Leadership Summit - Bill Hybels - “The High Drama of Decision Making”

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Spkr_bHybels_sm Great first session at the Leadership Summit. We’re experiencing it at Eagle Brook Church via live satellite. Typically about 70,000 attend live and via satellite.

Bill Hybels did the first talk after a rousing introduction. Every time Bill Hybels speaks at the Summit he hits a home run and he did it again today. We’ve got 70 Five Oakers here, and for many of them, this is their first Summit and first time hearing Hybels. A friend, hearing him for the first time last year, commented that she had heard a lot about Hybels, but she’d never heard him and seen his heart. You can’t help but see and feel his heart and it makes a huge impact.

The power in Hybels’ talks, as usual, are his stories. I can’t capture that here, but here are some highlights of his talk:

  • Four basic questions Christian leaders use to guide decisions: (1) Does the Bible weigh in? (2) What would smart advisers say? (3) PG&E questions: What have I learned from pain, gains and experiences that might apply? (4) Is the Spirit prompting me?
  • By reflecting on life add to the vault of experiences to help in decision making.
  • If you’re fuzzy about how a decision was made you’ll have trouble learning from them.
  • Reflect enough on leadership to create axioms that work as shortcuts and help in making decisions (axioms that bottle all four questions).
  • Some axioms that have helped Hybels: “vision leaks,” “need to get the right people around the table,” “facts are your friends,” “when something feels funky, engage,” “leaders call fouls” (sometimes on themselves), “take a flyer” and “this is church.”
  • “Have to get the right people around the table”: Heaven aches for the church to be what it should be for the world.
  • “Facts are your friends”: There is s huge chasm between a “growing Christian” and a “Christ-centered Christians.” The Christ-centered will change the world. The Growing Christian, focused on himself and his own growth alone, can’t change even their own block.
  • “Take a flyer”: Every once in a while have to create an action plan that rocks our world.