where I’m associate pastor, has been adopted by a number of other churches. One pastor, who started a ministry like ours several years ago, recently returned to Willow Creek. “We duplicated Willow Creek’s philosophy and strategy pretty well,” he told me, “and that led us to about four hundred members. But now we’ve hit a wall.” He came back to figure out what was missing. Finally he discovered it. “I underestimated the role of leadership,” he confessed. “I see now that strong, effective management