I got back from Africa on Tuesday of this week. Wednesday I slept, went through the mail, and unpacked. Thursday and Friday was the leadership summit all day. Today, I can’t shake the feeling of just utter laziness. I have so much to do but am struggling to stay awake. This jet lag thing is killing me.

Oh… and if you think it’s hotter at the equator than in San Diego…. um… that’s a lie. It’s way hotter here than anywhere I went in Uganda. The hottest I experienced was the day with the Rhinos and it was still much cooler than what I have come home to, which is not helping my energy level much I fear.

This is my family actually on the equator- which runs through 10 countries in the world- 6 of them on the African Continent… and it was not as hot here as it is in San Diego.

This Tuesday I start my annual fall ritual of coaching two soccer- teams twice a week. I better get some energy soon.

For years now I’ve been going to the leadership summit put on by Willow Creek. I think this is like year 8 for me. I always love it. It’s always good for me to hear and think. This year I have a few process days laid aside to download the info into my life, leadership, and ministry.

Last year’s theme seemed to be for me, “self leadership.” This year’s theme seemed to be “leadership that matters”.

There were 11 teaching moments from 10 speakers. (Hybels always does the opening and closing talks). I have tried to reduce each teaching down to two things.

#1. A leadership learning.
#2. A defining question to ponder.

BILL HYBELS: THE HIGH DRAMA OF DECISION MAKING.

LEARNING: Good leaders take the time to boil leadership experiences and learnings down to simple, easy to remember axioms that shape their decision making process.

QUESTION: What leadership lessons have I learned that I cannot afford to forget in regards to future decisions?

GARY HAUGEN: CHARGING THE DARKNESS.

LEARNING: It is possible to lead in areas that ultimately do not matter at all. If I don’t want this to be me, then I must make sure my heart and God’s heart share the very same passions. God wants to solve the problems of the world through God’s people for Jesus did not come to make us safe, but brave.

QUESTION: Are Jesus and I really interested in the same thing?

BILL GEORGE: FINDING YOUR TRUE NORTH, THE SPIRITUALITY OF AUTHENTIC LEADERS.

LEARNING: The greatest failure of leaders is not a failure to lead others, it’s a failure to lead themselves.

QUESTION: “What am I doing to truly make a difference in the world?”

WENDY KOPP: STAND UP AND LEAD.

LEARNING: True leadership comes from a deep seated values that are mutually owned across the organization.

QUESTION: Are the values of this organization mine or ours?

JOHN BURKE: LEADING IN NEW CULTURAL REALITIES.

LEARNING: People are looking for an authentic confessing community.

QUESTION: Am I living an authentic, genuine, humble lifestyle of following Jesus around a watching world?

EFREM SMITH: LEADING IN NEW CULTURAL REALITIES

LEARNING: Culture is both good and bad; divine and demonic. It is the languate we have grown up in and we need to be able to connect with it so that people can find God in it.

QUESTION: How well do I know understand the theological and sociological needs of my culture?

CRAIG GROESCHEL: HOW LEADERS CAN GET IT AND KEEP IT.

LEARNING: Don’t become a full-time pastor and a part-time follower of Christ.

QUESTION: How intimate is my relationship with Jesus and does my ministry flow from the Holy Spirit’s direct guidance and counsel in my life?

CHUCK COLSON: DEFENDING THE FAITH.

LEARNING: Culture is nothing but religion incarnate.

QUESTION: What systemic problems in American youth culture is God calling our student ministry to have a direct voice into and influence over?

CATHERINE ROHR: RISK TAKING, BARRIER BREAKING, BOLD LEADERSHIP

LEARNING: Pray this: “Bring it on God, Bring it on.”

QUESTION: “If God answers that prayer, am I ready to listen and obey no matter what the cost?”

BRAD ANDERSON: AN UNCOMPROMISING FOCUS ON PEOPLE

LEARNING: We tend to separate things that are not separable. People problems result in end result problems.

QUESTION: “What have I tried to treat as separate problems that are actually intimately related to one another?”

BILL HYBELS: RELENTLESS

LEARNING: Decide to live like Mother Theresa, that when God speaks, I will deny him nothing.

QUESTION: If God is just looking for a yielded heart that will refuse God nothing and do God’s bidding without delay, am I that kind of person?

I’ve been a youth pastor for 14 years now. This was my longest single stint out of the office in my career. It amounted to like 3 1/2 weeks in Africa. More like 5 1/2 out of the office if you count summer camp and the week before since I was only in the office for like 2 days. Much of that time was “on the job”, but regardless, upon returning to the U.S. on Tuesday night, I have had some observations.

• When the U.S. passport agent said to me, “welcome home,” I teared up. After 6 trips to international airports, someone telling you they were glad to have you in their country evidently rang some unspoken need deep inside.

• Don’t bitch about what you don’t have; doing so does not promote peace, but only reinforces your discontent.

• HEY AMERICA: the internet is lightning fast, your roads are amazing, your gas is cheap, your closet is overflowing, your food is plentiful, your wallet is fat, your electricity is amazing, and your water is a luxury the rest of the world longs for… just to name a few right off the top of my head.

• I waste too much time, resources, and money on that which does not matter.

• Money or distance is not the solution to your problems. It is also not the solution to Africa’s.

• There is no limit to what one can carry on a bike, small moped, or on your head. Here’s a short list of what I saw carried on at least one of those items: 3 wood couch frames, glass panes, 400 pounds of water, massive amounts of fruits and vegetables, an entire convenient store, large bundles of firewood, 3 other people, live chickens, and a HUGE live pig tied to the back of a moped (it also was peeing as we passed by. Thankfully on the other side of us)

• Observation: Americans might be fat because we eat too much processed food and don’t have to walk far enough to get our day done. Just a thought.

• If you want to know what first century Jerusalem was like, just go to the villages around Lake Victoria and watch people mend their nets, farm their food, ask questions about Jesus, and bring you their sick to be prayed over.

You come home to your 30 days out of the office to find it looking like this:

Kamiah will soon find her world wrapped in saran wrap I believe. I once wrapped my college age secretary in saran wrap to her office chair, wheeled her outside, wrapped her to a tree, and hosed her down with water for a similar infraction.

My office is shiny now, maybe I’ll let her off a little easier. Maybe.

Well, there are several other things we did here in Uganda that are worth telling you about, but they’ll have to wait until we head home. I leave for a London single night layover and then home in about 5 hours. I’ll blog again next week after we get home.

Pray us through. So far, so good.