Catalyst Road Trip

Yesterday we heard from Steve Graves and Jonathan Beasley about the “true heroes” in the church…those that are plowing through the details of every day life and the messiness of what really happens in church leadership…those that may not get stage time but are learning practical lessons discovered only in the process of digging for them. We wanted to hear from Bryan about lessons he has unearthed during his process of working in the church.

(Video and pictures on the next page)

Bryan Shock recently planted a church in Conway, AR. He brought 136 people to Catalyst this past October, his 6th time at Catalyst, and he shared some of his story with us while we enjoyed a hearty breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Bryan admitted what we hear all the time and what can only be understood through serving in the church, “passion ebbs and flows and sometimes it can die. At that point it becomes job maintenance.” It’s true. How many pastors and church leaders find themselves staring at their desk wondering they can keep up in the race and make it one more day? Probably more than we hear about…Bryan doesn’t claim to have the answers and probably didn’t share all he could have with us but one thing he did offer as insight from his journey was, “the process of leadership growth plays a vital role in stirring passion.” Bryan wants to grow and has people walking with him towards that end.

Here is Bryan sharing more about what he is learning on the front line of the church…

Before leaving Conway Chris arranged for us to be able to meet with Rick Bezet, Senior Pastor of New Life Church. It was last minute and Rick was able to squeeze us in between a couple of meetings…it was great to have a chance to meet Rick and connect with him for a few minutes. He is a HUGE LSU fan and had to deal with Chris and his Arkansas flag hanging in the background! Sorry Rick… While we were talking in the Vanagon a pre-school class came strolling by and we ended up hanging out with them for a few minutes. They saw the picture of Lanny and the camel on the side of the Vanagon and one of them decided to name the camel “Furry.” We passed out some candy, much to the delight of their teacher, “great…sugar for the kids, thanks guys!”

We were thankful for time with Bryan and Rick and look forward to seeing them in October. We are staying in Nashville tonight with Nate Larkin & the guys from the Samson Socitey and then heading back to Atlanta on Tuesday. We are looking forward to getting home and doing some laundry! Chris will take off for Dallas later this week, and LV will head back to the Catalyst offices…a map of our next road trip will be released sometime in the next week. Stay tuned!

Your Friendly Vanagon Vagabonds