Be Present

In Atlanta, right now, a conference called Catalyst is taking place.  It's purpose is "To ignite passion for Christ and develop the leadership potential of the next generation equipping them to engage and impact their world." 

It fulfills it's mission!  I know because a couple of years ago I took our staff, and I believe it ignited our passion for the One we serve, for each other and for those we lead!  It developed our thinking outside the lines people had drawn around God's Church. It bonded us together under a new flag of engaging and impacting this world for the Kingdom of God!  

This year's conference is based upon the theme: Be Present! Here's how they state it:
Distraction has become the new norm. We get caught up with what happened yesterday and are preoccupied with what may happen tomorrow. Our attention is too often focused on what is happening “out there.” In the same moment, we are talking on the phone, replying to an email, updating our status and checking the latest headline. We commit to be in too many places at once. And those right in our midst are hurting. Brokenness exists all around you. Right now.

As leaders, we must be present. It’s our responsibility to embrace what God has put squarely in front of us, and take action where we are.

Being present requires time, space, and place. Eye to eye focus. Undivided attention. Messy moments of inconvenience. A willingness to lay down everything else to pay attention to who is in front of you. Listening, caring, and loving. Putting down roots in a specific place. Leading where you are.

We need more presence. With our Savior, our families, our friends, our neighbors, our city, our teams, our circle of influence.We must show up and be in the moment.


I have to confess...I've not been present lately.  I've not been present with God in the way that I passionately desire; I've not been present with my wife in the way that she needs me to be; I've not been present with those I shepherd and lead--I've just not be present!  I thought I was just having trouble focusing and concentrating, but now I realize I've been distracted by everything the enemy uses to pull us away from a "presence" with God.

Maybe you're experiencing the same thing (I think most of us do in different ways)!  But have you noticed, like I have, that when you attempt to focus on being present (especially with God), even more distractions seem to come up?  And then you end up giving "presence" to them, instead of the things of God.  It's frustrating!

I was listening to Francis Chan's Catalyst presentation today, and one question he asked hit me for the first time...again (isn't it amazing how hard-headed we can be in learning something?):  Does anything else matter than being completely present with God?

Of course, the answer is "no!"  As I think about it (again), when that relationship takes precedence in my life, my presence with all the other relationships naturally fall in place behind.  Why?  Because God cares about those he has placed in my life...all their joys, hurts, idiosyncrasies, etc.  Being in His Presence bring me to the place where my heart breaks for the things that break His heart...for the people HE cares about!

My prayer for you, and for myself, is that we would first Be Present with our Lord, and that the distractions of this world (whether in the form of material things or people or whatever) would be lessened.  And as a result, each of us would be given the supernatural time, space, attention and place to BE PRESENT with God in deeper ways; resulting in a deeper presence with those God has placed in our lives!

Sometimes A Hard-Headed Servant!
Greg