Carter’s Appearance at the Leadership Summit Too Much For Some…
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Tue, August 21, 2007
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- (20) comments so far
“How wide is the field of candidates that you as a leader can learn from?” Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, asked participating leaders at the 2007 summit over the weekend. “Is it real narrow; is it mid-range; is it quite wide?”
Before featuring a pre-recorded interview with Carter on Saturday, Hybels made it clear that all summit speakers he invites and interviews are “absolutely intentional,” although they may be met with protest.
“I know some leaders who can only learn from leaders who are pretty much like them, think like them, pray like them, vote like them, see the world the way they do,” he said. “Whenever I see a leader like that, I feel sorry for the leader and even worse, for his or her followers because they’re going to be cut off from a whole world of information, a world of powerful ideas that God could use to challenge that leader, to stretch them.
“Now, for what it’s worth, it’s my fiercest determination to keep putting faculty line-ups together that make a portion of you get your underwear in a bundle,” said Hybels to laughter Saturday in the Willow Creek auditorium in South Barrington, Ill.
But at the end of the day, it’s all about learning and helping church leaders expand their “learning bandwidth,” Hybels highlighted.
“We think you’re big boys and girls. We think you’re discerning ... we think you can balance stuff out subjective to the witness of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, take the good and leave the bad,” he further noted.
At McLean Bible Church, one of the largest churches in the Washington-area and one of the satellite sites hosting the Leadership Summit, the interview with Carter was not shown and was instead replaced with a 2002 leadership summit message from John Ortberg. McLean’s speaker policy discourages politicians from being featured at the church, considering the church is located in a very political city.
On a more controversial matter, McLean also has a partnership with Jews for Jesus and engages in outreach to the Jewish community. Carter’s Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid drew a storm of criticism and upset the Jewish community. Some have called Carter an anti-Semite and a bigot with critics contending the book is unfairly critical of Israel.
McLean does not take a stance on the issue but states, “We do not want to be alienated from the Jewish community because of showing a video of Jimmy Carter.”
Out of desire to reach the Jewish community for Christ, McLean – whose founding and senior pastor, Lon Solomon, is a Jewish convert – received permission from the Willow Creek Association not to show the Carter interview and instead provided DVD copies of the interview to summit attendants after the session.
Meanwhile, some 100,000 church leaders around the world tuned in on the exclusive Carter interview Hybels conducted.
In the nearly 40-minute interview, Carter touched on his presidency, leadership, his passion for peace and racial reconciliation, his 24 years with Habitat for Humanity, and his Christian faith.
Willow Creek described Carter as having “done more since retiring from the office of president than most people accomplish in a lifetime.”
You can read more here: SOURCE: The Christian Post
Pastor Bill Hybels is often criticized for the guests he features at his highly prominent Willow Creek Leadership Summit, which tens of thousands of church leaders worldwide register for each year. His interview with former president Jimmy Carter this year was another one of those moments... At McLean Bible Church, one of the largest churches in the Washington-area and one of the satellite sites hosting the Leadership Summit, the interview with Carter was not shown and was instead replaced with a 2002 leadership summit message from John Ortberg. McLean's speaker policy discourages politicians from being featured at the church, considering the church is located in a very political city.
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Ricky on Tue, August 21, 2007
As much as I can’t stand Jimmy Carter, possibly the worst president in our nation’s history, why would anyone protest such a speaker at a “leadership” conference?
This is nothing more than the status quo at these conferences…worldly speakers spouting off their collective wisdom on how to “lead” to what is supposedly a spiritual venture.
It makes one wonder who would Jesus invite to speak on the topic?
Peter Hamm on Tue, August 21, 2007
I just didn’t see what the hubbub was about. I realize there are leaders who will simply not learn from someone they disagree with, sometimes even mildly. (I’m thinking of a couple of particular watchdog websites for instance… you know what I mean…)
Carter was WAY low on the list of people I wanted to see at the summit, but I appreciate WCA expanding my learning bandwidth all the same.
Peter Hamm on Tue, August 21, 2007
Ricky,
Have you attended one of these summits? They are amazingly helpful to me as a church leader (a title which you seem to think is an oxymoron).
Ricky on Tue, August 21, 2007
Peter:
Who would Jesus invite to speak if He hosted a “leadership conference?”
I’d really like to know your thoughts.
Heath on Tue, August 21, 2007
Hey guys,
I totally see both sides of this issue. Jimmy Carter on leadership? I’d rather just hear Hybels again. The idea of enlarging our band-width is a good one, but doesn’t it seem slightly polical to have both Carter and Powell speak. (both huge critics of conservatives) If you are going to go down that path, try not to be so obvious on the real message you are trying to send.
hey, but who am I to critique these guys…
Heath
Camey on Tue, August 21, 2007
No, I did not attend… (just getting that out of the way first)
If the topic is truly “leadership” then, in my opinion, McLean’s leaders did the right thing by not having Jimmy Carter’s interview shown in their own venue. It would have gone against what their leaders had been doing, encouraging their body to do, and a policy set in place.
Again, just my own opinion. And also… about knowing one’s audience and spear of influence…
Peter Hamm on Tue, August 21, 2007
Ricky,
Since Jesus dined with sinners and even pharisees, I think we’d all be surprised by the people he might invite. And since it is His Holy Spirit that gives gifts, including leadership, which we are commanded to use with diligence in Romans 12, it would make sense that Jesus would applaud our efforts to learn what we can to lead better.
Camey,
McLean’s leaders did the right thing? Maybe but… did they also black out the Colin Powell talk? He’s political. Or is he “conservative enough” for the church. I’m not necessarily blasting their decision, but if they blacked out Carter but showed Powell, it seems a bit of a double-standard to me.
