The Leadership Summit was great this year.  And as usual the morning session with Bill Hybels was heart wrenching and touching!  And of course challenging.  Here is what Bill had to say:

Jeremiah received a tough calling from God: to speak God’s word to God’s people. The words God wanted Jeremiah to speak were words of warning to shake them up and wake them up. Nothing goes well. No one likes what he has to say. God tells him to keep speaking so he does. He gets beaten and put on display for shame. In Jeremiah 20, he tells God how he feels. “You sweet talked me… and I bought it. This isn’t what I had in mind.” He was torn between being faithful to his calling and his ache for success. Give up the ache to be successful in the eyes of the world and go with what God is calling you to do. Jeremiah wrote his lament down… it’s in our Bible. At the end of his lament he had clarity: throughout all of it, God’s mercies were new to him every morning. “I have had very little hardship carrying out what God has called me to do.” If you watch one episode of the evening news, you know our world is broken and it’s getting worse. The fixes that are going to be required for the ills of our society are not going to be easy assignments. They won’t be short-term assignments. God is looking for some strong-shouldered leaders who are available to take on tough callings. “I stand in awe of leader who receive tough assignments.” Do you have the courage to listen? What is your tough calling?

Bill said, “This world won’t get fixed unless leaders like us are available for tough assignments.” What tough assignment will you step up to after the Summit?  Bill and I wrote it down on the broken pottery!