locally where you are in the minority. Sit in it for a while. – Tasha
- Joshua had to be told to be ‘strong and courageous.’ We all feel inadequate in the beginning of big dreams. – Jennie
- We don’t have to be afraid of what God tells us to do because He has bigger and better plans ahead anyway. We just have to start down the path. – Liz
- It’s better to proactively get counseling for a year than to wait and need it for 10. – Jo
- Your platform is not a place to do your therapy. Go first as a good example, but do it in a good and responsible way. – Liz
- What are the visuals that people see in your church? For example, are all your missions pictures of white people saving the poor, black people? What does this communicate to your children? – Jo
- If you have a multi-ethnic or diverse church, it doesn’t mean that you’ve arrived. The issue of racial reconciliation isn’t a box to be checked. It’s an ongoing conversation. – Tasha
- Your church needs to be a safe place for kids of all ethnicities. If it’s not, the children of color will take impressions, feelings, memories, comments and even micro aggressions into adulthood. I know I have, and so have my friends. The Church should be a place where all feel welcome and wanted. That is what the gospel is all about. – Tasha
Just got back from Austin! It was a fun event, and I loved making new friends and discovering new speakers and resources. God showed up and big and small ways, as He always does. He is faithful.
Mental Post-Its 