What do you hear the Spirit saying to Willoughby Church? That was the challenge that council chair, Larry Van Wieren, presented to elders, deacons and staff gathered recently at Crescent Beach for Willoughby Church’s annual leadership retreat. A significant question which assumed the people in the room were walking close enough with God to hear his voice and challenged everyone to abandon personal vision and to focus instead on what God is doing at Willoughby Church and why.
Guest speaker, Mark Glanville spent the morning sessions leading and guiding us through scripture; helping us to explore the Biblical characteristics and attributes of spiritual leaders as well as the role of the Spirit in the life and work of spiritual leaders.
In small groups, we reflected on the life and ministry of Stephen as told in Acts 6 and 7. We tackled big questions about what changes we needed to make in our own lives so that God can use us effectively as leaders. While vision and strategy are vital for church leadership, Mark challenged us to lead with prayer and a contrite heart; to be filled with the same Spirit that led Stephen to preach among people armed with stones and to pray for his murderers. Mark also challenged us to move boldly forward equipped with God’s Spirit of wisdom, grace and power.
After lunch the focus switched towards seeking God’s direction in the profile of our future lead pastor. Great conversations were had on the topic and a summary report will be given to the Lead Pastor Search Team.