We're excited to have some great thoughts on Session 4 from Dan Kimball. Dan is the pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, CA, and author of the recent book They Like Jesus But Not The Church.  Also, check out his blog, Vintage Faith at www.dankimball.com.

Session 9:

I think this is the 5th Leadership Summit I have experienced. It seems that Bill's leadership passion and as well as sharing vulnerability grows each year. It causes me to want to listen more intensely as a result. I found that there was some brilliance in ending the Summit with the message he did in telling the story of Mother Teresa. Not just because of how God used her life with the Missionaries of Charity, but talking about her struggles. Her struggle when she felt God was impressing on her heart something, it didn't go the way she planned. But it took a very long time and many, many requests to see the vision she had become reality.

What personally struck me in listening to her story, was remembering so many times how I wished something would happen in ministry but it didn't. Or when I have asked for something from the person I reported to, but was told no. I then would question if it was God leading me or was it just my own ideas if they didn't happen as I thought they would. Or the times when it didn't go like I had hoped and I would be discouraged and then give up easily. But listening to her story, especially how most of her ministry she didn't have a sense of His presence for long periods of time was an unexpected application for me. Despite the lack of sensing His presence emotionally, she had yielded her life and determined to seek and love God all the more.

Bill raised was excellent questions about this. If we feel God is leading us in a direction like He did with Mother Teresa, what do we do when God taps you on the shoulder and also asks us to step up? Do we live a life of "Carte Blanche yieldedness" no matter what our current situation?

When the message ended with that video and the whole "send me" theme - it gives me a lot of hope. The way God can use us to bring the light and love of Jesus to others on this earth. But Bill's direct whether or not we are living a Carte Blanche yieldedness to God is something I know I need time to stop and slow down to ask myself. The problem is, tomorrow I am in a meeting all day, and tomorrow night too. Then Sunday is quite full. Then Monday starts the week again. I am realizing I had better stop a bit, as I may think I am yielding, but am I really yielding the way Bill described? I hope I am. But it does mean really stopping, slowing down, praying and doing some self-heart examination. So the question is, when are we post-Summit going to take some time to be asking ourselves the questions Bill raised? For me, it looks like Thursday of next week. I am marking in my schedule to use several hours that day to reflect on this and pray and think about the questions Bill raised, so I don't let too much time go by before I do so.

This is why I appreciate what the Leadership Summit is about - learning from others, asking hard questions, and gaining hope as we follow Jesus together.
 

We are pleased to introduce you to Will Salmon, General Manager for the Willow Creek Association UK.  Will's sharp perspective makes him a valuable leader for God's Kingdom as he works to encourage and develop church leaders to reach their full redemptive potential.

Go to the Summit Next Steps website and click on Session 6 to find photos, videos, relevant links, session Q&A, and many more resources.

Session 6:

'He you would change you must first love' was the underpinning principle I found most helpful from this session - a quote from Martin Luther King Jnr.

Prior to this, Chuck Colson presented a challenge to (western) Christian leaders to lead people in the way of Christian truth and thus affect the moral climate of their culture, rather than pandering to the people and the culture they inhabit. If society collapses whilst moral values fall, it is an indication that the church doesn't understand the truth and it is isn't doing its job, much like the Old Testament people of God in captivity, he argued. The western church needs to once again assume its responsibility to present the truth of God's existence, his word in scripture, the trinity, the incarnation, the gospel of Christ, salvation by grace, discipleship and more. And, coming back to our original quote, the fundamental Christian belief in freedom asserts that the church 'proposes' rather than 'imposes' such truth - in love.

Chuck Colson's candour was refreshing for the most part. His 'back to basics' lesson on Christian fundamentals may well draw the criticism that it was misplaced in the context of a leadership conference, however he did come at the request of Bill Hybels. And Bill presented a similar type of talk at the 2006 Summit entitled 'The Power of Clarity', suggesting that he believes Christian fundamentals to be a key leadership issue for the church at present. Furthermore, Chuck Colson's emphasis on Jesus' commission to 'make disciples' resonates with Willow's REVEAL project which contains crucial lessons for church leadership.
 
In terms of next steps, I would offer these thoughts:

1. Reflect on Chuck's excitement and single-mindedness about being a disciple of Christ in relation to your own faith.

2. Bill Hybels testified to being encouraged at a difficult time by another of Chuck Colson's books. As a leader, how do you discipline yourself to receive from others, be reminded of 'the truth', and therefore be encouraged?

