Leadership

How to describe the Reverend Brenda Salter McNeil?  How about ... oh my! She spoke powerfully on Acts 1:8 ... "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."  Each of us has a Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria in our lives and influence. Jerusalem is home base. It's our family, our neighborhood.  It's where the people are like us.  When serving in Jerusalem, it takes courage to confront those who are most like us. Judea is the place that is close to home but isn't home.  The ways of Judea are similar to home but different.  It's like we're from the same place but speak a different language.  This is where ministry gets more complex. Samaria.  Samaria is the place we try to avoid. It's the…

Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, NJ, spoke on day one of the Willow Creek Leadership Summit.  As he discussed legacy, he referenced the lights in a night sky.  Many of those stars we see in the sky have actually died yet their light still shines.  How?  They were so far away that the light beams haven't arrived yet. What a great metaphor for leaving a legacy! May your light continue to shine long after you die.

Len Schlesinger spoke on day one at the Summit.  His main point: do something.  Entrepreneurs are people who take action.  My favorite line: "Stop obsessing about all the things you need and start with what you have." A good reminder to entrepreneurs, pastors, church planters, moms, dads ... everybody.

On day one of the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit, It's been said asked this question: What is your current leadership challenge?  There are three possible answers: Under-challenged Appropriately challenged Over-challenged Where you find yourself determines both your effectiveness and your satisfaction. Those who are under-challenged are probably bored and playing Angry Birds on their phone.  They might be overqualified or simply misplaced.  At any rate, those who are underchallenged eventually leave -- physically or mentally. Those who are appropriately challenged may seem to be the happiest, most effective of all.  For a while this may be true.  But if they are not stretched and asked to grow, they will eventually atrophy or move downward to the under-challenged level. That leaves the over-challenged level.  Ironically, the most effective leaders are those who straddle the area just between appropriate and over-challenged.  In other words, they are stretched but not over-stretched.  This…