Last week I attended the Willow Creek Leadership summit that was being broadcast all over the world and to the location I am closest to, Cedar View Community Church. I had a really great time at the Summit, between the things I learned, the people I observed, the messages I heard and the philosophies I walked away with. It was a terrific way to spend two days. Plenty of people who attended the summit have already posted tons of blogs about their experience, so for my own benefit and those that wouldn't normally seek out a blog about the summit here it is from my perspective.

My initial feelings walking into the church was intimidation. I didn't know anyone who would be attending, and no one knew me. There were around 300 people attending at this location, and I was just a lone ranger amongst the many. I decided to take this to my advantage. My extroverted personality would normally allow me to meet plenty of people but something in me just wasn't in the mood. So I stuck to myself; and it turns out that I am really good company. I found that being alone in a crowd can be very lonely, but it can also really help with focus and refreshment. All of my focus was on what I was learning, and less on myself and others.

The first session was a presentation from Bill Hybles himself. He talked about "when crisis hits". This was a great way to start of the summit because it caught the attention of the leaders represented that need this most. He spoke directly into the hearts of those who were hurting and gave great direction toward healing and strengthening. This message was also really great for those that were still in a healthy place as well because he gave a heads up and prepared them for the future. There are good things that come out of bad times. One of those good things is that crisis can bring something out of a leader that no smooth waters ever could. Crisis calls a leader to stand up and do something big. It encourages new philosophy, and change. Some of the key things that crisis leadership can change is the structure of function, of relationships and lastly careful time with God.

The Second Session was a panel discussion led by Bill Hybles with four high functioning leaders; Henry Coud, a clinical psychologist; Patrick Lencioni, founder and president of the Table Group; David Ireland, Sr. Pastor; and Carly Fiorina, former chairman and CEO of Hewlet-Packard. They discussed the logistics and best ways to go about hiring and firing employees, and how to handle crazy boards. After watching the dramatic presentations of how not to go about each of these issues, the panel gave their advice and response. I think that if our board meetings were that exciting, I would have more reason to attend.
Some of the lessons I walked away with are: When hiring (or being hired) look at how the potential employee expresses culture, their needs, what skills they have, what kind of Competency do they have and do they have any expectations? Ultimately what kind of results will you receive by hiring this person? It shouldn't be a like that guy lets hire him situation; it needs to be well thought through, and mulled over.
When firing someone the foremost lesson I learned was that it should come as no surprise to the person being let go. They should have gone through an improvement process and been explained to many times the expectations. They should have some sort of review before being cut loose, this way they have a chance to improve, and the firing situation doesn't come as a big surprise. It's partly their own decision, or at least they will agree that they aren't suited for the position. If it is because of financial difficulty, it is important to be honest about that, and to give any help possible.
Thirdly they talked about dysfunctional boards or board meeting melt downs as they but it. Every board should have a philosophy of ministry. Roles and communication are two qualities that will help a board to function healthiest. Some of they ways one can build trust and board the supports each other is to go on an appropriate retreat, or do something together outside of the meeting room.
The presentation of these three tricky areas of leadership was very entertaining and realistic. Even as a young leader in a low position, I can still apply many of these concepts to how I work.

Session two also consisted of a lecture from Business expert Gary Hamel. He taught that to find success in your ministry or business you need to have a philosophy that can be built on flexed and changed. In order to do that a leader needs to conquer denial and develop strategic alternatives. If things aren't as good as you would like, don't fool yourself, because it's just going to make things worse. Own up and make some changes. "The longer you are in the trench the easier it is to mistake the rut for the horizon.". Build organizations to be adaptable, insightful and usable, way before you think about being dynamic.
This turned out to be a theme in some of the other teaching later on during the summit.

