Leadership Summit to Close Wide Gap Between Churches
''Leadership in church is one of the biggest challenges that the Church is facing because without strong leadership, the church rarely lives out its redemptive potentials.'' -- Bill Hybels
SAN FRANCISCO -- On his visits to hundreds of churches around the world, Bill Hybels, megachurch pastor of Willow Creek Church in Chicago, said he found a huge gap between effective and ineffective churches. This gap was explained by church leadership.
The realization helped to produce the Leadership Summit, the world's largest annual leadership conference, according to Hybels. This year, the Summit will broadcast from his Chicago church to some 110 satellite locations, Aug. 11-13.
Hybels said in an interview with The Christian Post, "Leadership in church is one of the biggest challenges that the Church is facing because without strong leadership, the church rarely lives out its redemptive potentials."
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While he traveled, Hybels came across churches who appeared miles ahead but were actually floundering, according to spokesperson Paul Braoudakis. They had great facilities and a large number of congregants, but the leadership was really weak. That's why Hybels believes everything rises and falls on leadership.
While not every pastor or church leader has caught onto Hybel's theory, some 53,000 leaders across the nation registered for the conference.
"Needless to say, something has resonated deeply in church leadership, and they're all trying to raise the bar," said Braoudakis.
The event gathers top-name figures in leadership. This year, 11 speakers representing a broad spectrum of leadership views will give workshops and training sessions and offer advice. Keynote speakers include four pastors of megachurches, Hybels, Kenneth Ulmer of Faithful Bible Church, Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, and Mosa Sono from a pastor of a megachurch in South Africa.
Other leading figures are John Maxwell, Ken Blanchard, Curtis Sliwa, Eleanor Josaitis, Jack Groppel, Henry Cloud, and president of Southwest Airlines, Colleen Barrett.
Many Christians and non-churchgoers who are coming from the community's businesses will take part in the sessions, but the Summit will mostly help church leaders strengthen their spiritual gift of leadership.
"It helps certain church leaders identify the fact that they have the spiritual gift of leadership that the Bible talks about in Romans 12:8. Once you understand that God has given a gift, then training becomes more seriously. When you receive better training, you become more effective in the leadership position that God has assigned to you," said Hybels.
Locally, the Walnut Creek Church in Walnut Creek will offer bay area leaders a chance to sharpen their skills.
Judy Scheer, coordinator of Walnut Creek Church's Adult Ministries said, "We look forward to it every year. It's very popular."
The church pastors more than 2,000 congregants, and over 100 will volunteer for the local event.
When asked how he managed to pastor such a large group of people, Senior Pastor of Walnut Creek Church John Westfall said, "One of the things I believe is that the leader's job is not to motivate people. That's what the Holy Spirit does. What we need to do is not to block people, but help them find an outlet for their passion."
"A lot of times, at church, we make people passive. We just want them to be quiet, and we don't want their input. Leadership is helping people unleash their dreams. It's not like I get this big vision and try to sell it to you. It's, 'How can I help you have even bigger dreams?' "
He said, "My job is to make a way for the other guy to run and score, rather than others making the way for me."
Walnut Creek and about 100 other churches are in the final stages of preparations before they host upwards of 53,000 people for the three-day leadership event.
