I’ve been off the proverbial grid for most of the past two weeks. Two of those days were invested in the Willow Creek Association Leadership Summit. These were intense days of high profile leaders and scholars speaking on a variety of subjects applicable to both church leaders and business (and NGO) leaders as well. Considering I used Marriott points from my business travels, the $99 I paid (discounted because of an affiliation with Compassion International) plus meals and the drive to and from Chicago generated huge return on investment.
As I break down my notes and compile themes, I’ll have a series of posts reflecting on the teaching. From a personal leadership view, Bill Hybels talked about starting his day off right. Instead of being in a rush to be the first one in the office every day, he invests the time in reading (the Bible and thoughtful literature), meditating and journaling. Now when he arrives at the office, he’s refreshed and ready to tackle the meetings and tasks of running a huge operation.
I’ve written on the impact the study of Luke 12 has had on me, and I’m obviously not alone. Many speakers cited the stories–especially of the “Prodigal Son.” Jesus tells the three stories gathered in that chapter to illustrate who is a neighbor when he says the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Much of the teaching of the summit for church leaders pointed to examples of how people of faith are responding to this commandment.
As Hybels put it in his opening remarks, there is nothing like the local church when the church is doing it right. In these stormy economic times when people are losing jobs and even their houses, he challenged his members who are still working to be generous to their brothers and sisters. The response was overwhelming.
Tags: Christianity, Ethics, Leadership
Faith Venture 
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