Willow Creek Leadership Summit RECAP

It was a great Summit this year. I will NOT be elaborating too much one most of the session, so with that being said, here are some of my highlights...

DAY 1
Session 1 (Bill Hybels): Good session from Mr. Bill. Great start to the conference.

Session 2 (James Meeks): Amazing session by one of the only guys that I haven't heard of. This pastor from Chicago had some solid and hard things to say about growing churches.

Sessions 3 (Andy Stanley): This was one of my favorite sessions to sit in on this year. Focused Leadership. "If you are going to cheat anyone, cheat the church" he says as opposed to cheating your family as you work and plan your work ethic. Most of his text came from one of his latest books. I love this guy. ...Saying things that probably weren't the most popular things to be said at Willow Creek.

Session 4 (Peg Neuhauser): To be honest, I checked email & got on iChat. I'm sure she was great though. ;)

DAY 2
Session 5 (Ashish Nanda & Jim Collins): I don't have enough time to talk about how great this session was. BUT I will say that both men are some of the most witty from the conference. I felt like I was back in college for about 30 minutes. Jim's book "Good To Great", is one of my favorite leadership books from the past 5 years.

Session 6 (Interview w/ Bono):
Bono's interview with Bill Hybels from Ireland was very interesting. I felt like it was a great opportunity for many church leaders that would never pay much attention to a "political" rockstar like Bono. After hearing him, I am hoping that something might have clicked w/ some people. I have never thought of him as nothing more than a humanitarian using his profile and social status for good.

"I've never had a problem with Christ, but Christians I have. Christians seem strange. They can be very judgmental. They tend to judge people by surface problems. They have been preoccupied by the church. It's hard for us to grasp grace", Bono said "I'm much more interested in grace....I'm depending on it."

Bono said, "I want my music to do something positive, but I want to be honest and own up to my earthly confusions." He explained that he can't start with a lie, being the person he wants to be rather than who he actually is...it won't ring true to people. He said he sees that a lot in gospel music. He suggested he's more of a blues guy. He wants to embrace the truth in his music...even if it's not perfect.

Bono said, "I am not Mother Teresa, but I have a head for the world's poor. You have to be strategic." It was cool to hear Bono acknowledge that he has been given a gift from God with his voice and help move people to action.

"Why do you think church leaders have been late to the party on this?" Says Hybels. Bono said the church has been historically behind the curve. Bringing up civil rights movement. "We're not talking about politics in a partisan way here," said Bono, "We're working with the left and the right."

Bono said "Christ won't let the Church walk away from the AIDS emergency...it's His heart". He said he now has respect for the Church for awakening from a sleep in helping with AIDS and Africa. One of the only things that I didn't totally agree with Bono on was when he first talked about the church NOT caring about justice and humanitarian issues. I don't guess it is totally possible to know the whole history of the church. From what I recall, the church in general have done many great humanitarian things, be it small or large. BUT he made a GREAT point in regard to church presence in the political arenas.

Bono said, "Love thy neighbor is not advice. It's a command." In a global community, the poor and the disadvantaged in Africa are all of OUR neighbors. He went on to basically quote Matthew 25:45: "Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."

Bono's concluding challenge for church leaders was well put, ""Our purpose is to bring Heaven to Earth. The world is not a happy place for most people living in it. Bill, I'm convinced of the importance of the Church in building the infrastructure on facing some of the biggest problems in the world. If you're in America or Europe, make your people aware of the One campaign. Let's do this together. Let's put on the marching boots. Let's stand up for the least of these. This isn't a duty. It's an opportunity and an adventure" - Bono

Session 7 (Patrick Lencioni): Pat spoke from one of his latest books "Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars". This is a must read for any leader, as well as "Death By Meeting". Well done Pat.

DAY 3: I didn't attend, but some of the links below might have some posts on the day.
Session 8 (Wayne Cordeiro): Ok, I have heard nothing but AMAZING things about one of the only sessions that I had to miss. I am looking forward to seeing the DVD from this one. I have heard Wayne before, and so I know that it was going to be anointed.

Session 9 (Bill Hybels): I heard that Bill brought home a great closing message as well. Hate I had to miss it.



Don't ask me to comment on any music or drama from the Summit.

I am grateful to be a part of a community of faith at TPC that believes in building and raising up their people to be better leaders and more passionate followers of the Living God.

Several area bloggers have had some great posts about the Summit in way more detail than I could ever attempt. See a list of them below....

What If

Ethos

Nateblog

Kari's Blog