It was really funny because we didn't really say anything about it, until we all got off the shuttle, and then all said at the same time, "Was that USHER?"Ok, so our second flight was much better and we arrived in Atlanta ready to go. We then proceeded to the Hyatt Place (this is a new line of Hyatt Hotels and it rocked, all the rooms have 42" plasma's!) where we ran into Linda Davis from REV magazine who was staying there also, then got settled into our room and later set out for a tremendous dinner at our newly found favorite restraraunt, J. Alexanders.
Wednesday was our first full day in Georgia, where we were off to the Gwinnett Center and began to set up our trade show display. Upon arriving we located booth #206, right between Interactive Church and Planning Center Online, and started setting up our booth in record time. In fact we were just wrapping up when Jeff Berg, CEO and Founder of Planning Cetner Online showed up to set up his booth. It was fun seeing friends again and getting everything ready for the conference, but the rest of the day was our opportunity to see Atlanta a bit more. So off we went to The Forum On Peachtree Parkway (why is every street in Atlanta named PeachTree??) , then onto the Buckhead area and then finally to one of my favorite Atlanta eating places, Fellini's Pizza. Several years earlier Chris Timmons and I were in Atlanta for the Technologies For Worship Conference and happened to stumble upon this great place to eat. With great pizza and it's outdoor seating it's a great place to get some of the Atlanta experience. My wife and Lance Thompson agreed and thought it was a great place to relax and enjoy some great food.Thursday, we had to be there at 7:15 AM eeesh!, as this was the first full day of the Catalyst Conference and what a conference it is. If you haven't had the chance to go I would highly recommend it. The music and guest speakers are awesome and it's just a fun environment to be in. To be in a room with that many "ministers," I believe somewhere around 11,000 were in attendance, all planning in their own way to change the world just creates an electric sort of environment. I couldn't help but wonder what new "thing" God was planting in someones mind that would change the face of ministry in the future. My prayers are with those who he has planted a new thing, because it was just a little over two years ago that I had the idea of MinistryHub.com literally consume me and drive me to begin to change the way pastors plan their services. It was long but great day as we had the opportunity to meet many new people and share with them the concept for MinistryHub.com and see their eyes light up as if saying, "Finally! Someone has done it!" I also had the chance to catch up with some more good friends, Matt Card from Clark Pro Media and Kevin Jones from Portable Church Industries where I needed to catch the follow up story on a bouquet made out of Slim-Jims. (Long Story) By the end of the day we were exhausted, so it was back to J. Alexanders for another tremendous dinner and then retire for the night.
Friday, the second full day of the conference, brought more of the same. We once again were able to meet many new people and handed out a ton of "Gimme A Hub!" t-shirts. I also had the opportunity to meet up with the guys from Wingclips.com, a great new site, in addition to spending a little bit of time with George Temple, who's probably the nicest guy in the world, from Sermonspice.com. At the end of the day we packed up, shipped our booth back home, and then set off for a little more shopping and food. Our first stop was Lenox Square in Buckhead, and we had one of those we're not in Iowa experiences right away. After finding a place to park, near the back entrance of Neiman Marcus, we walked in to find a bit of a party going on.
There were models walking around wearing the new clothes line, Royal Underground, that was being introduced by the fashion worlds newest designer, Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue. I tried to snap a photo of him with my cell phone, but the lady he was working with kept blocking my shot, so I moved in closer only to have it blocked by one of his rather large body guards. 
We then went on for some great food at Maggiano's. (This was something different, they had a piano player that played the piano with his left hand and a flugal horn with his right! Have never seen that before, but it sounded great.)Saturday was our travel day back home, but our flight didn't leave until 2:30 PM so we didn't have to rush and could take our time to get around and get to the airport. No major delays and both the flights were great. So there you go, that was our trip, probably a little more information than you needed, but we wanted to let you know what it was like for us. One last time we want to thank Chris Timmons and Andrea for all of the help you gave us in Atlanta, it's much appreciated! Overall a great trip, now it's back to work!
