I asked my friend Dwight Robertson to critique one of my sermons via cassette tape (remember those?) back when I was in college.
He liked my passion, but he had some concerns. He didn’t say my theology was sketchy. He didn’t detect spiritual pride, or anything like that, really.
But to him, my preaching style sounded an [...]

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Go ahead, take a guess.
What do you think my hobby is?
When I have some time to relax, what would I rather do than anything in the world? (Other than spend time with Holly and Elijah)
Did you guess:
Fishing?
If so, you couldn’t be more wrong. I used to like to fish with my dad, but that was [...]

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Let me try to ramble my way into hopefully saying something helpful.
I’ve been thinking about a leadership paradox that confronts me almost daily.
Leaders who refuse to cooperate with this principle get choked to death by it.
Leaders who don’t know about it are perpetually blindsided and bewildered by the implications of ignoring it.
It goes like this:
What [...]

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“I need an Executive Guy”
At Elevation Church we have developed relationships with a lot of the up-and-coming church plants around the country. One of the shifts that is quite common is the Pastor leading the staff through an Executive Pastor. This is something near and dear to me because this is what I do [...]

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“God is only going to use you more… “
I had a really great college experience. I started and directed a big choir and band that grew to about 100 people and sang black gospel music, even though most of us were white. I also preached all over South Carolina, led bunches of football players to [...]

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“I really believe you have the integrity to handle great success… “
Craig Groeschel said this to me a few weeks ago. He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t just say stuff to hear himself talk. He’s also very discerning and prophetic, I think.
The reason this quote meant so much to me is that I’m [...]

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There have been many things folks have said to me that have stuck to my soul over the years.
Most of them came from my parents, who always spoke life, encouragement, and hope into their kids, and made us believe anything was possible.
But there are a few things that other pastors have said to me at [...]

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