13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. -Acts 4:13-14

In 2009, I got the privilege to go to the Catalyst West Coast Conference. Erwin McManus spoke at several of the sessions I attended and he spoke about a concept he called the 3 spaces of influence.He was talking about how so often, we as Christians want to evangelize to the world, but we only stay in the 1st Space of Influence.

If we’re really going to make an impact for the Kingdom we need to be earning the right to influence people in the second and third spaces of influence as well as raising people up who earn that influence as well. Here are the 3 spaces defined:

1st Space – Minimal Influence. We earn the right to speak to Christians that come to our churches or our immediate circle of influence. Usually we end up influencing only Christians, and not very many of them. We all start in this space with everyone, but if we’ll live our lives for God and do what He puts in our hearts, we’ll be able to move onto the other two spaces of influence.

2nd Space – Earned Influence - You get to influence people in this space because of what you’ve done in the world. Maybe you’ve built a large church, wrote an interesting book, started a business that was a big success, etc. Because of what you’ve done, people respect you and are willing to listen to you.

3rd Space – World Influence - These are people that because of who they are and what they’ve done, they have a platform to influence the world. An example would be Michael Jordan. If Michael Jordan was speaking at a convention in your city, you would go just to hear him. You wouldn’t care what he was speaking on, he’s Michael Jordan, because of what he’s done, he’s earned influence & the right to speak into your life. Christian examples: Billy Graham, Rick Warren, John Maxwell, Mother Theresa, John Wooden.

The questions I’ve been asking myself, and that I’ll ask you is:

What are you doing with your life that is earning or will earn you influence in the 2nd and 3rd space?

Do people outside of the Christian bubble take note of what God has and is doing in your life?

Everyday, we should ask ourselves, what am I doing with my life that will enable me to expand the Kingdom of God? That will help me spread the Word? That will gain me influence with the world?

Ask God those questions, and He’ll put something in your heart, that if you’ll do it, He’ll open up doors for you to influence people in the 2nd and 3rd spaces!

Thoughts?

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.                                                         – Jermiah 29:11

Last Catalyst Takeaway: In Times of Uncertainty – Go Back to what God called YOU to do

Andy Stanley is amazing! He talked about leading in uncertain times … Here were my key takeaways from his talk:

Uncertainty is the Arena Where Great Leaders are Born -We all hate uncertainty, but without it we would have no need for leadership and we’d never become the people God wants us to become through the journey of trusting Him.

You don’t Learn Anything in times of Certainty - We all want certainty  in life – certainty that we’ll be a success, that we’ll know what the next step in our lives is, etc. . .  Honestly… we have certainty in the Word of God that our lives are going to be amazing if we follow Him. In times of uncertainty, we can stand on the certainty of God’s promises (His Word)

It’s Ok to be Uncertain, It’s not ok to be Unclear -You can be uncertain about what you’re supposed to do as far as the plan is concerned, but you have to be clear in knowing what God called you to do.

The Clearer You Are on What God’s Called You to, the less Uncertainty will Matter -When you know the Word and know what God has called you to do, obstacles seem so much smaller and easier to tackle.

What can you do proactively in what God has called you to do now? - Stop waiting for everything to be certain and get busy for God today. Andy always says, “You’ll never be more than 80% sure” – so step out do something!

What is the vision God put in YOUR heart? If you don’t know, spend time in prayer, think back to the beginning of your Christian walk before everything got so “complex” – what did you dream about? What do you KNOW He told you to do?

¹⁶But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.  -Luke 5:16

Catalyst Takeaway #6 – Call Time Out Consistently

Rick Warren dropped some amazing truths at Catalyst West Coast… one that I thought was so simple, yet so profound was the power of getting away. He said that we need to:

Divert Daily – Do something everyday that energizes you – run, play a game, watch a movie, read… and leave work at work!

Withdraw Weekly - Literally, one day a week you become “Dead to the World”. Have a family night, relax all day, go for a walk, but you should take an entire day to yourself each week.

Abandon Annually - We need to go away every year and lose the laptops, lose the cell phones, etc. Recognize the world can get along without you. You don’t want people to be dependent on you anyway.

We live in such a crazy world where it is so hard to disconnect. I often wonder where we’d be if we just called time out, spent time listening to God, spent more focused time with friends and family, spend more time just being.I think we’d all be in a much better place…

Thoughts?