"When you increase your focus, you decrease your options. Good things are not necessarily God things."
Craig Groeschel is the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church, an American evangelical multi-site church with locations in 12 U.S. states.
"If youve ever been part of a ministry that had it, you knew you were part of something special. In other words, you knew it when you saw it. And it was an awesome work of God that couldnt be contained, couldnt be harnessed, and couldnt be explained."
"The first-century church in Jerusalem clearly had it. And they didnt have any fancy accoutrements. So it cant possibly be stained-glass windows, hand-carved cherubs, custom silk tapestries, gold-inlaid hymnals, thousand-pipe organs, marble floors, mile-high steeples, hand-painted ceilings, mahogany pews, giant cast-iron bells, and a three-piece, thousand dollar suit. It doesnt stick any better to a young, hip, shaved-headed pastor with rimmed glasses, a goatee, and tattoos than it does to an older, stately gentleman in a robe. Nor is it spotlights and lasers, video production, satellite dishes, fog machines, shiny gauze backdrops, four-color glossy brochures, sexy billboards, loud "contemporary" music, free donuts, coffee shops, hip bookstores, break dancing or acrobatics, sermon series named after television shows, a retro-modern matching chair and table onstage, or blue jeans and Heelys. It is not being on television, being on the Internet, or being on book and magazine covers. It is real. It is genuine."
"The best explanation I can give of what it is, is this: it is what God does through a rare combination of these qualities found in his people: Passion for his presence; A deep craving to reach the lost; Sincere integrity; Spirit-filled faith; Down-to-earth humility; Brokenness."
"Have you ever tasted stale popcorn? The only thing worse is stale vision. If a ministry loses the vision, its only a matter of time before they lose what made them special in the first place. Without vision, the people will quickly lose it."
"Theres a huge difference between a good idea and a God-inspired idea."
"I believe that God makes it available to anyone who wants it. I believe he wants to give it to you and your ministry."