Baylor Serves as Satellite Location for Willow Creek Leadership Summit
by Nincy Mathew, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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Local church, business, community and student leaders will gain insight about effective and visionary leadership during a satellite broadcast of 2009 Willow Creek Leadership Summit on Aug. 6 and 7 at Waco Hall on the Baylor University campus.
The Leadership Summit exists to transform Christian leaders around the world with an annual injection of vision, skill development and inspiration for the sake of the local church. The summit is broadcast by satellite to worldwide locations, including Baylor's Waco Hall, from Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago.
This year, speakers with different backgrounds and expertise will provide practical skills for use in vocational, personal and spiritual lives. The speakers will include:
• David Gergen, political analyst for CNN and PBS and former adviser to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. Gergen has participated and analyzed leadership for more than 30 years and will provide seven elements he believes are necessary for increasing leadership potential.
• Craig Groschel, founder and senior pastor of www.lifechurch.tv, a multi-campus church that reaches more than 18,000 people in 12 locations.
• Bono, lead singer of U2 and activist for the fight against AIDS in Africa. He will speak about the church response to poverty and disease in Africa.
• Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church. He convened the first leadership summit in 1995 and speaks around the world about strategic issues for Christian leaders.
• Carly Fiorina, former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard. She was the first woman to head a Dow 30 company and was named "The Most Powerful Woman in Business" by Fortune for six years in a row.
• Rt Hon Tony Blair, former Prime Minster of United Kingdom. One of Great Britain's most internationally recognized statesmen, Blair served as Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1997 to 2007. In 2008, he launched the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, which promotes understanding between the major faiths and increases understanding of the role of faith in the modern world.
• Jessica Jackley, co-founder of www.kiva.org, the world's first peer-to-peer online micro-lending website. She has helped raise more than $61 million used by thousands of people worldwide for starting and expanding small businesses. Jackley has been featured on "The Today Show" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
New to the summit will be a roundtable discussion featuring the perspectives of business leaders, pastors and a relational expert, who will provide tips and techniques involved in high stakes leadership.
Last year, the summit brought together more than 46,000 people in 114 cities and 50 countries and continues to provide leadership training that attracts pastors and business leaders.
Online registration ends Aug. 4, with registration available at the door. However, seating is limited. Ticket prices vary from $165 to $345.
The summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. both days. Check-in on Thursday is at 7:30 a.m. and doors open at 8:30 a.m. Check-in begins at 8 a.m. on Friday and doors open at 8:30 a.m.
Directions to Waco Hall can be found at https://www.baylor.edu/map/index.php?id=11624.
For local information, contact Denise Corley at (254) 710-6274 or Denise_Corley@baylor.edu.