Here are some thoughts I was asked to put together after attending the 2008 Global Leaders Summit:
I want to start with saying that this year’s summit was great. I have been blessed with having been to both this year’s summit and last years. I found that this summit had a much more spiritual sense about it. We are leaders in God’s Church and though we can learn from the business world we must remember that our nature and function are very different to that of the business world.
Where do I start with what I felt God blessed me with from the various speakers?
In Bill Hybels first session he spoke about the need for church leaders to have to make decisions. Decisions will often affect others in either good or bad ways. In the business world one can say that we are basing those decisions on the good of the company, leaders can be firm and hard if needed under such reasoning. In the church decisions need to be made, sometimes hard decisions, but often we fear their consequences.
Bill gave us a four point plan that if applied, should help us as we seek to make wise decisions:
FRAMEWORK FOR DECISION MAKING
1. Does the bible speak about it?
2. What would smart advisers say to me concerning this decision I have to make (seek the wisdom of worthy advisers)?
3. What have I learnt from the pain of past decisions (the good ones and bad)? Try journalizing not just spiritual matters but our practicing of decision making for later reference within our future ministry.
4. What is the Holy Spirit saying to me concerning this matter?
I would actually put the point about the Spirit second but this structure, I believe could really help us as leaders.
Gary Haugen, in his session blew me away.
One point that sticks out to me is the point he made concerning the things we strive for.
“Just because I'm passionate about something's doesn't mean that God wants it for me and for those I lead”.
This links well with Bill’s points on wise decision making and made me really sit up and think. I have a number of things running around in my head about church and even my private life that will affect others, are they things that God wants or am I striving towards my will?
A theme for the conference in my eyes was “Is this doing church”?
Am I doing church by striving for the things that really only matter to me? Isn’t “doing church” actually about getting down to the things that matter to God?
I’m going to close now by giving short feedback on other sessions, hoping that if I keep it short I won’t get marked down for going over my allotted three points!!
Efrem Smith and, “Leading in new cultural realities”; what a timely word?
We are living in a multicultural world where people living with us are not only from other countries but are often people that in fact come from the same country but are very different culturally. With such a truth in mind, shouldn’t we be doing church in a way that reaches everyone regardless of colour, greed or culture?
Craig Groeschel and, “IT: How leaders can get IT and keep IT”.
“IT”, being the life and presence of the Spirit in all we do as “Church”.
We can have “IT”, we can lose “IT”, but we can get “IT” back again.
What a mind bender this paragraph is? However, what needs to be understood is the need for the Spirit to saturate every aspect of church. If we don’t have such a blessing, we need to be taking every step to get “IT”!
Bill Hybels last session on “Relentless” and his study on the life of Mother Teresa. What a way to close the conference? What an amazing lady Mother Teresa was?
I’m sure at times we’ve all felt like giving up, Mother Teresa’s life shows us someone who never did, and reminds us that we must never give up on fulfilling the will and calling God has for us.
Last words: check out John Burke’s session (on the DVD).
Messy Church! Should we make people wait until they have their life looking all together before we welcome them in to church? If they were in such a “utopia state” wouldn’t they be out of place in our churches with all of us less then perfect people?
