By AM correspondent Daniel Neades of Better Than Sacrifice

The Willow Creek Association’s Global Leadership Summit 2010 has just ended. According to its website, the Leadership Summit ‘exists to transform Christian leaders around the world with an injection of vision, skill development, and inspiration for the sake of the local church.’

They had some big names this year, including Bill Hybels (Chairman of the Willow Creek Association and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church), Andy Stanley, T.D. Jakes and Jack Welch.

Um? T.D. Jakes and Jack Welch?

Surely they can’t mean ‘Bishop’ T.D. Jakes, the Oneness Pentecostal who denies the Trinity and instead believes in a god who is ‘eternally existing in three manifestations’, as his church’s website puts it?

Surely no Christian organization would invite someone to speak who embraces the heresy of modalism? Someone who thereby denies the God of the Bible, a God who has revealed Himself to be ‘three persons, of one substance power, and eternity’, as the Westminster Confession succinctly defines the position of historic Christian orthodoxy?

And they can’t mean Jack Welch, the former chairman and CEO of General Electric, can they? The Jack Welch whose leadership credentials might be undoubted, but whose theological acumen is, shall we say, not of wide renown?

Oh, they do mean that T.D. Jakes and that Jack Welch?

And, apparently, both of these speakers went down rather well.

Here is an official tweet from Willow Creek Community Church:

And so it seems that holding heretical doctrine concerning the Godhead is no longer a bar to speaking at church conferences. Not even at one that ‘exists to transform Christian leaders’. No, the only qualification now required to teach God’s people – even the shepherds of His flock – is that you have leadership credentials.

Still, it’s good that the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit 2010 is inspiring people to lead in the preaching of the Gospel of Christ crucified for sinners and raised from the dead. You know, rather than encouraging them to worship an idol who sits upon a plinth engraved with the word ‘LEADERSHIP’.

You can see the transforming effect that the conference has had by this selection of tweets about it:

I want to be Jack Welch when I grow up.#wcagls
— http://twitter.com/blainehogan/status/20496079363

“As a leader you want to hire smarter people than you… so you can learn & get better. Don’t hire dopes.” – @Jack_Welch #wcagls>
— http://twitter.com/iJoshCox/status/20495456143

adawk RT @lwebb9: Going over my notes: “The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.” -Jim Collins, @wcagls,#wcagls #fb
— http://twitter.com/adawk/status/20540027592

(More chirrupy wisdom from the conference is available here.)

Jesus sure could have saved himself a lot of trouble if only He’d been a disciple of Jack Welch and Jim Collins. If He’d followed them, I’m pretty sure He’d have ditched those dopey (cf. Mark 8:14–21) and inconsistent (cf. Matt. 16:16, 22–23; 26:34–35) fishermen he hung around with.

Just think how much more quickly the church would have spread if only Jesus had hired smart people with real leadership ability!

It’s a real shame that the early Church didn’t benefit from the wisdom of Global Leadership Conferences and 21st century management techniques. I can’t imagine why God has kept them from the Church for nearly 2,000 years.

Sarcasm aside, the church today would do well to be mindful of Paul’s words to Timothy:

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

2 Tim. 4:1–4, NKJV

May the Lord have mercy on His church, for He says of her: ‘I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it’ (Matt. 16:18).

Christ ‘loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.’ (Eph. 5:25–27)

May these things be according to His word.

See also:

T.D. JAKES TO SPEAK AT WILLOW CREEK

EMERGING CHURCH PASTOR ROB BELL AND PASTRIX ALISE BARRYMORE AT WILLOW CREEK

KEEPING YOU APPRISED OF: T.D. JAKES ON THE TRINITY

T.D. JAKES AND ONENESS PENTECOSTALISM (AKA MODALISM)

T.D. JAKES: MASTERFUL SHOWMAN

T.D. JAKES: JESUS IS THE PRODUCT

PURPOSE DRIVEN/SEEKER DRIVEN SERMON REVIEW