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In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast Todd Adkins and I spoke with Craig Groeschel, the founding and Senior pastor of Life.Church based out of Oklahoma and the author of several books including his most recent, #Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie Centered World. Life.Church has locations in seven states and is one of the largest in the United States. Craig speaks at numerous conferences and is a regular at the Catalyst One Day Events alongside Andy Stanley. He is pastoral an immensely practical in his leadership advice. He and his wife, Amy, have six children and a revolving array of pets. Our conversation with Craig was one of the best and most insightful we’ve had yet on the podcast and you will definitely appreciate it!
BEST QUOTES
“Video services don’t transform lives. The presence of God through great spiritual leadership transforms lives.”
“Values determine behaviors. What we value determines what we do.”
“Every time we get together [as a team] we celebrate values.”
“I learn from as many people all the time anywhere as I can.”
“Church leaders have so much to learn from business leaders and business leaders have so much to learn from Christian and church leaders. We should be students of each other all the time.”
“It’s amazing how fast I went from being the 28-year-old young pastor to being the 48 year old pastor, and culture changes so quickly.”
“We have access to so much now we didn’t ten years ago. We can learn from people that we may never meet. It’s a great time to learn.”
“My generation had challenges and opportunities; this generation has challenges and opportunities. If I don’t what those are then I’, not going to be able to preach the gospel in a way that hits their hearts.”
“Bring 18 and 20-year-olds in and ask them 100 questions and you will learn more than studying your best leadership guru on how to impact their generation.”
“People are attending church far less frequently than they were in the past. People don’t see the corporate worship of God as as high of a value as they used to.”
“We need to change our philosophy. It used to be church attendance drives engagement. Now we’re recognizing that engagement now drives church attendance.”
“We never have a numerical goal. We want to start the right churches.”
“At my best I’m a Kingdom-minded person who wants everybody to reach more people. At my worst I’m a competitive freak that wants to win at any cost.”
“I can control input. I can’t control outcome.”
“God controls outcome, but we can always measure it.”
“We’re not measuring to impress people; we’re doing it to bring glory to God.”
“I hope every serious leader recognizes that numbers matter, period. Numbers represent lives.”
“You can only do so much and you have to trust God a lot with your kids.”
“Never have the church be a competing entity with the family.”
“Those who are using their gifts to make a difference end up loving the church. Those are simply going to church don’t end up loving it.”
“Those who stay involved in the local church in college are much more likely to stay involved if they were serving in high school – not just going – serving.”
“You’ll very likely over estimate what God wants to do through you in the short run, but you’ll grossly underestimate what God can do with a lifetime of faithfulness.”
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
#Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie Centered World
The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity by Barnabas Piper
