Global Leadership Summit 2015 Session 6 : Brian Houston

“Paul, an apostle, called by the will of God to the saints of Ephesus…” I feel like I have that type of clarity.
I put unrealistic pressure on myself. You need to be comfortable to understand grace, be comfortable in your skin.
Started in a gymnastic hall. Grabbed a rope and swang out over the audience. It must have grabbed the attention of one guy and he invited some friends. It started the momentum within our church.
In 1999, I was having a normal meeting with the administrative guy at our church. We had a complaint that my father had abused a young male. It hit me as a leader, a pastor, a son, a father.
There’s a leadership function you have to perform & your own soul that you need to care for. How do you do it? As a leader, I go into leadership mode. It’s incredible because the church went on the journey with us through it.
I was in the danger zone. In one of our smallest campuses, I felt myself collapsing. My mind was clouded. I felt like I was talking like a baby. I was having trouble breathing. It was a panic attack. The end result was that I had to confront things.
Made changes? Changes to the way that I traveled. No more sleeping tablets. Put more disciplines in my life.
Darlene (Zschech) was a blessing to our church. I always wanted to be a church that wrote songs, led the church. I always wanted to be a church that helped build up other churches.
Joel hated his piano lessons. One day his instructor said his homework was writing a song. Creativity is what switched him on. God just took it to another level. He wrote a song and we started singing, “Everyday.” I looked at someone and said, “Who wrote this?” They said, “Joel.” My response was “Joel who?”
Had did the transition between Darlene & Joel go? It was Mark & Darlene’s time; they needed to go. It was a slow process. It took like 10 years. We sent them out with a good heart. The miracle of our church is that through different times and different seasons the church has been resilient. God really does build his church.
In most organizations, who you start with is not who stays with it all the way through? When you start, there is people who you think will be with you forever. It’s always good to take your time.
You can only build on people who want to be there. I don’t try to hold on to people. People may be close to you geographically that are not as close to you relationally.
Planted in some tough places? We don’t go to the Bible belt. We go to tougher places. The culture of our church works well in those places. It’s a mistake to build a London church. We’ve planted a Hillsong church in London. We’ve just been true to ourselves. We’re getting ready sites 14 & 15 in Buenos Aires and San Paulo.
God created music for the sole purpose of connecting with the human heart.
“Brian, every time I’m around you, my faith is expanded. You have an anointing on your life that tells people that God can do great things.” – Hybels
I love what I do. I love the Lord and I love the church and I love people ultimately. In the darkest days, in the biggest challenges.
A long journey is the greatest strength you can have as a leader.