Summit Reflections (Part 1)

Leaders Move People from Here to There

Bill Hybels' opening session at the Summit was one of my favorites. I have to admit, I identified with his story of feeling ineffective and over the hill. Been there and will go there again. He told us about hitting some walls in his leadership of the church and it all culminated with not being able to get a wedding right. Hilarious story. It's encouraging to hear someone of his caliber of leadership sharing his struggles. Out of that struggle, and feeling like he really didn't know anything about leading, he took out his journal and starting jotting down what he does know about leadership. God was reminding him that he does know some things and prompted him to review what he knew.

The first thing he wrote down was that leaders move people from here to there. Yes, a very basic insight. Moving people from here to there means you have to cast a vision of the "there," but it also means casting a vision for why it is unacceptable to remain "here." When he said that, and then illustrated it with a story from his own leadership, I had one of those "this-is-why-I-love-the-Summit" moments. This is a huge insight. Big implications for wherever we lead (and we all lead somewhere). And it's an insight I'm applying right now as I'm preparing some "vision" messages for the late summer and fall.

My declaration: I will cast a vision for "there" and I will explain why remaining "here" is unacceptable.