Month: December 2016

Because of the GLS | Leaders Build Bridges, Not Walls

Posted on December 2, 2016 by - Because of the GLS, Church & Faith-Based, Culture, North America, Stories, Vision

Mission Church in Roselle, Illinois, led by Pastor Jon Peacock, is a host site for the Global Leadership Summit.

As a mission-minded pastor, what that means to Jon is much more than hosting a broadcast event at his church.

Mission Church is in the middle of a season they call, “Next is now” where their goal as a church is to go deeper and wider to reach their community.

One of the ways they are doing that is by utilizing the GLS as a tool to unite their community for the greater good.

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In this video, Jon introduces his friend Father Mario from Saint Walter’s Parish, who attended the GLS with his team for the first time this year.

As a result of the GLS, Jon and Mario, among others, are seeing bridges built rather than walls. The community of Jesus is uniting. They are committed to becoming better leaders, and learning from each other’s differences.

They are asking, how do we become the body of Christ here on earth?

As Father Mario says, God is happy when his children are laughing and talking with one another. There may be differences, but we have more in common than we have differences.

We’re all on the same team!

To unite more communities across the globe through the Global Leadership Summit,
consider a gift to the Willow Creek Association this season by going to www.willowcreek.com/give

Leading Beyond the Org Chart

Posted on December 1, 2016 by - Articles, Calling, Leadership Development, Leading Yourself, Wellness

Dave, how do I decide if grounding my child includes grounding from soccer practice?
Dave, would you speak into a situation that my spouse and I are having with our blended family?
Dave, what do you think of this logical consequence plan for our son?
Dave, I have a race on Sunday, should I do this workout today?

These are all questions that people in my life have presented to me just this week. None of these questions are related to their vocations or their place on an org chart. Yet, all these questions have something in common… leadership opportunity.

All too often we associate the practice of leadership with our position, rank, status, or job. In doing so we overlook some of the most meaningful leadership opportunities we are presented with. The roles we have that do not show up on an organizational chart make up the very fabric of our society – friend, parent, mentor, neighbor. Arguably these are the most important roles in our lives.

For too many years, I applied my leadership learnings exclusively to my vocational life that clearly fit on an org chart. With just a bit of thought, transferable principles can be drawn from every great leadership teaching and prove beneficial in countless ways beyond our org chart leadership.

  • Performance management teaching helps us guide our children to making wise choices.
  • Strengths-based leadership transfers to advising a friend who is choosing a volunteer role.
  • Crucial Conversations teaching (viewed here on GLSnext) has great application to any relationship.

What leadership opportunities do you face that do not fit on an org chart?

 We all want to reach our full potential. Do not neglect to develop yourself as a leader even if (or especially if!) your influence is “outside the org chart.”