Leadership Summit - Day One

Every year I go to the Leadership Summit put on by Willow Creek. Every year I have some kind of epiphany. I don't know if I remember all of the years:

the first - just the sheer excitement of being at a conference that was so well done that mixed leadership with being Christian.

the second - this was the year that I was going to take the pastor aside and tell him I was moving on from the church to somewhere else. But in the first session it was as if Bill was speaking directly to my unhappiness and I had - Bill said that you need to align your self with God's heart - that what wrecks your heart, your passion might just be what wrecks God's heart too. This was a huge revelation for me - the state of the church wrecked my heart - maybe I shouldn't be leaving because the church was making me unhappy - maybe that was why I should stay. By the end of the morning session I knew I was meant to stay. It was beginning of the year where I didn't have a role in the church anymore and I had "burned bridges" - I can say that it was the hardest year of all.

the third year - I sensed that this was the time to go. I went to Willow waiting for the magic where all my doubts would be cast aside - this time Bill talked about leadership paradigms where leaders reach a place where they can no longer be challenged - not because they were at their capacity but because no one would allow it. The pastor hadn't come this year so I couldn't really process it with anyone. By the end of the first session, I knew that staying at the church was really a big question mark - I was no longer challenged - I had made my peace with parishioners and sat on the sidelines for a year with no opportunity to volunteer in ministry. And I was going into my third and final year of schooling. I made once last ditch effort to stay by coming up with a ministry plan for the coming year in preparation for seminary. But that fell through so I moved on to become a member at the church that I was working in.

the fourth year - this was a weird year. I went with a team from my former church and noted how negatively the leaders talked about the congregation. Even in front of a couple that were new to the church. I prayed about it - wanting to take the team aside and tell them that there perspective was really self-serving - but decided against it. This was the year that I wondered when Bill would talk about loving one another. He always has great insight - he loves the church, he loves Christ, he loves leading, he loves the lost - but you know, I have never heard him say anything that talks about his love for his fellow parishioners. I wondered if this was a blind spot or if he had talked about it so much in other years.

Today. I listened to Bill. I have recently reread his book Courageous Leadership. I know he picks leaders based on the three C's - character, competency and chemistry. If he doesn't think he will want to work long hours with you he doesn't put you on the team. I have been in the position where I was told I was picked for a team on the three C's - which means when you are rejected from a team you wonder which of the C's you screwed up on. I have thought about this alot and other of Bill's unapologetic approaches to leaders. He tends to classify and slot people - he has various types of leaders that he looks for. He insists on only taking a 10/10 person on a team. He will go to other churches looking for a 10 rather than settling for a 9. Having been on the other side of ministry - where you want to serve but don't measure up, I have been thinking about this a lot more. I respect Bill and agree with him on some things. But this is the year that I suddenly realized that what Bill and pastors who follow Bill's leadership style are missing is something that I can do. I can take a group of people and work with them. I did it in the workplace where I inherited unionized staff with longevity. I was happy to lose a few through natural attrition, laid one off and the rest shone in their jobs. They became empowered, responsible and in five years no longer required a supervisor. I don't need 10's - and I don't need perfect chemistry to create a team. Bill works with a staff of over 40 people - he can afford to be choosy - I don't have that privilege.

I also wonder what this means about learning to love people and empower them as they are gifted. Does Bill really love the people he serves? I never hear him talk about love - I hear hard words - that good teams mean hard decisions. I think some good teams come from being spiritually mature enough to help people become who God created them to be. That's not to say I wouldn't let someone go off of a team if they couldn't play nicely - but it does mean that I would never wait until the person meets my standards before putting them on a team. Why would I want a team of like minded people in charge of a diverse group of people?

So, I'm bidding farewell to worrying about why I don't agree with Bill and his followers on some pretty big things. Bill works wonders with his leadership style - but God can work through me using mine too. My preChristian personality fit well with Bill's style - measure people up, reject the ones you don't want and move on. I'm trying a different route now - it might take longer and I may never be considered a "great leader" but at least I may unearth some great leaders that just needed a bit of time and exposure to be unearthed.