Bethany Hoang is a leader we are especially excited to introduce you to.  She is the Director of the IJM Institute, a community of Christian leaders advancing solutions for overcoming injustice.  It is place for sharing ideas, resources, and tools to raise awareness of injustice and move the body of Christ to action. She was recently featured in The Relevant Nation: 50 Activists, Artists And Innovators Who Are Changing Their World Through Faith. She was also featured in the September/October edition of Relevant Magazine. 

Go to the Summit Next Steps website and click on Session 6 to find photos, videos, relevant links, session Q&A, and many more resources.

Session 6:

One of the questions Gary Haugen, my colleagues, and I receive when we speak and teach on behalf of International Justice Mission is "how do you grapple with both perpetrator accountability as well as perpetrator redemption?" In other words, while IJM's strategic focus is to rescue victims of injustice (such as slavery and forced prostitution), provide them with healing aftercare, and mobilize authorities to arrest those who are committing these violent crimes, what is the Body of Christ to do about the reality that criminals are in need of the opportunity for redemption as well?

When I am asked this question, the first words out of mouth are always these: Praise God for Chuck Colson and his ministry, Prison Fellowship.

Even as IJM protects victims of oppression and transforms systems of injustice through holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes, Prison Fellowship offers the grace of the God's love and new life to those who commit even the most violent of crimes. As he noted in his message at the Leadership Summit, Chuck Colson himself has spoken and ministered in over 600 prisons globally. And even beyond the prisoners he has personally impacted, countless more prisoners have had the opportunity to define their lives beyond their crimes through his founding and multiplying of Prison Fellowship ministries here in the United States and all throughout the world.

It was a true privilege to sit under Chuck Colson's teaching on Friday. As he took the stage, the audience at the South Barrington campus readily rose to our feet to honor his life and legacy. Having served a U.S. President, served a prison sentence, and served countless prisoners the world over, Colson's life bears its own unique and powerful witness to the Kingdom - to the reality of redemption that is both yet to come and already at hand.

Colson's message, speaking to Christianity as revelation of the only true reality-the reality that God is and is revealed in Christ-was at root a beckoning to us as leaders to equip our people to steward their lives toward a vision bigger than themselves, a vision worthy of their very lives. One of the principles Chuck offered that most struck me was this:

"If you are a shepherd - a leader - your job is not to pander to your people but to lead them."

Chuck asked the question of why so many people are in prison in our world - why 2.3 million people are in prison in the United States alone. He traces the problem not to culture's broken sense of morality, but rather, to a brokenness within the Church. In his message, Chuck made an unforgettable claim. He asserted,

"Culture is nothing but religion incarnate. If the culture is sick it means the church is sick."

Following this argument, if the church is sick, it is because leaders have been pandering to their people's broken, incomplete sense of reality rather that leading their people to live the only true reality in Christ. Living within the understanding as Christ as true reality opens up the possibility to live for something greater than oneself, to risk, to absorb into the bigger vision. To live within the Kingdom, even as it is both already here and yet still to come.

I was so encouraged by Colson's humble pouring-out of himself through his message, his veritable pleading with us as leaders to equip our people to truly follow Christ. As he closed his message in prayer, he continued his plea, this time to God, asking Him to "make us faithful stewards, faithful shepherds. Use our blessings, not for our glory but for your glory, that the world may know you."

I can only echo that plea as I consider the vision to which Colson has given so much of his very self. As millions of people suffer under the hand of violent oppressors in our world, God, make us faithful stewards of the rule of law, bringing firm accountability to restrain these oppressors from continuing their cycle of violence. And as millions of people sit in prisons throughout our world, God, make us faithful shepherds of the rule of redemption, so that even those who have taken the lives of others may someday know the Life that is truly life.

At Willow, we have been honored to know and occasionally collaborate with Chris Brooks. He is a redemptive force in a world where bridges fail. He is passionate about connecting, training, and developing emerging Christian leaders. He has the national coordinator of UrbNet for the National Network of Youth Ministries and has worked with youth and families in an inner-city context for more than 10 years.

Go to the Summit Next Steps website and click on Session 4 to find photos, videos, relevant links, session Q&A, and many more resources.

Session 4 with Efrem Smith:

Efrem Smith is a visionary: a pioneer like those in the days of the early American frontier. His message: "The times have changed and continue to change, and leaders must engage the growing edge of these cultural and demographic changes to be effective."