Session three was one of my favorite sessions, because I was most inspired by the message of Mr. Tim Keller. I was so inspired by his message that I wanted to buy his book, but it was sold out when I got to the book store. I will have to check out Amazon.
He talked about the story that most are familiar to calling it the prodigal son. But he called it the prodigal Father. Because Prodigal doesn't just mean, out of control, rebellious or bad. It's also a word that means out of control passionate, dynamic, and exciting. He spoke about the love of the father being a prodigal love, and the love of both the sons being terrible. In fact they didn't love the father at all. It is dynamic the image that he painted of the older brother. This is what struck me the hardest. The older brother stayed by his fathers side all the time the younger brother was out partying, and making a fool of himself. He stayed there and worked hard, and when the younger brother came home the father threw a feast. The younger brother went in, of course he did, and his father was welcoming him home. But the older brother wouldn't go in. He didn't like the father spending on his younger brother what was rightfully his, and so in his own selfish way he was in more trouble then his younger brother. Both are at fault, and sadly, I resonate with the older brother so much. I see how the church and myself have fallen into that role so many times. And I see our own need for redemption.
If this was the only speaker I'd heard over the entire summit, I would with out a doubt walk away with something very valuable.

Session four was the end of day one. There were two people represented in this session. The first one was Jessica Jackley. She is probably only a bit older then I am, but she is a leader in an organization that she is a co founder of called Kiva. Her message wasn't new to me, but it was nice to see someone young in leadership being represented. It made the whole thing seem more real. Kiva is an organization that helps entrepreneurs in third world countries start small business'. The key thing about this organization is that it is really easy to support, and you get your money back. Go to Kiva.org if you are interested in joining this movement.
The second person to speak in this session was Harvey Carey. All I have to say is that this guy needs to lay off the espresso or share it around. If he were in person, I would have had my face literally blown right off. He spoke very loudly about the importance of having faith and equipping your people to have ownership of the church and community. One thing he said that struck me was, "God has called us not to be a people that huddle, but he has called us to be a people that play the game." In context of a national game, where the church represents the team and the audience is God or other people I wasn't sure. But the team goes out on the field and huddles aka goes to church, then they huddle some more, and at the end of a very long huddle they play the game for a little while and then it's over. What he was saying is that we spend too much time sitting in church talking about what we should do as a church and not enough time out in the field out in the world actually doing it.
He's right in some ways, but in a very condemning way. Maybe I just don't like being yelled at. The message is right but the delivery is condemning more then inspiring.

The next day I heard a similar message but in a more inspiring way. Dave Gibbons author of “The Monkey and the Fish”, pastor of Newsong church, Irvine, CA, was my favorite speaker of the day. Maybe because he is a good speaker but what he taught was that thinking about the future and thinking forward is Third Culture Leadership. "Third Culture is the mindset and will to love, learn and serve in any culture, even in the midst of pain and discomfort." He talked about being radical and dynamic in ones leadership but also developing philosophies and styles that can mold and change as they need to. He encourages leaders to be like water. If you are in a bowl or a jug, or a bottle you are still water, you just have a different shape.
Also during this session we heard from Andrew Rugasira. He was thinking forward as well. He is a man from Africa, trying to help Africans. He has created a company called Good African Coffee, and he works to improve Africa, by giving Africans opportunity to improve themselves. Aid is helpful in a crisis situation, but it is not sustaining. No other continent ever got on its feet by receiving years of aid. They opened trade markets and became self sustaining. How exciting! BUY FAIR TRADE COFFEE!

Session Five was led by Wess Stafford. This message was probably the hardest for me to hear. There are a lot of sinful things in this world that I hate a lot, but above them all mistreatment of children. This man told his own story about how he had been mistreated as a child in some of the most awful way imaginable. It makes me feel ill to even think about it. I wish he would have spoken more about the redemption proof of his story. It was there but it was limited. He now is president and CEO of Compassion International. He works to spread the gospel to African children. It's a beautiful thing. I have his book sitting on my shelf now, I will probably not read it until I have a lot of time to reflect and recoup after. :S

Session six was an interview with David Gergen.
I'm not an American, and so I had never heard anything about this guy before, but everyone on the summit was extra excited to talk to him, so my anticipation grew. He was the adviser to four different presidents of the US. Indeed he is an influential man and has seen these national leaders at their best and worst. Some leadership tips I took away from his message are:
1. Be yourself in public and in private, (with tact of course)
2. Leadership is journey, so stop trying to arrive
3. "Not ever reader is a leader, but every leader is a reader." read all the time
4. Go fishing- this means set goals, have accountability and think carefully
5. Maturity is accepting your flaws and having them in control
6. Establish your Ethos (Who you are) your Logos (what you say or stand for) and know your Pathos (Mood) when speaking and appearing in front of people
7. Personal habits of great leaders: Self Discipline, fitness, time of reflection, time of meaningful relationships, people who love are loved- live longer, have a spiritual foundation.
8. Gandhi- Be the change you want to see in the world.
Some of this could have been really over my head, because really this guy has experience with some of the biggest names in the history of the United States. Could any of that apply to me? A Student pastor? We'll see in the days to come.

