What Andy Had to Say

Andy Stanley was the opening and closing speaker for Catalyst and as usual, his words really resonated with me.  Here are the highlights of what he had to say.

We need to awaken to the fact that what is isn’t all there is.

All of life conspires against wonder… age, experience, the church, parents.

Andy’s mentor was always asking him this question—“What are you working on BIG?”

                Don’t give your life to something small.

** To awaken the wonder within is to stir and disturb the imaginations of the people and organizations that you lead.

                Wonder is as threatening and disruptive as it is inspiring because the 
                essence of wonder requires you to work against the flow of the status quo.

                Some leaders resist giving in to wonder and imagination because they 
                don’t like what they can’t understand or control.

                Often organizations are buckets of water trying to quench the vision
                we have of the future.

To be a leader who awakens wonder in those you lead:

1.  Keep wonder wide awake in you.  If you allow wonder to shut down in you, you will shut it down in others. 

Be a student, not a critic.  Study and learn the wonder that is coming into your life, however it comes to you.

** Wonder lives on the frontiers of your ignorance.  You will learn the most from people who differ from you and those who have different ideas than you.

“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”-- Eric Hoffer

2.  Replace “How?”  with “WOW!”   Fear not!  Don't let your first reaction be to "how" an idea to death.

3.  Add the word “imagine” to everything.

 Above all else, the fact that Jesus rose, His resurrection, should keep our wonder wide open!