The focus of Efrem's session, "Leading in New Cultural Realities," was on the changing face of America. In this session, Efrem brought to our attention that in the year 2000, 1 in 19 children in the U.S. was of a mixed (bi-racial or multi-racial) heritage. This percentage is steadily increasing, and there are no signs that would indicate that this trend will reverse. Our American "melting pot" is doing what it was originally intended to do. We are becoming more racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse as a nation. This is good news in many ways. Businesses are able to get new insights and innovations from minds that think outside of the traditional American box. Churches are often able to execute a "global outreach" by serving the local metropolitan area's immigrant communities. Rich cultural assets like West Indian cuisine and a deeply embedded Asian respect for the elders of the community are penetrating our society-for
the better.

The word "diversity" has become a common theme of corporate strategic planning and nonprofit programmatic focus. Efrem delivered a compelling argument that diversity has become the norm. He even went so far as to say, "If you can't lead across race, you can't lead today." That's a powerful challenge for those who want to lead well in the new America; the America that is steadily becoming the melting pot.

Efrem's challenge to the Church was a strong one: "Nobody is exempt from engaging the emerging diversity." The American Church, as Efrem explained, is notorious for its segregated congregations, and its divisions along racial and cultural lines. As America is changing, many would contend that the American church is not. Ouch. As a ministry leader, that stings. Yet the sting should and must be followed by reflection and a study of God's opinion on how the Church (His Bride) should look and operate, which will hopefully lead to some tweaks in our beliefs about race, our values as churches, and our behaviors. Efrem's counsel on how church leaders should get started was two fold:

* Engage in "organic community building." Pray for God to establish relationships with others in your geographic area that you can build a relationship with. If there is nobody close to you that is of a different race or ethnicity, look to your organization, ministry, or denomination for suggestions on how to engage in building these types of relationships.

* Create programs to engage the culture. There should be a budget line in each church's or ministry's budget that allocates resources to better understand and serve the surrounding world from a culturally-informed and culturally-relevant perspective. Provide a luncheon in your community for indigenous leaders, and listen to their stories. Develop a strategy to engage and empower a diversity of Christian leaders in your area. Offer training or other resources that will support and build the capacity of those working in diverse communities. Pray. Listen. Learn.

The challenges before us are daunting, but Efrem was clear that the Church has a tremendous opportunity to heal old wounds, advocate for justice, and become what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called "the Beloved Community." The Church can lead and be prophetic as America faces these changes. The Church must lead in this area.

Question: What one thing can you lead your church, ministry, business, or organization to do to engage this reality? What budget line needs to be added to your budget? Where are the "pockets of diversity" in your geographic area? Will you engage?

Tim Stevens is a great leader that we can all learn a lot from.  He is the executive pastor at Granger Community Church in Granger, IN as well as the author of Pop Goes The Church. For more excellent leadership insight, check out his blog at leadingsmart.com.

Go to the Summit Next Steps website and click on Session 3 to find photos, videos, relevant links, session Q&A, and many more resources. 

Session 3 with Bill George:

Bill may have been the fastest talking speaker of the day, but packed his session with some great content. I think it would be fun to sit down with Bill sometime and pick his brain. I'm sure I'll never have that opportunity, so I'm grateful for the gift of his leadership today. Here are my top three take-aways from his afternoon session...

1. Bill was working so hard to become the CEO that he said, "The company was making me into someone I didn't want to be." My first thought upon hearing that: It happens all the time in churches as well. You don't have to be working for a huge corporate giant to sell your soul for the organization. Just about every week I hear of another pastor who has sacrificed his or her family or health in pursuit of a dream of a bigger or better church.

2. Bill said: "You should follow your compass and not your clock. Where are you going in life? It's not how fast you get somewhere...it is the direction you are heading." This gets confusing, doesn't it? We are working really hard and moving really fast-and we rarely take the time to consider whether we are accomplishing our objectives. In fact, "What objectives?" We can't slow down enough to consider the goal.

3. Bill has had a small group he has met with every week for 33 years. He says, "The time to build a support team around you is now. Don't wait. It's too late if you wait until you need it." Ouch. This one hits close to home for church leaders. We are so often telling people they need to "get in a small group" yet how many pastors have a support structure built around them?

1) Build a support team around you, people who know and love you for who you are. A group who will stand with you when the junk of life hits you square in the face.

2) Take some time to journal on the question that Bill posed: "If you live to be 100 years old, what do you hope to have accomplished by that time? What do you want your legacy to be?" Great questions to ponder. Take the time to do it.

3) Ask some of your closest friends, "Am I selling my soul for the church?" They might not understand the question, so another way to ask, "Do you ever feel that the church is more important to me than my spouse? My kids? My faith? My closest relationships? Take some time to ask the question, and then even more time to reflect on the answers you hear.