Everyone is a catalyst and everyone needs a catalyst. A catalyst is someone or something that accelerates change. Therefore, a Catalyst Relationship is a small company of persons joined, acting and functioning together to accelerate gospel change in one another's life.
The Christian life is meant to be marked by change. However, many in the church have a "form of godliness" by denying its power (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Paul writes to the Romans that the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16). The power of the gospel to save is the same power that sanctifies us. The gospel is both for unbelievers and believers. The gospel is both the A-B-C's and A-Z of Christianity.
Sanctification is the life-long process of being conformed to the image of Jesus. In Doctrine, Mark Driscoll says, "To be conformed to the image of Jesus means God by his grace and through his Spirit by his gospel, bit by bit, causes the mirror of our life to be increasingly like Jesus Christ’s so that we image God increasingly well.” Beholding and becoming like Jesus is what being a Christian is all about--being transformed and reflecting "the glory of God in the face of Christ" with ever-increasing glory (2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:4-6).
We bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8). Jesus also said, "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples" (John 15:8). From these two verses, we see that Disciples of Jesus glorify God by bearing much fruit in keeping with repentance.
Repentance is accepting the gospel as true and changing your mind about who is God, King and Messiah in your life. If Jesus is God, then you are not. If Jesus is King, then you are not. If Jesus is Messiah, then you are not. No wonder Martin Luther said, "All of life is repentance."
Discipleship is not done in a classroom, but in catalyst relationships. Jesus commissioned the church to go (literally, "as you go" or "while you go" or "in your going") make disciples, and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teach them to observe all of Jesus' commands. The picture of discipleship in Matthew 28:18-20 is not formal but informal. Discipleship happens in the context of "life on life." Discipleship happens as we live out our gospel identity with gospel intentionality.
Cataylst Relationships are the micro-strategy to flood the city with reflected Light. A catalyst needs a catalytic process and catalytic agent. The 4R Revolution is the catalytic process. The gospel is the catalytic agent. Catalyst Relationships form the context to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15-16) to one another. To "speak the truth" is to speak the gospel to one another. In a Catalyst Relationship, the "word of Christ" (Colossians 3:16) or gospel is revealed through Bible-reading and Bible-living, which leads to ongoing repentance and renewal of the mind (Romans 12:1-2), which produces a life that reflects Jesus with ever-increasing glory; in other words, a fruitful life!
Reflect Church envisions Catalyst Relationships in marriages and families, in schools and businesses, in grocery stores and movie theaters--all over the city--flooding anywhere and everywhere with reflected Light--Christ-revealing moments that lead to Christ-reflecting lives.
First and foremost, Reflect Church wants to equip you with resources to accelerate gospel change in one another's life. We want to recommend books or podcasts that might serve you in your Catalyst Relationships. However, if you want more information on Catalyst Relationships, we encourage you to attend a Worship Gathering or Missional Community at Reflect Church.
