Ok, so here’s the deal. It’s true, it has always been true, and will probably remain true unless the cosmos intervenes and radically shifts the Mars vs. Venus dynamic - women are more thoughtful and caring than men. Case in point? Ben Arment’s office. What did the men do to Ben’s office? We packed it full of junk and allowed it to become a dirty, red-neck storage room. What did the women (uh, Melissa Kruse) do to Ben’s office? Yeah, she cleaned it up. Ben, it’s all Chad’s fault!
Check out the “before” picture of Ben’s office (taken from Ben’s blog) and the “in process” picture taken this morning. Later this week Ben is going to post an “after” picture on his blog. Ben, we are glad you’re here! (and glad that you’re office no longer resembles the Catlayst Vanagon! :))
before, in process, & after…
Upcoming Road Trip dates and itineraries coming soon…stay tuned!
LV Hanson on behalf of the pathetically messy guys of the Catalyst Team who could not survive without the persevering love, patience, and grace of our fantastic Catalyst Queens led by Melissa Kruse
AND, help me wish our director, Brad Lomenick, and faithful Catalyst Concierge, Dwayne Melton, a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! If you can make it over to the Catalyst Office this afternoon feel free to stop by and enjoy some birthday cake with us! (birthday cakes provided by melissabakescakes.com - not an official website yet, but it should be!)
Check out this post from the Catalyst Bloghighlighting some very, Very, VERY exciting news recently released from our good friends at ROOV.com. You may remember Chris Capehart and Micah Davis as former Vanagon Vagabonds…now check out what is happening with ROOV, THEY JUST LAUNCHED NATIONALLY!
“WEEKLY COMMENTARY:
Very excited about ROOV.com. It’s a social networking site that works locally. It connects people in the same geographical area based on interests AND it gets people off the computer and into each others’ FACE - as they hang-out and do fun stuff together. As social networking gains popularity, a few people have questioned whether this phenomenon is actually making us more isolated. I mean, we may have 300 friends now, but very, very little depth, and less human interaction. ROOV is a welcome remedy to that, using the internet to help you meet & connect in real life - facilitating conversations and experiences that have real depth and meaning.” Go online to get offline…
Chris and the ROOV team just released a pretty cool video highlighting ROOV - make sure to sign up at ROOV.com and find out how you can be a part of the ROOVment!
Tim’s Blog highlights a video from Mark Batterson: Mark Batterson is the pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C. and ended with this moving baptism video.
The “Catalyst Voices” & “Fun Videos” tabs (located along the top margin) have been updated in chronological order with the newest videos at the top. “Catalyst Voices” features interviews with leaders from ALL walks of life…men and women that we have met on the road and were gracious to give us a few minutes of their time. “Fun Videos” is just that…a source of random, sometimes stupid, sometimes funny videos from your friendly Vanagon Vagabonds. Hope you enjoy your weekend!
Today I welcomed the company of our Catalyst Group Leader Kit. That’s right, the “Together Triangle” rode shotgun filling in for Mr. Brad “can’t ride, gotta fly” Lomenick. Oh, the irony - riding “together”without Brad. Hope you had a great flight buddy…
On the way hope I had a chance to stop by and spend time with a possible future Vanagon Vagabond, Brian Cole. He and his family are in Lynchburg this weekend and invited me to stop by. Brian is a critical part of the Catalyst production team and his wife, Akemi, leads the Catalyst volunteer army. Amazing people, and their kids are awesome. When I showed up at the Cole house I looked down and saw something stuck in the front windshield wiper. Warning, if you love butterflies, beware.
Cole Family & The Vanagon… Butterfly vs. The Vanagon…
It was a great week with Ben Arment and his team at Whiteboard. Thanks to everyone that came by and spent time with us at the Catalyst Booth & The Catalyst Vanagon. Just another quick reminder, there is a ton of great content from the Whiteboard Sessions that can be found at conferencechannel.org - make sure to check it out, it will definitealy be worth your time.
Mark Batterson may have best summed up the 2008 Whiteboard Sessions in a comment he made earlier today during an interview with Ed Stetzer, “It’s about turning the kaleidoscope a little bit to reveal a new patter, a new story…” New thoughts, new ideas, innovative, and challenging - yes, it was a day chalked full of front line insight from some of the most influential leaders currently in the church. conferencechannel.org is flat out amazing, and if you missed any or all of today’s events make sure to browse through the entire day and check out highlights. Hmmm, conferencechannel.org at Catalyst??? Absolutely!
On a side note, I’m not sure if I have ever been surrounded by so many bloggers in one room, at one time. Before the Catalyst Road Trip the only thing I associated with the term “blog” was the red squiggly line that pops up in Word reminding me that I’ve misspelled another word…or that I have, once again, tried to make up a new word. With the Road Trip Blog I find myself discovering a seemingly never ending world full of blogging do’s and don’t’s (see, another made up word…but it should have two apostrophes, right?!) There were blogging giants at Whiteboard today, and it was fun to have a chance to meet and talk with some of them. I’m learning a lot from these guys…
Alright, here’s a little fun video from this morning’s introduction to Whiteboard…the Catalyst Vanagon can inspire an array of reactions! Before signing off, thanks to Rob Thomas and the guys from Igniter Media Group for hanging out with us and enduring the new Indiana Jones movie, wish the movie would have been better!
Back on the road headed home to Atlanta tomorrow morning!
Stay updated on what’s happening on the 2008 Whiteboard Sessions! Brad and I are meeting with a number of people throughout the day…click below for a live feed, pictures, and twitter updates:
LV
on behalf of the Catalyst Team (and yes, including Brad this time :))
Mr. Brad Lomenick, a.k.a. “Mr. I’m Too Good for the Vanagon,” left me to drive the Highway Highlighter by myself up to Virginia so he can take a flight on Wednesday. We have THOUSANDS of people emailing and calling every week begging for the chance to drive, or at least ride shotgun, in the Catalyst Vanagon. (no we don’t) It’s borderline impossible to keep the public from mobbing us when we take it out on the road. (no it’s not) I can’t begin to count the insane offers I’ve received to provide personal Vanagon tours. (yes I can)
And Brad has the audacity to trade an adventurous trip in the Vanagon for a stuffy plane flight in coach?! I mean, come on, the theme this year is “Together,” and Brad has chosen to keep us apart. Is there something inherently wrong here? This picture tells the tale of today’s less than acceptable road trip to Virginia -
I85 North will be the stage for our Tuesday Road Trip Adventure - we are headed to Reston, VA for the 2008 Whiteboard Sessions, Thursday May 22nd, directed by our new Catalyst team member, Ben Arment. (do you think I could add a couple more commas in that last sentence?!) If you are going to be at Whiteboard OR if you are anywhere near I85 North between Atlanta and Reston (near Washington D.C.) please let us know…we would love to say hi and even get a picture with you in the Vanagon! (call or text LV Hanson at 404-839-0194)
Follow The Whiteboard Sessions LIVE on Conference Channel and stay updated on what will most certainly be a powerful event. Hope to see you there, or on the road! Stay tuned for more updates…
Francis Chan was one of our top rated speakers from Catalyst ‘07. I just found this video on You Tube and had to share it with you. It’s said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery…but what about when it’s your daughter?! Francis Chan’s daughter took a moment to imitate her dad, and she nails it! Gotta love it when your own family has you pegged! Thanks, Francis, for sharing this…
(talks continue about a road trip out West, and if it happens we are going to ask Francis to offer his best imitation of his daughter…let the youtube family fued begin! :))
NEW PICTURES from last week’s road trip visits around Atlanta are now on Flickr!. (also found along the left margin)
