Leadership Summit 2008

{The picture above is of our current building near Southpoint Mall - at newhope, we SO believe in the church of Jesus Christ. That is why we are building and that is why we just spent tons of resources and energy and time at this conference!}

Earlier this month, I took fifty-five newhope leaders to the Leadership Summit Conference! If you have ever attended the Leadership Summit, you know that it is one of the premier leadership conferences in the world. It comes around every August and is hosted by Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. I have now been to eight Leadership Summit conferences. Without exception, they have all moved me deeply, and taken my leadership to a whole ‘notha level.

But this year was different; this year I witnessed God moving in ways beyond description, as it relates to the lay leaders of who attended this conference. It was staggering to behold, and their emails and comments continue to pour in. Over the course of the next few weeks I plan to reflect and download the sessions here on my blog. My hope and prayer is that I will continue to reflect on the messages, while also inspiring newhopers and other leaders from all over, to lean in and allow God to increase your leadership potential for the cause of Christ! Enjoy...


Leadership 2008 Session 1: Bill Hybels and "The High Drama of Leadership"

Here are my personal notes from Bill's Talk...(Keep in mind they are just that - personal notes typed quickly during conference :-))


Leadership is not for the faint of heart. When faced with decisions, here are some key questions to ask:



1. Does this decision get answered in the Word of God?
2. What would smart advisors advise me to do?
3. What have you learned from the pain of past experiences? What gains have you experienced? Remember your pains and gains from EXPERIENCE?
4. Is the Spirit prompting me in this decision? Romans 8:6 says to stay in step with the spirit. Never leave or lead without the presence of the Holy Spirit!


Key point: For the BIG decisions, make a "Trial Decision." In other words, walk around with it for a while and see if you have peace or turmoil? That is why you need to stay away from email or phone and NOT FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO ANSWER RIGHT AWAY! This is HUGE!

***IF YOUR DECISION IS A GOOD ONE, THANK GOD AND SCRIPTURES AND ADVISORS. IF YOUR DECISION IS A BAD ONE, BLAME NO ONE BUT YOURSELF***


AXIOMS OR "MICROWAVE WISDOM" FOR LEADERS


LEADERSHIP AXIOMS are Powerful, Economical, and Quick. For example, Lincoln said, “The best way to destroy my enemy is to turn him into my friend.” That is good, quick, easy to remember and powerful!

Here are gold nuggets Axioms:


➢ Create motion for motion’s sake (Action is better than inaction)
➢ Check your ego at the door
➢ Promote a clash of ideas
➢ Vision Leaks
➢ Get the right people around the table (God wants every church to prevail so if I get the right people in the game, than He can do His thing)
➢ Facts are your friends


There is a huge chasm between growing Christians (Still asking God to bless their program) and Christ centered people losing their lives and signing on to God’s agenda.

Christ centered people can change the world! Complacent Christians can’t change your block. :-)


More Axioms:

"When something feels funky, engage"

QUESTION – WHAT AREAS IN OUR CHURCH FEELS FUNKY RIGHT NOW?

"Leaders call foul" Great leaders are willing stop everything and call a timeout and acknowledge some actions are out of bounds.

"Take a flier" Leaders are willing to take crazy risks for God. Ask God to rock our church, our people and help us shoot for the moon!

"This is church" (Acts 2:46 – church is doing life with people, hurting with them, spending time with them etc…)

"Follow your compass and not your clock"

"Create action" As I heard growing up, "Do something, even it is wrong."


The Axiom “King of the world” is Colin Powell. Here are some of Powell's Principles:

“Check your ego at the door”

“Promote a clash of ideas” (Create a nice, noisy clash and you’ll make a better decision)

“Reward your best performers - get rid of non-performers” (Never try and rescue non-performers. Get rid of them and move on.


Well, that is about it - it was a great opening session.

Whatever you lead, my friends, lead well...