A couple of days ago Bob Buford stepped through the curtain of mortality into the the presence of Jesus. I am happy for Bob as he is now free of the disease that plagued his final years on earth, but I am sad for all of us who lost an incredible leader and friend.
You may not know the name Bob Buford, but if you’ve attended an American evangelical church in the last 30 years you’ve likely been impacted by his legacy. After losing his son in a tragic drowning accident many years ago Bob decided to spend the rest of his life to make a difference. Following the advice of his mentor Peter Drucker, Bob formed two non-profits, Leadership Network and Halftime, and through them invested his considerable financial resources in discovering and fueling “islands of health and strength” in the church. The ripple effects of his investments are massive.
Many years ago Bob saw leadership in a young church planter named Bill Hybels and helped resource what eventually became the Willow Creek Association and the Global Leadership Summit. Bob saw past the Hawaiian shirts to the brilliance of a young pastor named Rick Warren and facilitated the launch of the Purpose Driven Network. He had a part in the launch of church planting movements such as Acts 29, the New Thing Network and the Association of Related Churches. The list of Bob’s behind-the-scenes influence goes on and on and on. A footnote on page 34 of the appendix of the list of Bob’s accomplishments is his enduring impact on my life and ministry.
I’ll never forget the first time I met Bob. I was working for Seacoast Church and we had joined the first Multisite Cohort convened by Leadership Network. Since this was the beginning of a new chapter in the life of LN Bob came to the first gathering in Chicago to see the new process firsthand. During the gathering my friend and fellow Seacoast leader Byron Davis talked Bob into spending one-on-one time with our team. Over a great steak dinner Bob opened our eyes to a completely different way of thinking about church and ministry. Through penetrating questions and seemingly unrelated anecdotes Bob led us down a path of strategic thinking that significantly shaped the story of Seacoast to this day.
Over the following years I had the opportunity to learn from Bob in many different contexts, including a meeting in his condo when he introduced me to the concept of pursuing the why before the what. After spending time around Bob I would take several hours to process, digest and apply the wisdom he shared. He has influenced so much of my thinking that I honestly don’t know what’s mine and what’s Bob’s.
Most of Bob’s generosity was hidden from public view. His greatest joy was investing in leaders behind the scenes to increase their effectiveness. He often said, “My fruit grows on other people’s trees.” We saw this generosity in our lives when Sherry was going through a rough time in her leadership. She had recently left Leadership Network to become the CEO of Mother’s of Preschoolers. She quickly realized the organization was in deep financial trouble, and she felt completely overwhelmed. She wasn’t sure where to turn. Out of the blue Bob offered to pay for Sherry to go through Life Planning with the Paterson Center, an investment of several thousand dollars. Even though Sherry no longer worked for Leadership Network, Bob believed in her as a leader and wanted to invest in her future. No one ever knew about Bob’s investment, but it made a significant difference in Sherry’s leadership and life.
One of Bob’s mantras was, “We’re the platform not the show”. He did not seek fame or accolades; his goal was to leverage his resources for maximum Kingdom impact by working entirely behind the scenes. Many of the leaders who continue to profit from Bob’s investments have no idea of his involvement. As I write this I am flying home from two days in England with 66 of the largest churches the UK and Europe. We gather every six months to maximize the Kingdom impact of these significant churches and leaders. This gathering grew from a seed planted by Bob over ten years ago, but only a handful of the over 300 leaders present have ever heard of Bob. As Bob was meeting Jesus face to face this week his impact continued to grow here on earth.
I wonder what it was like when Bob stepped through that invisible curtain a couple this week? I wonder if Jesus said, “Bob, my fruit also grows on other people’s trees. Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
