Group Life Conference 2008 – Session One

I am so thrilled to be back at the 10th annual Willow Creek Group Life Conference this week. Honestly with such a busy schedule (work, family, and church) lately, I have hardly had time to even think about the conference. After attending the first large group session this afternoon, I’m convinced this was just what I needed – not just for small group leadership at Christ’s Church of the Valley, but for me personally.

The session started out with a tremendous worship experience. At first, I was singing along focussing on the Willow experience. Somewhere along the way though, I was moved into true worship – focussing on God. I’ll be honest, it has been a while since I have really felt this connection.

I think this was a perfect lead in to John Burke‘s message – Why Community is Essential. John asked the question, “What is the centerline off which we need to build community?” He used passages from Luke and John to explain that there is only one thing that is necessary. That one thing is to listen to Jesus. Jesus said in John that we are to love each other as I have loved you. And apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.

If what we are doing is not connected to Jesus, it amounts to nothing.

For me, this was an important reminder. As we do group life at our church, we need to be centered on Christ. If we want to see people growing and connecting in our church, our groups ministry must be centered on Jesus.

In all the great stuff that John Burke shared today, this was what I needed to hear.

Stay tuned for more updates from Willow…