Three years after first sitting down with senior pastor Bill Hybels for the annual Willow Creek Association’s Leadership Summit, Bono humbly stated, “So, since the last time we met, I can honestly say that as a person who’s really enjoyed giving off about the church, you have completely ruined it for me because the church has done incredible things.”
Bono reconnected via video with close to 100,000 people in 140 satellite locations for the Leadership Summit to update Christian pastors and church leaders on how the fight to end global poverty is changing. The 30-minute production titled “Only Love Can Leave Such a Mark” was put together by the ONE Campaign in association with the Willow Creek Association, and challenged Christian leaders about “what is possible when the church unites to solve a global crisis.” Using the Apollo moon landing video footage as the opening example, Bono narrated that fighting global poverty is this generation’s moon shot.
And then there’s this from the Daily Herald:
Did you read the tweets about how Willow Creek Community Church Pastor Bill Hybels challenged U2 frontman Bono about his reluctance to attend church?
Thousands who attended day two of the South Barrington church’s 15th annual Leadership Summit made use of the building’s Wi-Fi, posting nonstop Twitter updates about interviews with Bono, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, CNN political analyst David Gergen and other speakers.
It goes on, and then mentions this:
Bono, sporting orange-tinted glasses, appeared via video; he also was interviewed by Hybels earlier this year.
Hybels said he was shocked by Bono’s remarks about the church’s apathy toward global poverty and the outbreak of HIV in Africa.
Those comments were made three years ago when Hybels first interviewed the U2 lead singer for the conference.
On Friday, Hybels said God used Bono’s “prophetic voice” to awaken many Christians to the problem. Bono said the church now has taken the lead in raising money to supply medicine to citizens of the Third World. The church’s reaction also reminded about his time in Ethiopia.
