Wildfoote: A Leadership Journey

Brian McLaren

About 10 days ago, I took a couple guys up to Northern Baptist Seminary in Lombard to hear Brian McLaren.  Brian was the featured speaker for the annual William W. Brady Lectures.  As always, Brian was both challenging and inspiring.

I got to know Brian while I was serving at International Teams and have memories of challenging discussions in cafe's in Seattle and the DC/Baltimore area, at a conference center in Costa Rica, and in our own board room in Elgin at the IT USA office.  His questions and thoughts have been postive markers in my own journey with God. 

The lectures were a good experience for all three of us and our brief conversation with Brian before the lectures started was encouraging.  I took away from the day his challenge to be engaged in contextual theology, a narrative hermeneutic, a missional vocation, and a deep global conversational ecclesiology.  I am looking forward to his next book which focuses on the contemporary global crises and how we apply the gospel to them.  Should be an interesting read.

I snapped this quick photo of Brian on my cellphone following the lectures.  Thanks for a great day Brian!

Creating an Experience

Okay...for those of you that know me well, I can see your eyes rolling now.  But I just have to say that I am really being impacted by the book, The Starbucks Experience.  Anybody who is trying to impact a customer and create a positive experience should read the book.

And at the risk of being misunderstood or labeled too corporate, I think there is much church leaders and small group leaders could learn from what Starbucks is doing.

The section on their mantra of "Connect", "Discover", and "Respond" in my estimation, is worth the price of the book.  I highly recommend giving this book a read!!

A BEGINNING...

With an end, also comes a beginning.  After seeking lots of input from a number of sources and exploring several possibilities, I accepted a role as the Executive Pastor at Richwoods Christian Church in Peoria, IL.  Scheduled start date was January 15, 2007.

It is no secret that going back to Peoria was way down on the personal desire list.  But we couldn't get away from the fact that God seemed be calling us.  Since making this decision the road has been challenging but we continue to sense this is where God wants us for this season.

Here is a recent update on our decision, our plans, and where things are at the moment.
Download january_min_update.pdf

I am looking forward to blogging more about the challenges in the local church, leadership development, and other relevant issues.