Below are the notes that I took during Andy Stanley's opening presentation at Catalyst 2009. The theme for this year's Catalyst Conference was "On Your Mark." Building off that theme, Andy's comments focused on "making your mark."- We need to take the subject of leadership and look at it through the lens of Scripture.
- The reason we are here and love to study and learn about leadership is because we want to make our world better… we want to make our mark.
- We want to make the world better.
- We want to believe when we are gone we will be missed.
- We want people to say: Our world was better because they were here. That’s not an ego, it’s the mark of God on our lives.
- Every leader leaves a mark. The challenge is: what mark are you going to leave?
- If you are discontent with the status quo and want to see change it’s because God has put that desire in you.
- Leaders always leave a mark the question is what kind of mark are you going to leave?
- You won't understand the mark you've left until long after you've left it.
- You won’t recognize your greatest mistake until after you've made it.
- You won't know your defining moment until it’s already happened.
- The challenge and problem for leaders who want to see change is that we don’t know the thing that we will do that will make the greatest difference.
- As you study leadership and leaders, you see they don’t realize the significance of what they've done until long after they've done it.
- “God takes full responsibility for the life wholly committed to Him.” – Charles Stanley
- It’s not about the mark you leave but the mark God makes through you.
- My responsibly is to be obedient to God and to trust him with the consequences.
- You need to settle once and for all, who’s mark is this for? Be consumed with Who you are for. Once you decide that, you can live your life with freedom in knowing that God will take full responsibility for your life and your leadership.
- You have no idea what God wants to accomplish for you. When God has done His greatest work in the world you won’t know it.
- Living life to make my mark is too small a thing for us to give our whole life to. Live with greater concern about who you are for. If you settle this once and for all, you’ll be perfectly positioned for God to do His most extraordinary thing through you.
- You are going to leave a mark. The real question for you is, “Who’s mark is it gonna be?”
- Let’s not live our lives trying to live our small marks when we've been invited to play a role in God’s story and to make His mark in our world.
