The Global Leadership Summit – My story (by Pete Creamer)
It was forty years ago, and I was the teaching pastor of the Xenia First Church of Christ. I was in a period in my ministry when I didn’t know how desperate I was for spiritual refreshment and leadership training. I was on “auto-pilot” – doing all the things I thought was required of me, but I was also drained and empty in my soul. I just didn’t realize it. I received information about a Leadership Conference that was to be held at a mega-church in Chicago – called Willow Creek. I’d never been to Chicago before and I had heard good things about Willow Creek, so I decided to register and attend.
Due to where I was spiritually, emotionally, and even physically at this time – I really didn’t want any company, so I registered myself, drove by myself and even sat by myself in all the sessions – way up in the balcony where I could be alone.
All the speakers were outstanding. The worship music was inspiring, and it finally came to the final message of the conference. The teacher of this session was the lead pastor of the willow Creek Church, Bill Hybels. To this very day I can still remember some of the main points of that message because it became very clear to me that God wanted to speak His grace into the condition of my heart. Hybels shared the story of the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah and how he managed to remain faithful despite a very “hard ministry.” He shared how Jeremiah, despite his hard ministry, even signed up for another term. But instead of getting better, things for him got worse and he winds up in a pit - literally. Despite all of this, Jeremiah proclaimed God’s faithfulness. Hybels then spoke to those in the audience where for whatever reason things were really good. There is evidence of growth present. Resources are plentiful and overall, your ministry is a joy. All of this is to be applauded and appreciated. But Hybels then turned to speak to those, like Jeremiah, who were experiencing a very hard and difficult ministry. There is no evidence of growth. Resources are scarce and overall, there is not a lot of joy. But, like Jeremiah, we can depend on the faithfulness of our loving God.
Then Hybels made this comment – that both pierced and embraced my heart at the same time. “The pace at which some of you are doing the work of ministry is destroying the work of God in you.” I’m listening to this while looking at the screen in the balcony because I’m so far away from the stage – but that distance was not a problem for the Holy Spirit to draw close to me and to comfort me. I knew that this was a message to me from a loving God that did not want me to serve Him with joyless obligation like what I was doing.
After the conference, I began the long drive home to Xenia – again by myself. But strangely enough, I didn’t feel alone. I never even turned on the radio or any other external audio source for the entire drive home. I drove in silence listening to my heart and the reflections I gained from the speakers and talks of this conference. I felt as if a huge boulder had been lifted from my back. I felt joy and enthusiasm again and knew that God had provided me a “Significant Moment” in my life.
As of 1992, this conference became The Global Leadership Summit, and is now under the direction of Craig Groeschel and the GLS Board. I have rarely missed a conference since that initial experience. I make it a point every year to prioritize this date on my calendar and, no longer do I ever want to attend it alone – but invite everyone I can think of to attend as well.
If you want to hear more about this conference or to share how it can meet a need in your own life – I’d love to have that conversation with you. You can email me at pete.creamer@southbrookcitylights.org