Leading others

I have spent the last two days at the HTB Leadership conference and for a flavour click here and I will post the talks as they become available. Krish also has some good reflections.

There is a great deal to process but I share an initial thought or two:

'The local church is in the hands of its leaders' said Hybels and his talk made me cry not once but twice.

If the leader's of a local church don't:

.......put evangelism at the top of the list and do some themselves then .....

........call people to pray and teach them how to then .....

......open themselves to the gifts of the Spirit and teach people how to minister in them then.....

.....care for their own souls, rest, family life, holiness and leisure then....

.......read and believe the Bible for themselves then........

.....believe that the lost are truly lost then ....

......make themselves vulnerable and open to feedback then........

.......love the poor and the marginalised then..........

........and believe that 'here' is not a place any church can remain then.......

Steve Furtick preached to us with such power last night he almost set himself on fire and when you do that this happens.

Among the many insights he said:

'What can I do today that will enable me to do tomorrow what I cannot do today?'

Furtick was very important in the story of planting HT Barnes as this post recalls and this blog even ahead of HTB :) He had what he called his 'Page 23 Vision' reading 'Fresh Wind Fresh Fire':

'I despaired of the thought that my life might slip by without seeing God show himself mightily on our behalf'

He is the author of two books: Sun Stands Still and Greater and both are worth checking out.

Nicky Gumbel's key book recommendation was 'The Emotionally Healthy Church' and in it (p 60-65) there is an emotional inventory that rocked his world. We should probably all take the questionnaire.

The unexpected show-stealer of the whole conference was Cardinal Christoph Schonborn author of 'Loving the church'. What an extraordinary man of God.

If you listen to a better talk on the person and work of the Holy Spirit this year than Ellie Mumford's then I will eat my copy of 'Questions of Life'.

Patrick Lencioni was so very helpful on teams and his book recommendation to us was 'Absolute Relativism'. Nicky Gumbel also recommended The Five Disfunctions of a Team, 'The Advantage'and Death by Meeting.

Everyone I can think of (whether you were at the conference or not) would be blessed by taking half a day of silence and solitude and reading the chapter in Courageous Leadership called 'The Art of Self-Leadership' and listening to this talk.

Also, worth noting that HTB are launching a Leadership College from September. Applications by June.

It was a joy to spend time with folk from our church and inspirational to catch a renewed vision of all God will to do in our days.