3 Things I Never Expected from Catalyst West Coast
#1. I pulled in the parking lot at Mariners Church in Irvine California for day 1 of the conference and I was completely shocked to see this:
I lived on this exact tour bus for over 2 years. It smelled, broke down often and was freezing cold, but it was my home. Seeing it brought back a flood of old memories. It was a nostalgic moment. After talking with Ben I discovered that Aaron Keyes now owns my old house on wheels. I had a chance to talk with Aaron for a few minutes, but I failed to mention this old story about when the bus caught fire in South Dakota.
#2. Walking through the audience and out of no where some kid calls out my name and hugged me. Well Mike isn’t so much of a kid anymore (congrats to him and his wife Joni on having their first baby soon). My only brother Brad is the guru behind the world famous (okay, soon to be world famous) Church Media Design TV. My brother’s best friend is Mike Morgan the worship pastor at Timberlake Christian Fellowship in Washington state. I have been supporting Mike for years on his mission trips and adventures. I have been cheer-leading him as he released new albums. I have seen Mike grow up. However over the last few years we have lost touch as he has moved around the West Coast, but that all changed at Catalyst when I was hugged by old friend.
#3. Do you know why you do what you do? For example, if you are a teacher why do you teach? I am in ministry because I care about people and I want them to know that I love them and God loves them. I might totally suck at it, but I am trying. The number 1 reason I am still in ministry is because I have been around great mentors and leaders who have modeled what it means to care about people. No one person has done this more effectively than my first youth pastor John Wood. John stood beside me during some of the hardest years of my life whether he knew it or not. He cared about me and invested in me. I will never forget John Wood. 14 years ago he moved from my hometown in Michigan to Hamburg New York.
Once in 14 years our paths have crossed again. That was until I was sitting outside at Catalyst enjoying my free lunch from Chic-Fila when I saw John Wood walk by . . .
Seeing John made the whole conference worth while. Thanks Brad, Ben and the rest of the team for hosting a conference that brings old friends together.
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Benji,
It was so great to see you! The only bummer is that we never got our schedules to line up. That was the biggest disappointment of the trip. Anyway, I hope that we'll cross paths again soon!
Mike