The trip to the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek came as the culmination of a time of challenging spiritual growth for me. I’ve been through a time of really questioning whether it’s enough just to believe in God and turn up on a Sunday morning to lead the children’s programme, or whether I need to actively engage in deepening my own spiritual life, to get the most out of the life that Jesus offers - the life in all its fullness of John 10:10.
In his opening address, Bill Hybels (Senior Pastor at Willow Creek) talked about his deepening understanding of what makes church. He described diverse experiences as a pastor, but also a member of the Christian community that is Willow Creek - the sharing of grief at the funeral of a member, the joy of fishing on the lake with the church group for children with special needs, the peace and blessing of sharing in fellowship with the Sunday congregations and midweek groups - all these things make church. That’s what I want - to be part of a community that builds up its members, that allows people to develop their God-given gifts and talents, that makes a difference in our community and in the wider world, and that celebrates with people in the highs of life and consoles them in the lows.
Church is about allowing people to experience life that is truly life - the early church got this - read Acts chapter 2 - and I believe that is how God wants us to experience church today.
In order to make this a reality, we are each called to a full and uncompromising commitment to God and His purpose in this world. For me, this needs to be underpinned by high standards in my own personal devotional life, in a commitment to regular Bible study and prayer. I need to have a passion for the Gospel and its ability to transform my life and the lives of others. I need to work in partnership with God, committing the little I have to Him, so that He can accomplish the greater work He has in mind.
So how, for me, does that flow out into leadership? Bill Hybels introduced us to the concept of axioms, a way of creating ‘proverbs’ - distillation of wisdom - things we’ve learned, approaches that work - into a phrase, which we can then apply in the situations around us. Better than just using his axioms, we should be coming up with our own, and so I’ve come up with my own, first axiom - IS IT GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD? In everything that I do - preparing Sunday school, coming to PCC meetings, even baking for our Worship Group - everything gets placed under the microscope of that question.
For me, leadership is about setting that high standard, and then working with those round about me to achieve that high standard. It demands commitment, the creation of a culture of love and support and a deep passion for Jesus Christ and his purpose in the world. God gave His best for us - doesn’t He deserve the same from us?
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