What a trip.  Like a youth conference on crack.  We knew it was going to be pretty crazy when it started out with an orchestra conducted by the cooky Lanny Donahue.  The overture they began playing was accented by various instruments spaced throughout the 11,000 people in the Gwinnet Arena in Duluth GA.  To the right you can see (well sort of see, he is really small in the picture) a man playing a digareedoo.  OK - I know my photography is horrible, use your imagination.  

Right behind the violins was a man with a long gray beard playing the banjo. He was spotlighted when the overture broke and they began playing 'Dueling Banjos'.  My favorite spotlight was probably the Japanese drums that were right behind us.  There was one guy playing a huge drum the size of a refrigerator and two women playing smaller kettle drums.  And right behind them was a guy playing what looked like a silver anvil.  The best thing was that they all stared very intently in front of them.  It was kind of intimidating if they were staring at you.

However, Catalyst 2007 had much more to offer than crazy music.  The speaker line-up was as follows:  Andy Stanley (x2), Patrick Lencioni, Shane Claiborne, Francis Chan, Rick Warren, Craig Groeschel, Tim Sanders, and Dave Ramsey.  The emphasis was on Social Justice throughout the world.  This was emphasized by many of the speakers and ministries showcased during the conference.  Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee was featured on Thursday.  They are a coffee company that pays almost double the Fair Trade standards to Rwandan coffee bean farmers.  They also promote reconciliation between the Hutu's and the Tutsi's and provide micro-loans to widows of the genocide to help bring them out of poverty.  

You can check out all my Catalyst 2007 photos here. 

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