Smart Things Andy Stanley Said > Part 1

From Tony Morgan's Blog.

1. We're not there yet. And we won't be.

2. We all do ministry in communities where people think church is for church people. That's the type of world we live in. People care about God. People want to connect with God. There's a hunger for God, but the church is in the way. "I'm giving the rest of my life to change that."

3. The church ought to be the magnet. It should be irresistible. If we're the body, we should be irresistible.

4. Sinners liked to be around Jesus. They liked him, but they were nothing like him.

5. Leaders are very dissatisfied unless there's progress.

6. Since the beginning of the church, the "insiders" have been making it difficult for the "outsiders." From the very beginning, the church has tried to change the outsiders before they can connect with the church. (Acts 15)

7. If we create obstacles for people to connect with the church and God, we are working against God.

8. The majority of churches have made it difficult for people to turn to God.

9. The Gospel should be easy and accessible.

10. For some reason, there's something in us that wants to make church a formula. We make it difficult for people who are turning to God.

11. The gravitational pull of your ministry is to create insider language, rules and programs that makes it more difficult for people to turn to God.

12. The only people that really love a big church are the pastors. It's a hassle for everyone else.

13. We had to create empty seats at optimal times in order to make room for people who were unchurched. Otherwise, I would have just been talking to the Christians.

14. This is the difficult question we need to continuously ask: Is it still easy and accessible here?

15. When a local church gets off-mission, God gets uninterested. God says, "They don't need me."

16. We made a fundamental decision years ago that we were going to be more committed to reaching people than keeping people.

17. We're not here for the party going to Heaven.

18. Are you willing to take a critical look at your organization or ministry team and determine whether or not you're unintentionally making it harder for people to take steps toward Christ?