United States | Willow Creek Association Blog

Tough Callings

August 19, 2011 in Bill Hybels, Changing Lives, Events, Summit Speakers, The Global Leadership Summit, United States with 5 Comments

Mama Maggie Gobran & Bill Hybels at The Global Leadership Summit

I had the opportunity to help lead the first few minutes of Session 5 of the Summit (reading from Colossians 1, the Charlie Hall song “Center,” and the classic “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”) with a killer team of some of my favorite people. I love our team. And I’m not sure how it sounded around the country, but the people here in South Barrington sang their hearts out.

After a few more songs, I found my seat and got ambushed by the stories, songs, and prayers of people who have received hard callings…people who have given up everything to serve the poor and most forgotten people on earth. One after another, these stories pushed and pulled me into some deep and uncomfortable places, and I’m still feeling it. Here’s the question I can’t get beyond…

Am I in the place I am in, doing what I’m doing, because God has called me? Or is this the best gig I can find?

Am I following Jesus into the life he’s made me to live, or am I just unconsciously drifting from “what I think is best” to “what feels right” to “what makes the most sense?” Is it possible that I’m living the kind of comfortable life I’ve always wanted to live, but just overlaying spiritual language on top of it? When I pray “God, what do you want me to do?,” am I actually saying “God, here’s what I’m going to do…please bless it?” I’m not sure. These are heavy questions that I need to keep digging into.

Thanks for the grace to let me wrestle with all this out loud. What do you think? Do you ever feel a similar tension in your life?

By: Aaron Niequist (@aaronieq)
Weekend Worship Leader, Willow Creek Community Church

Thanks to Aaron for letting us re-post his thoughts to session 5 on the WCA blog. Check out more of Aaron’s thoughts on his blog.

Another Dose of Inspiration

August 18, 2011 in Events, Summit Speakers, The Global Leadership Summit, United States with 18 Comments

The Summit was only one week ago but it doesn’t take long for the pedestrian details of life to dampen inspiration and readiness to dig ditches. We gathered together a few voices from around the Web in hopes their post-Summit thoughts might provide another shot of leadership insight. We were encouraged by these blog posts and hope you will be too.

LiveIntentionally.org

Did you blog about your Summit experience? Share the link in the comments below.

Love for Patrick Lencioni!

August 17, 2011 in Events, Leadership, Summit Notes, Summit Speakers, The Global Leadership Summit, United States, Willow Creek Association with 3 Comments

During the Summit, Patrick Lencioni taught that vulnerability and authenticity will actually break down the walls in business and ministry relationships and lead to environments that foster trust, connection, and collaboration. His message rocked! (If you missed his session you can find notes here and you might also want to check out Patrick’s backstage video about the embedding vulnerability into a leadership team).

Patrick said, “When we’re serving others, we have to do things that could embarrass us. We need to be willing to say ‘I don’t understand that.’”

To help us live out embracing vulnerability, Patrick and his team pulled together a webpage where you’ll find complimentary resources related to his talk. These tools and materials will help reinforce the concepts you heard during his session.

And as one final helpful link, if you didn’t have a chance to watch Patrick Lencioni’s webacast with the Willow Creek Association, we highly recommend it.

Erwin McManus Closes The Leadership Summit

August 12, 2011 in Events, Leadership, Summit Notes, Summit Speakers, The Global Leadership Summit, United States with 8 Comments

Erwin McManus
Activist; Filmmaker; Innovator and Cultural Architect
Mosaic
Los Angeles, California

Erwin McManus gave the final message at The Leadership Summit

He leads a complex, multi-campus church, yet convention, programs, and structures repel him. Erwin McManus remains unencumbered by the human creations that can crowd out the essence of the Spirit’s work in the world. “Don’t do evangelism,” he says. “Live Christ.” McManus purposefully immerses himself in the culture around him—the fashion and entertainment industry of Los Angeles. It’s been as normative for him to start a clothing line and produce a hit Super Bowl commercial as it has been for him to teach at Mosaic on Sunday mornings. McManus imparts to his listeners a holistic perspective of ministry that compels integration and action—and leaves “doing church” in the dust.

