Mike in Chicago

Nine Canadian Pastors plus 66 International Pastors plus Willow Creek Community Church and seven days in Chicago = one incredible experience!

I had the opportunity to be a part of a Partnering to Prevail Pastors Conference hosted by Willow Creek Church in South Barrington Illinois.  This was a gathering of 75 pastors from around the world, including Australia, Germany, Netherlands, South Africa, Britain, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania & Switzerland.  What an incredible opportunity to be refreshed and refueled in this dynamic environment.

For those who are not familiar with Willow Creek, it began 35 years ago when Bill Hybels, then in his early 20’s, started a church in the Willow Creek Theatres.  Hybels had a heart for the local church, and also those far from God, and sought innovative ways for the church to speak into those far from God!  Since then, thousands of people have come to know Jesus through Willow Creek’s ministries, and today sees 22,000 people on a weekend.  They are preparing for 12 Christmas services that will see more than 80,000 people come through the doors!  Hard to get your head around, but exciting and inspiring.  God is good!

The structure of this conference was very simple.  Each day we had two to three presenters from within Willow Creek, sharing the journey they’ve been on, and answering questions from us pastors.  It was very interactive and practical, and I wrote 16 pages of notes, including a whole list of personal and church takeaways.

Here are some nuggets for me personally and as a pastor:

God is truly at work in great ways all over the world!  We sometimes get caught up with our little corner of the world, but God is never without His witness in all corners of the world.  This is so encouraging!  I loved having meals with pastors frm South Africa or New Zealand or Germany and hearing their stories of the church of God at work in many places.

My responsibility as a pastor is first and foremost to be a child of God.  We were blessed with a whole day with Gordon MacDonald, and one of the things I jotted down was this: “Self care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others.  Anytime we can listen to true self and give it the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch.”  I look at it as a cup. . . if my cup is empty, I can’t pour into others.  But when I feel full, I feel like I have something to pour into others.  Thanks for letting me as a pastor go to these type of events that fills my cup!

We are looking to develop and work with 5-C people: Character, Competence, Chemistry, Calling and Courage.  I love this list, and when it comes to staff hires, board or volunteer positions, I believe God is calling us to lean into great people with great Kingdom capacity!

"Your church can always get another pastor. . . your kids can never get another dad!"  Mark Batterson, Washington D.C. Pastor.

Great analogy of the Gospel message from theologian and Bible scholar Scott McKnight, taken from C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” series:

1. Watch the Lion roam (Life of Jesus)
2. Look at the Lion on the stone table  (Death)
3. Watch the stone table crack (Resurrection)
4. Listen to the roar of the Lion!   (Reign)

Important question posed by Gordon MacDonald: How does one build a life which grows to be more satisfying, more strategic, and more pleasing to God with every year?

Some great discoveries from Willow’s “Reveal” study of over 1,000 churches representing 300,000 people:

What People Want and Need from Church:

• “Help me understand the Bible in greater depth”
• “Help me develop a personal relationship with Christ”
• Provide strong programs for children
• Challenge me to grow and take next steps (don’t sugar-coat it) 

What People Want and Need from Small Groups:

• Provide a place where I can develop genuine friendships
• Provide a safe place to process the issues I am facing in my life.
• Makes the church seem smaller and more personal
• Holds me accountable to lead a Christian life

What People Want and Need from Senior Pastor:

• Preach inspiring sermons (clear #1).  If they don’t like the preaching, they don’t stay
• Cast a vision for the church that captures your heart
• Create welcoming environment
• Guidance about spiritual growth

Four common practices of top 5% of churches and one common trait

1. Get people moving (not just “check out, take your time”)
2. Embed the Bible in everything they do.
3. Create Ownership
4. Pastor the Local Community

• Overarching principles: Leaders consumed with making disciples. 

Bill Hybels made a great comment that struck me:  We want fantastic people who work in a fantastic work environment that bring fantastic results to our fantastic God!

Hybels also gave us four points for getting better as a leader:

1.  Read everything you can read on the subject (as a discipline)

2.  Go where leadership is taught.

3.  Get around people who are ahead of you in leadership and ask them smart questions  (requires humility and initiative)

4.  Keep leading aggressively whatever it is you’re leading.  90 percent of what you’re going to learn is when you go hard at it every day, it’s in the journey of it.

The processing and filtering will take place over the coming weeks and months, but I am so grateful that I got to experience this week’s immersion with these gifted leaders and servants of Jesus! 

By the way, we did get a chance to go to a Chicago Blackhawks – Vancouver Canucks Game, in box seats!  So fun.  An experience to last a lifetime.

May KGF be a place where the kingdom of God advances in bold ways!  Thanks for being a part of the journey.

Pastor Mike Penninga