Leadership Summit

Yesterday I attended the Leadership Summit Conference. Since 1995 Willow Creek Church in Chicago has shared a two-day conference on leadership that they now simulcast to churches all across the world. I attended at Eagle Brook Church yesterday along with 1400 other folks. This was the first time I’ve attended Leadership Summit.

Later next week I will post my notes on Scribd about the conference, and I look forward to sharing with folks at Chain of Lakes what I learned. Let me share briefly some impressions.

--Bill Hybels is a man who is not afraid to innovate. He shared yesterday how our nation’s financial crisis has changed how Willow Creek has done ministry in the past ten months. They have changed the way they have worshipped, and they have changed some strategic priorities of the congregation. Hybels talked about how a crisis can draw something out of people that a period of calm doesn’t. He wasn’t bemoaning the financial crisis, or giving thanks for it. He was sharing how the wider context has influenced the way Willow Creek does ministry.
--I was touched by the number of Presbyterian connections of the speakers. One of the speakers attends Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, Tim Keller is a PCA pastor, one of the speakers grew up in a Presbyterian Church. There was main-line influence all over!
--I was moved by the story that Jessica Jackley shared. She is the co-founder of Kiva. God to kiva.org to get the full details of Kiva. In a nutshell Kiva does micro-lending. Through Kiva people can lend small amounts of money ($100 or less) over the Internet to entrepreneurs in third-world countries.

Today I will be attending the morning session. I’ll share more details next week.