And by the way, neither of those talks was very political.
Camey on Tue, August 21, 2007
Peter,
Thanks for pointing that out about Powell. If they did not blacked out him then indeed that would be a double-standard. (Anyone know the answer here? Anyone?)
Glad to hear that neither of those talks was very political. But… I do wonder though if you wore different shoes and looked thru different glasses than you do if you would have come away with the same impression.
Thanks again for pointing out about Powell.
Camey
reGeN on Tue, August 21, 2007
I remember when Cater made those comments and I thought, “What were you thinking?” And yet, there are times when I get the strange feeling that there are only two litmus tests for what makes an evangelical: being a Republican and never ever criticing Israel. The move was political by McLean, pure and simple.
Peter Hamm on Tue, August 21, 2007
reGen,
Although I am at odds theologically with MBC on some issues, they are a great, noble, wonderful, very well-run church. I think this was very NON-political, if possibly misguided (and probably not even that). They are in a TREMENDOUSLY politically charged area, the most political in the nation, and had to tread very lightly in issues like this. That said, I’m puzzled as to why they singled out Carter and not Powell, if that’s what they did.
Derek Vreeland on Tue, August 21, 2007
I did not attend the Leadership Summit, but I was there last year.
I pastor a church in the home town of Habitat for Humanity. Jimmy Carter lives about 10 miles away. I have a member of the secret service in my church…how cool is that! Anyway, Carter (and HFH) is a controversial figure here, especially among SBC churches, but I think he would have helpful things to say about leadership.
I am surprised that McLean Bible Church calls Carter a “politician.” I don’t see Carter that way. He has been extremely crticialy of the political right and the current president. I see him as a commentator on the political scene, but not a politiican. He is not running for office or, to my knownledge, he is not endorsing a political canidate.
I disagree with Carter politically, but I think it is good to listen to what he says. I guess for me, I tend to respect him, because he is a member of my community. Really. I passed him at Wal-Mart earlier this summer!
Derek
Leonard on Tue, August 21, 2007
Let me say both I did not attend and that I did not skip because of carter and Powell. I was camping with 70 guys from my church.
As for Carter and McLean, reGen, I am not so sure I would agree. Carter has said some pretty nasty things about Israel and if you have an active ministry to Jews I can see the wisdom in this. I am also sure if Powell had made the same comments about Jews he would have been blacked out. If my church was active in these ministries I would have done the same without political reasoning. If my church was active in a Muslim ministry I would have opted out Colin Powell.
As for leadership. You don’t get to be a governor of a state, president of the country without something going on.
I also think it was wise for Hybles to interview Carter instead of letting him speak. I personally think Carter was right in line with Hybles move to compassion type ministries. He (carter) is an enigma to conservatives because he speak “liberalease” while actually doing something with his time to help the poor. He is not just writing a check, he swings a hammer. If leadership is influence he has used the currency of his presidential influence well in some very important areas.
Conservatives see this and too often their only response starts with “yea but…” and they never deal with their own lack of compassion.
Wendi on Tue, August 21, 2007
The Summit is about leadership, and the faculty is always comprised of people who lead or led in a variety of venues; education, business, church, non-profit, politics. Both Carter and Powell gained their leadership experience in the world of politics, as did Karen Hughes, who was a speaker a few years back. There have often been politicians on the docket, and these have been people whose political biases run the gamut. This is something I admire about the WCA.
And so actually, I think MBC’s canceling of Carter was a very political move. By blacklisting Carter and not Powell (or Karen Hughes, if they were a satellite at the time), they made a statement that they were aligning with a particular political bent and against another. It is evidence that we’ve merged our politics with our faith when we feel forced to make such decisions. If we can to a lecture and learn something about leadership from anyone; Muslim extremist, political leftist, socialist, gay rights or pro-choice activist, then we can be confident that we haven’t allowed our political preferences to define our faith.
BTW Ricky - I think Jesus might have had these folks on his faculty list:
A Roman Centurion
A converted religious leader (Jew)
An ex-prostitute
A Greek trading mogul (who might not be a convert)
An interview with a Pharisee named Gamaliel
A church planter and business woman named Lydia
The teaching team of Pricilla and Acquilla
And most of the above line-up would have offended the Jewish “insiders.” Note that in Jesus’ parables and even His interactions, it is often the outsider who is lifted up as the teaching example. Is it possible that some of today’s Western evangelical has more in common with the 1st century Jewish insider than the people Jesus wanted us to learn from.
Wendi
Matt G on Tue, August 21, 2007
A church should not be criticized as being “political” when it chooses to screen out incredibly biased opinions. I would imagine they would have made the same decision had conservative ideologues John Hagee or Pat Robertson been speakers at the event. Part of “leadership” entails nuance, critical thinking and balance—faculties that seem to have deteriorated in Carter’s latter years.
Paul on Tue, August 21, 2007
I was at the Summit and thought the Carter interview was interesting. I didn’t walk away with many leadership action-steps, but I did walk away with a great appreciation for Carter’s integrity, humility, and compassion.
I would echo the question everyone else has been asking here: Did McLean show the Colin Powell interview? It would seem a bit biased to show Powell but not Carter.
Personally, though, I agree with Hybels’ philosophy that we ought to have a high “learning bandwidth” and ought to be able to learn from people regardless of whether we agree with them on everything. Take what you can use and discard the rest.
If anyone is interested I posted notes from the Carter interview on my blog:
http://www.liveintentionally.org/2007/08/11/leadership-summit-9-jimmy-carter-building-humanity/
- Paul
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