Mark Batterson At Catalyst Group

I'm a part of something called the Allison Park Catalyst Group. This is a gathering of pastors, youth pastors, and ministry leaders from the Pittsburgh area associated with the Allison Park network of churches (BTW ACC is the 2nd of 6 churches planted by APC). We gather every month for worship, encouragement, fellowship, discussion, and last but not least...food :)

The guest speaker for today's meeting was Mark Batterson, Lead Pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC. NCC currently has 7 weekend services in 3 locations , two of which are movie theaters. Their larger vision is to meet in movie theaters in metro stops throughout the DC area. About 70% of his church attenders are single 20 somethings.

Mark shared and awesome, thought provoking talk with us about 5 challenges ministry leaders face. Real brief, here are a couple of notes from his talk:

The Identity Challenge
Pastors must work hard to find their identity in Christ because the ministry is so all encompassing.
We can minister because we have to or we can minister because we have to. Either we are preaching because we can't hold it in, or we are preaching because we are scheduled.
There is a fine line between building Thy kingdom and building my kingdom.
There are no limitations when you stay humble and keep your motives right.

The Family Challenge
Your family is more important than your ministry. If you don't set boundaries, your calendar will control you.

The Criticism Challenge
Quoted Erwin McManus: "Don't let an arrow pierce your heart unless it has first passed through the filter of Scripture."
Pleasing God has to be the #1 priority.
He also said, "If you're not offending some Pharisees you may be offending Jesus."

The Creativity Challenge
In the Bible, God did not give us an order of service for church. Could it be because that would stifle creativity?
The most important truths should be communicated in the most unforgettable ways.

The Growth Challenge
The key to church growth is personal growth. Leaders are readers. Find a way to keep growing.

Great stuff. It was really refreshing to hear from someone so real, honest, and passionate. Mark has also written a great book called "In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars" which is well worth the read.