Meeting with Bill Hybels

Last week I had the privilege of meeting with Bill Hybels, along with Andy & Stacie Wood, Archie Jackson, and my dad.  For those of you who don't know who Bill Hybels is, he is the pastor of Willowcreek Community Church - one of the largest (25,000+) and most influential churches in the world.  He's had a tremendous impact in my life, my ministry, and my family.  

We met him at his vacation office in South Haven, Michigan.  We showed up to the beautiful little office that overlooks the Michigan lake, knocked on the door, and there comes Bill Hybels wearing shorts and no shoes. Though he was extremely friendly and laid back, we were a little nervous...

Anyways, we went on to share the vision of South Bay Church (the church we're planting in the San Francisco Bay Area) and then started asking him questions and getting his insight on leadership issues, church planting stuff, family, etc.  It was awesome!  The main insights he gave us were:

1. Stay flexible with your strategy and goals & be crystal clear with your values and vision.
2. In the beginning, focus 99% of your energy on people, not technology or anything else. Double b-fasts, double lunches, double dinners...
3. Don't over-rev.  Don't push too hard, but give your best.
4. Schedule your vacations and day offs.  
5. Don't wait till you're a mega-church to find your wife's strengths and place in the ministry, find them out in the beginning.  (Lynn Hybels was there for this one - she was very nice).  
6. Don't focus so much on breaking numerical barriers that you forget to focus on relationships.
7. Be the best Acts 2 church you can be at every level and in every season.
8. Don't appoint elders too quickly, take as much time as you need to ensure they meet the Biblical standards for Elders.  
9. Enjoy every season of the church's growth and stay close together as a staff team.

There were so many great things he said, many that will stay in our minds for many years.  His passion for God and the Church is still just as alive as it was when he started Willow 35 years ago.  We could hear it in his heart the phrase that he so often quotes, "the local church is the hope of the world..."  

At the end of our time, we took pictures with him, he showed us the first copy of his new book (Axiom), he showed us his office where he prepares his talks for the Leadership Summit each year, and then he gave us a check for $10,000 to start our new church!  (that last one was a joke).  

Before we left, we all thanked him with tears for the tremendous impact he has had in the Church and in each of our lives.  Then he prayed for us and off we went...  What a great experience!  

Don't forget to remember.

"I have been your God ever since...  I took care of you... But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me."  Hosea 13:4-6

I've been thinking about this verse for a couple days now and how it relates to this new season of life I'm entering.  We're having to depend on God now probably more than ever before in our lives.  We're motivated to pray hard now, because without God we will fail in this journey of raising funds to move our family to one of the most expensive places to live in America in order to plant a church. 

Now we're praying, we're seeking, we're trusting, we're working hard, we're thinking about God every second...  we're acknowledging Him for His miracles, we're praising Him for every act of kindness and every glimpse of provision.  

But what will happen after He shows Himself faithful, after He provides, after He gives us success, after we experience His tremendous grace and favor, and after He answers our prayer?  Will I still pray as hard, or will I forget Him?  Will I still praise Him, or will I be prideful?  Will I still risk and work hard after I've "eaten and become satisfied", or will I get lazy?  

Will I allow success to blind my understanding of my dependency on Him?

"Father, thank you for reminding me now of what my response should be later.  I pray that through your grace we will all still remember You on the other side of 'success'.  You have been our Lord... You took care of us...  now we choose to remember and never forget who brought us here."