A couple of years ago I accepted free tickets for the conference, and I must say, the content was very good. I’m not, generally speaking, a fan of these types of events, but the Willow Creek one gave me lots to think about. I’ve followed a few of the speakers on Twitter, and have been consistently encouraged and challenged by their perspectives.

I found the secular nature of the programming and marketing appealing. I could have invited my non-church friends without feeling like I was playing some kind of bait-and-switch.

All that having been said, I’m disappointed in Bill. His little book “Descending Into Greatness” was pretty transformative in my early career. But one of the things I’ve learned as a leader is to never be shocked when someone’s dirt comes to the surface. Grieved, angry, disappointed. But never shocked.

Correct, a speaker panel with only Mexican leaders would not be “global” on a planetary scale. I believe I was trying to make the point that if year after year of GLS keynotes limted to only U.S. speakers is somehow an acceptable practice (as opposed to blatantly arrogant), is GLS equally comfortable with scheduling keynotes only from some other country, preferably a non-Western one? I think we both know the answer to this question. But I’d love to see GLS do it, as such a panel would expose U.S. White Evangelicals to voices, perspectives, and experiences they are entirely unfamiliar with. Or more to your point, how about a keynote line up of speakers entirely from a range of countries across Central America, Africa, and Asia? The Evangelicals behind the Global Leadership Summit have a lot of listening to do.

Hmmm… not quite sure that a line up of speakers solely from Mexico would be any more “global” than the existing format …. 😉

Sending staff to exotic locales overseas for “women’s conferences” also seems an easy way to provide a handsome benefits package for employees.

The megachurch experience asks members to make sacrifices so staff members can enjoy the fruit of labor of others. Not much a Believer in that particular paradigm. It seems fraudulent.

Very touchy about Mexico?? Hmmm.