“Authentic Christians are persons who stand apart from others. Their character seems deeper, their ideas fresher, their spirit softer, their courage greater, their leadership stronger, their concerns wider, their compassion more genuine and their convictions more concrete.”

Every single decision you make as a leader has an effect on the spirit of those you lead.

The leader is the organization’s top strategist… systematically envisioning the future and specifically mapping out how to get there.

The grander the vision the greater the price tag.

Our conduct will never change God’s character.

You can never underestimate the amount of energy and frequency you must give to vision casting. You can never underestimate it.

I’m praying to the God who has always been faithful to me, who has never let me down no matter how frightened I was or how difficult the situation looked.

He [God] wants us to talk to him as to a friend or father – authentically, reverently, personally, earnestly.

And when enough churches are thriving, you can affect a region, a country, and eventually the entire world with the positive, life-changing power of Jesus Christ and the redeeming and restoring work of his people.

Most unmarried people have no idea what it takes to make a marriage work; they grossly underestimate the price people have to pay to build long-term, mutually satisfying relationships.

If you’re a serious minded leader, you will read. You will read all you can. You will read when you feel like it, and you will read when you don’t.

Nothing on earth has greater potential to change lives and carry out His kingdom work in your community, than your local church.

Our minds, like the needle in that compass, can focus on a variety of subjects throughout the day. But in the end, when they’re left alone to settle, they’ll focus on the objects of our greatest affection.

Don’t steamroll your way into a conversation before establishing any relational credibility.

Many leadership problems are driven by low self-awareness.

Leadership grit begets grit. Lead by example.

We live in a world that is crying out for better leadership.

The Republicans hardly need a party and the cumbersome cadre of low-level officials that form one; they have a bankroll as large as the Pentagon’s budget, dozens of fatted PACs, and the well-advertised support of the Christian deity.

We must have Christian ethics for our children, good and strong, but we must make them attractive, too, and it can be done.

You can’t live the Christian life without a band of Christian friends, without a family of believers in which you find a place.

Nothing is more gratifying to the mind of man than power or dominion.

If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshipping an idealized version of yourself.

Christianity does not provide the reason for each experience of pain, but it does provide deep resources for actually facing suffering with hope and courage rather than bitterness and despair

God’s grace does not come to people who morally outperform others, but to those who admit their failure to perform and who acknowledge their need for a Savior.

…Singles, too, must see the penultimate status of marriage. If single Christians don’t develop a deeply fulfilling love relationship with Jesus, they will put too much pressure on their DREAM of marriage, and that will create pathology in their lives as well.