Here are some thoughts from Bill Hybel’s opening session at the Leadership Summit.

Bill said that fifteen years ago he was “doing ministry” but he hadn’t really stopped to “think about ministry.” When he stopped to reflect he came up with five “I Believes”:

1. I believe the local church is the most leadership-intensive enterprise in society.
2. I believe in the spiritual gift of leadership
3. I believe most churches unintentionally undermine the expression of the leadership gift
4. I believe that most people love to be led
5. I believe the local church is the hope of the world.

As I listened I thought to myself: the most successful people have the deepest convictions. They are driven by a few beliefs or a few convictions. I see that happening in my own life right now. I have three core convictions that keep growing deeper roots in my soul.

C1: The church ought to be the most creative place on the planet
C2: The Greatest Message deserves the Greatest Marketing
C3: The church belongs in the middle of the marketplace

Here were my closing thoughts at the end of the session:

Throw yourself into every message. Give God everything you’ve got everyday. Or to shorten it: everything everyday. The only regret any of us will ever have is this: that we didn’t give God more sooner. That’s it. That we didn’t give God every ounce of energy, every second of time, every penny of resources. That’s it.