Craig Groeschel is a Recovering Practical Atheist

I met Craig Groeschel (pastor of LifeChurch.tv) a few months ago and gained instant respect for him. He was authentic and likable. He personally encouraged me to continue pursuing my passions. This morning he launched Catalyst with a talk about being a recovering practical atheist.

• A practical atheist is one who believes God exists but behaves as though he does not.
• As pastors, sometimes we believe God exists but we do ministry as though he does not.
• Isaiah 29:13-14 – we honor Him with our mouth but our hearts are far from Him.
• We start to believe that our effort is better than God’s power.
• I was a full-time pastor and a part-time follower of Christ.
• By the way we do life, we believe that our private life doesn’t affect our public ministry.
• The only thing good I did was church good. In my private life I didn’t do anything Jesus would do.
• Samson – he did not know that the Lord had left him. That phrase freaks me out.
• We believe we must please people more than God.
• Sometimes I asked, “What can I preach that will bring people in rather than what can I preach that will bring glory to God.”
• I think there is way too much starting with the culture and finding what the Bible says, rather than asking what does the Bible say and applying it to the culture.
• My prayer for you…that God will disturb you so much that you can’t sleep, that you are so hungry to seek the heart of God, that you repent for everything unclean in your life.