Hello from the Catalyst conference in Atlanta. I just heard a new Guiness World Record set: more than 8,000 people sitting on Whoopee cushions simultaneously. It was explosive!

I am hopeful that the rest of the Catalyst conference will be as exhilerating, if not more substantive. If Andy Stanley's message this morning is any intication, it will be. More on Andy, other speakers, and the whole Catalyst experience later. Editor Marshall Shelley is here. He's taking good notes will share some thoughts. Carol, Cory, Jennifer, and Jesse from our Leadership team are also here. We're giving away 2 free copies of the Journal to the first 1,000 people who visit our booth, and one of them will receive $300 in iTunes.)

Five characteristics of a Catalyst leader:

1. Courageous in calling.

2. Engaged in culture. (Culture is not the enemy, but rather the environment we serve in, says Andy.)

3. Passionate about God.

4. Uncompromising in integrity. (The subject of Andy's message.)

5. Intentional in community. ...