Session Notes: Chasing Daylight

What’s necessary for us as leaders is a mind shift, a reformation of reality.
We need to begin to have a different relationship with the future.

Ecclesiastes 1 “There is nothing new under the sun”

“Something inside my soul felt like I was suffocating under this theological framework”

We’ve accepted this and it’s created an apathy in our churches.

Solomon was wrong. There IS something more under the sun.

If you live your life outside of God you are destined for a life of endless repetition and monotony, but when you live in the light of Creation all things become new.

We can’t change history, but we can create the future.

When we live our lives connected to the Creator of the Universe, we become God’s instruments for creating the future.

Good people sit idly by waiting for God to change the world.

We have been entrusted with this stewardship to redeem our lives to reflect the heart of God.

Places we have to focus to create the future God has in mind:

1) Become the cultivators of human talent
We need to be the stewards of human potential
The church needs to reclaim it’s place as the epicenter of creativity

2) Become the narrators of the human story

We need to reclaim the truth-telling power of the narrative of Christ.
Whoever tells a great story, shapes the culture.
Sometimes truth is lost in a bad story and falsehood is spread through a good story.

Jesus has come and He makes all things new!

What will you do to be an instrument of God’s in creating the future?

By: Jenni Catron (@jennicatron)
Read more from The Global Leadership Summit at Jenni’s blog jennicatron.tv

Humility: the Key to Being a Great Leader

August 12, 2011 in Events, Leadership, Summit Speakers, The Global Leadership Summit, United States with 2 Comments

John Dickson

John Dickson spoke today at the Global Leadership Summit. Here’s what he had to say:

Humility is the noble choice to forgo your status and use your influence for the good of others before yourself.

Humility will not automatically make you great. And being great will not make you humble. Humility makes the great greater.

Here are five characteristics of humility:

1. Humility is common sense. None of us is an expert in everything, so we understand our limits and thus need humility. Within the Church, because the Bible trumps all other knowledge, Christian leaders sometimes think they know about topics and fields way outside their area. Actually, what we don’t know and can’t do far exceeds what we do know and can do.

2. Humility is beautiful. We are more attracted to the great and humble than to the great who know they’re great and want us to know it, too. It’s not always been so. Our research found that a humility revolution took place in the first century, stemming from Nazareth. We found it was Jesus’ crucifixion that changed how ancient people thought about humility.

Crucifixion was the lowest possible ending to life. “So did Jesus’ death mean he wasn’t as great as we thought he was?” No, they decided, and they redefined greatness, through humility. Western culture has been profoundly shaped by the cross of Christ. Our culture is profoundly cruciform. Philippians 2:38 has had a profound effect.

3. Humility is generative. It leads to new ideas. Humility has been formative for scientific investigation and for business theory and practice. The humbling place is where flourishing happens.

4. Humility is persuasive. That’s because the most persuasive person is the one who you know has your best interest at heart. If someone serves you tea, you may be more easily convinced by them later because of their demonstration humility through their service.

5. Humility is inspiring. If someone is aloof, you don’t feel like you can really follow in their footsteps, as you’re too different. We just admire them. But if someone is humble and open, we feel we can be like them. They are human enough. Some of the most inspiring leaders in history had no structural authority. Jesus comes to mind.

You don’t need armies to change empires or individuals.

What ideas do you have for putting Dickson’s message on humility into practice?

By: Adam Jeske (@AdamJeske)
Read more of Adam’s thoughts from the Summit at ExecutingIdeas.com

Page 2 of 5«123 4 5 »

Willow Creek Association Blog

Tough Callings

Another Dose of Inspiration

Love for Patrick Lencioni!

Erwin McManus Closes The Leadership Summit

Humility: the Key to Being a Great Leader

Subscribe by E-mail

Categories

Translator