Charles Lee

I was at a creative brainstorming meeting yesterday for Catalyst West Coast at Mariner’s Church in Irvine, CA. Ben Arment, the Experience and Innovation Director of the Catalyst Conference, invited me to join about 20 other leaders from around the west coast to dream about what a west coast version of Catalyst may be like.

It was a great opportunity to share ideas with many phenomenal leaders in a very creative environment. I especially enjoyed connecting in person with a few of my online friends I had only connected with through blogging and facebook.

It was good to spend some time talking with people like Eric Bryant (co-pastor of Mosaic and a good friend), Brad Lomenick (Catalysts Executive Director), Andy Crouch (author of Culture-Making), Mike Foster (Ethur.org), Jud Wilhite and Justin Jackson (Central Christian Vegas), Tony Wood (Crossroads Church), etc.

I think Catalyst West Coast is going to be a refreshing event for Southern California (and the West Coast at large). I appreciated the posture of the leadership of Catalyst to listen to those who actually live and work out here before planning many of the details for the event. In addition, Catalyst is partnering with Mosaic’s Origins Conference. This means, you basically get two conferences for the price of one…great deal!

I encourage you to check out www.catalystwestcoast.com for more information about what is forming in our area. Here’s the basic info so far:

• Dates? April 22-24, 2009
• Where? Mariner’s Church in Irvine, CA
• How Much? Early Bird – $229 (by Dec. 31) for Individual; Group Rates Available (Much Cheaper)
• Speakers? (List is still being created)
  • Main Stage: Brian Houston, Andy Stanley, Craig Croeschel, Erwin McManus, Perry Noble, Jud Whilite, Francis Chan, Nick Vujicic, Guy Kawasaki
  • Labs: Mosaic Team | Topics: Breaking Trends, Creative Thinking, and Progressive Ideas

Hope to see you there!

Photo taken by Ben Arment (L-R): Jud Wilhite, Justin Jackson, Mike Foster, me, and Brad Lomenick

This post is tagged Catalyst Conference, Catalyst West Coast, Creative Conference