Session seven was right up my ally. I love psychology! And the psychology of leadership and change is more or less what the Heath brothers were on stage to tell us about. This really summed up the messages of Bill Hybles, Gary Hamel and David Gibbons, in a more structural, psychological vocabulary kind of way. They talked about the reasons we resist change, is because of our intellectual argument. We need to reach past that to what is working, clone it and make it work in other places. I love the message of Big Problem, small solution--> instead of looking for a big picture change all at once; we can make a few small changes that will move us forward towards a more naturally healthy place of functioning. It's again a journey. Another theory they talked about that I went ah ha! With was this theory of Person problem vs. a Situation problem or fundamental attribution problem. Sometimes we have problems with people that are affecting us negatively and we blame them, when in reality when we step back we see that they really aren't out to ruin our lives, they are simply reacting to the elements in their own life.

Session 8 was interesting. Bono from the Irish Band U2 was the feature interviewee. :-0 how cool! He is an interesting fellow, and one that I am still processing on. His views about life, and faith and cause, are all very intriguing. The message he put across was inspiring. Bono supports Aids relief in Africa like no body’s business, and so coming from him this message rings very true and clear. “It’s not about charity, but justice and equality." Amen!

The last session (yes we have reached the last one) was an interview with Tony Blair, former prime minister of the United Kingdom. He made a great impact on the world during his time as prime minister, and continues to use his influence today. During his interview he described himself as a normal persona in an abnormal situation. I think that people in any leadership position can relate to that. What he later went on to say was that as leaders we need to be flexible and grow-able, and also we need to have an irreducible core. That is the thing that makes you who you are; it's what you stand for. Learning who you are, will affect greatly how you lead, and where you lead your people. This was a loaded interview, but I think that the irreducible core value is what he was trying to hit home with the listeners.

Bill Hybles left us with four principles to remember in closing the summit, which I think all the readers who have read this far will agree are sound:
1. Meet with God ever day intentionally
2. Read good books. Even just 30 minutes a day.
3. Review your replenishment strategy
4. Say yes to God every time he prompts.

This has been the craziest summer I have ever experienced. I have gone through some major changes, learned some great lessons and started to look to the future through a different shade of anticipation.

I've spent my summer back in Canada's capital working at my church as a student pastor. My role was sometime to the effect of director of Children's Programs, and youth ministries. If I had a list of tasks for the summer it would be to plan and execute each of the following:

1. Family Camp youth activities- Morning Devotional
                                               - Afternoon (Pirate) adventure
                                               -evening activity
                                               - movie
2. VBS story time
3. Soccer Camp director
4. biweekly youth activity
5. Sunday service extra hand
6. Sunday School assistant director
7. Church wide camping trip

I have spent my summer planning all of these activities, and building congregational relationships. What have I learned from all of this?
- That as a summer job, being a program director is fine, but I don't want that to be my career.
- That I like responsibility, and my capacity for more responsibility grows every time I reach my limit.
- That growing up isn't just about growing old, it's also about becoming wiser and less sheltered.
-I have also had a reality check on what my life could look like if I continue on the career path I have settled on.

The highlight of the summer has been living in the same city as my man.
The low light has been being girl friend less, I miss my closest friends.

I also mentioned that I am looking to the future. This area of contemplation has but me into a really strange place. I've been thinking about what in the world I am going to do with the six months after I finish school and then what I am going to do after that. My long term goals have been very foggy and a source of much confusion. There are a few things that have been growing in my mind lately. The biggest thought is around going back to school. I am seriously considering taking a masters degree in psych. and counseling. Since the twelfth grade, I have really loved Psychology, and I was never able to find any peace in switching my major to it. Now that I am nearly done with no real plans, to follow, I am beginning to think it might be a wise choice to consider taking my masters in such a field. This is all still a thoughts.
My other thoughts for the future are in the way of travel. A few years ago I had this plan to travel around the world. I don't know if I still want to do that, but I am thinking about heading to Northern Ontario, and to Ukraine for just short term visits.

Lots of thougths... I just with some of them were a little more concrete.