Hey y’all.

I’m in the dirty, dirty south. I just participated in a lab at the Catalyst Conference today, together with the incredible Leonce and Bianca, who together I now refer to as Beyonce.

                                   Bia-nca                   BEYONCE                             Le-once 

 (Get it?)

We discussed the qualities, events, and processes that have impacted how we lead. Leonce from his perspective of being a young church planter, Bianca from her perspective of working with a non-profit, and my perspective of starting my own division of Love and Respect, not to mention, working with family! 

We were asked to give advice on how to serve young leaders and how to lead as a young leader. We decided to make a little video to say hi and share with you a bit of what we touched on in our lab…

If you are bummed you couldn’t make it to Catalyst this year, there are still ways for you to get involved, learn, and best of all, laugh.

Speaking of laughing, the long time MC’s of the event are Tripp & Tyler.  For a taste of their weirdness (and you know I like weirdness), here is one of my favorite videos:

There are so many ways to keep up-to-date with all things Catalyst.

You can check out the speaking schedule HERE. Or, you can check out podcasts of the different speakers HERE.

There’s also a Catalyst Twitter stream, which you can check out HERE, or by following the hashtags #MAKE and #catalyst. For the live blogging of the event, click HERE.

PLUS, I will be live, behind-the-scenes of the conference at 9:30 am EST on October 4. Check it out HERE.

The best news is, many Catalyst speakers are guest posting for the Illumination Project in the upcoming month. Get to know them:

Jon Acuff @jonacuff 

Jennie Allen @JennieSAllen
You can also check out her site www.whatisyouranything.com

Nicole Cottrell @ModernReject

Esther Fleece @EstherFleece

Brad Lomenick @bradlomenick (of @catalystleader)

Lindsey Nobles @LindseyNobles (of @food4thehungry)

Bianca Olthoff @BiancaOlthoff (of @TheA21Campaign)

If you are at Catalyst this week, please say hi! And if you aren’t at Catalyst, still say hi because I have a very fine-tuned eardrum.

Question

What are ways you can be a bridge between generations in your community?

Do you own socks as cool as Leonce’s?

_______________________________

Bianca is a dynamic speaker and teacher passionate about reaching the next generation through a revolution of heart, mind, and soul. Whether live in a talk, through a blog, or listening to a study, Bianca teaches passionately while weaving culture, media and wit into God’s life changing word.

Culture is a large part of how Bianca connects to those inside and outside the church. Passionate about life change and influencing culture, her inspiring words are leveraged to reach the marginalized, disenfranchised, and different. Growing up in the inner-city to immigrant parents, she flagrantly lives out her love for Christ, in the words of Kayne West, with the spirit of a hustler and the swagger of a college kid.

On staff at her church in East Los Angeles, she oversees creative development and public relations, with an emphasis on reaching the un-churched. Bianca lives in Southern California with her husband Matt Olthoff and has two step-children, Ryen and Parker. When she isn’t trying to save the world, she’s cooking in the kitchen, dancing in the living room, or working out at the gym.

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Leonce Crump II is the lead planter and pastor of Renovation Church. Originally from Louisiana and raised Catholic, Leonce began following Jesus at age 16. Always an athlete and a talker, Leonce outran his first mall security guard (and pregnant mother) at age 3, and spent most of his grade school years talking with his principals on the subject of public speaking during class. In 2006 he felt called to plant a church and through prayerful seeking of direction settled on the under-served area of downtown Atlanta. In early 2008 he and his wife moved to Atlanta from Tennessee to begin the process of planting Renovation Church. In 2009 Leonce was assessed and approed as a member of the Acts 29 church planting network, and began a partnership with Perimeter Church in Atlanta in their commitment to local church planting.

A prodigious reader and engaging speaker, Leonce regularly speaks and preaches across the country at conferences and churches of all denominations. He also has a forthcoming book, which will be made public at the end of this year.

Leonce enjoys boxing, studying theology, history, leadership, church structure and poetry. He likes soul music like Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, and Jimi Hendrix (the blues albums), working out, watching football, UFC, and rugby, playing with his daughters, hanging with the homeless dudes outside his house and going to art shows. Leonce and his wife Breanna have lived in the Grant Park community of Atlanta for 3 years, and have two daughters.