Friday, August 07, 2009

Leadership Summit: Session 5 partb: Leveraging your past: Wess Stafford

Wess Stafford is the President and CEO of

He always thought if he would speak, he would speak about:

  • How important passion is for a leader
  • How important integrity is to a leader
  • The gift of leadership - the gift to the leader by those who agree to follow him/her
But, Jim asked him to speak about pain

  • Pain is the inspiration for his passion
  • He was being beaten 17 times per week in a boarding school for missionary children
  • They were told that if they told what went on there they would hurt the Africans around them, their parents and their parent's mission there
  • When he was 9 years old, he "told" and then was punished by being asked to hold a candle burning at both ends
  • This is when he got his passion: we went from Victim to Victor and decided he would defend children!
  • This is so deep and sad, it's just too difficult to post about

Looking forward after the pain:

  • You must forgive those who hurt you, even if they are not sorry, even if they will never appologize to you. If you don't, it will only hurt you.
  • He decided at a camp fire to forgive them even though they will never appologize. He decided that they messed up his childhood, but they won't mess up his adulthood.
  • They mess up your past, but don't let them mess up your day today, don't let them mess up your future.
  • It may be too hard to forget, but if you never forgive, you'll never forget
  • Don't let others live in you rent free - Forgive
  • Christ redeems you, not just from sins, but also from your past
  • May God Bless you and restore you!

I'm posting live from the leadership Summit (http://willowcreek.com/summit) satellite location in Ocean Grove NJ (oceangrove.org) which was chartered 140 years ago by the state of NJ "for the perpetual worship of Jesus Christ."

I'm also tweeting live: you can follow (even if you don't have a twitter account) at:

http://twitter.com/henrywill

Other good posts on this session:

http://www.timschraeder.com/2009/08/07/think-differently-wess-stafford/

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