Recently Pastor Furtick was interviewed about some of Elevation’s foundational concepts. We thought you’d enjoy reading it as well, so we’ll be posting the questions and answers here on the blog.

Question 1:

What has been your strategy in recruiting key leaders and building a strong team?

The initial 7 families that sold their homes, quit their jobs and stepped out on faith to start this church established a DNA of sacrifice that has been foundational to the team God has built at Elevation. When church planters show up to observe our team, there are certain things that simply can not be taught and frankly can not be accounted for on a spread sheet or in a list of principles. The willingness of those early families to risk it all to see a move of God is such a deep part of who we are as a church and that spirit of faith has reproduced itself in the hearts of every staff member and every volunteer creating what I believe to be the most phenomenal volunteer staff on planet earth.

Today is my 28th birthday, and man, it has been a good one.
Holly made birthday pancakes, hung some party decorations, and even wrote me a song to the tune of My Generation that she and Elijah performed this morning.
They were funny. Holly on lead vocals, Elijah as backup dancer. Graham and I were entertained and we laughed. Holly was proud of her rhymes and creativity. I’m a blessed man.
(I hear there are tacos, presents, a Butterfinger red velvet cake in the works for tonight. I’m not worthy… )

I’m using this day to relax and recoup. Between a full throttle kickoff to our new series on Sunday, and a back and forth one day marathon speaking trip to Atlanta yesterday, I’m spent.

Actually, that might not be the best way to put it. To say that I’m spent sort of suggests that the time was wasted or misused. Actually, I see the last few days as the best possible use of the time and energy God has allotted me. More like an investment.

Sunday I preached my head off three times about purpose and intentionality at Elevation. I say I preached my head off because I got so fired up each time that it felt a little like my head might physically explode. An enormous expenditure of energy, for sure.
But I went home feeling satisfied… because I’d made my best investment.
(By the way, the creative department did a fantastic job with the staging for this new series. I’m awfully proud of you guys.)

Early Monday morning (when most preachers and staff members are so tired they don’t even feel saved) I hit the road with our Directional Staff to speak at the Evolve Conference. Shawn was an excellent host, and I perceived a real hunger in the room for the raw power of God in our ministries, our families, and our lives.
We got home super late, but I was delightfully depleted (I know that phrase sounded gay, it was just too perfect not to use.) because it was a good investment. An investment that will hopefully bear a lot of fruit in many cities and many towns, to the glory of God.
And it was an extra bonus to form a friendship with Mark and Bil.
There was a lot of synchronicity, that’s for sure. (You had to pay the conference registration fee to understand that one.)

Even the ride up and back with my staff and my senior roadie didn’t feel wasted. I regard the 9 hours in the car as invested in those that I care about.

Eating birthday tacos with my family tonight can be an investment too. Or it can simply be caloric intake. It’s all in the approach.
Pastor Mickey told me when I was very young that there are only three ways to use time:
Waste it
Spend it
Invest it

Now that I’m an old, wise 28 year old veteran I hope I can be a better investor of all the days God has given me.

UPDATE: My staff just called me on speaker phone to sing happy birthday to me. I heard Larry Brey scream Hallelujah at one point. I also heard Hollingsworth try to speak in tongues like Brother Barry.
It was a moment that was at once musically atrocious and emotionally beautiful.
I love you guys very much.

One tension I face daily as a leader is:
How do I enforce a standard of excellence for those I lead…
While still allocating the freedom for them to make mistakes?

Here’s one insight that has given me some clarity lately:
I don’t mind those I lead making mistakes. In fact, I prefer it. If they’re not making mistakes, they’re probably not playing to win.

I just want you to make new mistakes. Different mistakes than you made last time. Mistakes that reveal a new level of effort, or a new frontier of endeavor.

Most leaders don’t mind mistakes. They just can’t stand to see the same mistakes over… and over… and over again. Mistakes are fine (even mandatory) as long as we’re cruising down the open highway. But they make me car sick if we’re simply circling the cul-de-sac.

Check out this latest installment of the Elevation Church Audio Blog. Another week of tackling Q and A from the questions we received during the open call for blog topics a few weeks back.

Give yourself about 15 min before you dive in. If you’re a church planter, this should be helpful. And if you’re not, well, it should be helpful too.