Another Leg of the Amazing Race

I have been debating about whether to call my trip this week an actual leg of my Amazing Race, but since I'm making it all up myself I can do whatever I want, right?  So tomorrow night I'm heading to Atlanta to participate in the Catalyst Conference.  This event is a leadership conference put on by Andy Stanley.  My brother used to go to this every year, and he would tell me how much I would love it.  I can't tell you how excited I am to be going!

You have to be a kind of audacious person to go to a leadership conference when you have nothing to lead.  And I'm just audacious enough to believe that I have to be out there, looking for whatever God has in mind for me.  One of the draws is just to see and hear Andy Stanley in person after following him online and on video for such a long time.

The theme of the conference is "Awaken the Wonder."  What a unique thing to think about through the lens of leadership!  Here's the description included on the website:

We are hardwired for wonder.

Just as the wonder of the world points to God, a sight unseen, so too should our acts of creation bridge the gap between what is and what could be. We transfer wonder when we awaken it in others. Leadership is about providing a lens through which others can see. A heart awakened to wonder invites others to follow in its path. It connects ultimate existence to daily experience, helping others see the solutions, rewards, treasures, they previously could not see.

Wonder invites potential. Wonder provides vision. Wonder inspires. Wonder leads us to God.

It’s time to awaken the wonder.

I am excited about many of the speakers who will be presenting talks during the three days of the conference.  Some of them include David Platt, Jen Hatmaker, Dr. Brene Brown, Erwin McManus, Margaret Feinberg, Louie Giglio, and David Crowder.  What a line up!

When I told Phil about going he was excited for me.  He and I have the philosophy that we need to do all we can for as long as we can.  So every time we get to do something new, something we've dreamed of doing for a long time, we are very excited!

I'll have to think about what kind of challenge to make for myself on this leg of the race.  I'm open to ideas if anyone has a thought about what I could do.  I also plan to make my first attempt at tweeting from the conference.  We'll see how that goes.