The Gospel Coalition

Speed Round

Speakers: All pastors

Disclaimer: This is merely a summary of my notes, taken down live during the event. They may not be word-for-word and will need to be seen on video in order for their context to be fully understood. I will be updating this post every few minutes as the session goes on.

MacDonald: Crawford, how did you come to know Jesus Christ?

Loritts: I was 13. My sister was older than me. I saw the change in her life. She invited me to church, and when I went there I saw the infectious love of the Lord Jesus in those people. I came back the next Sunday and was saved.

Furtick: My mom raised me in church. I got dragged to a Baptist revival when I was 16. A guy there named Jody took me aside and talked to me about having an authentic relationship with Jesus. And I got addicted to what I am doing today – trying to influence people for Jesus.

Cordeiro: I hid from Christians because they seemed freaky. I heard music from Christians, and I thought, they must not be that bad. It opened my heart. I still use music and arts to present the gospel.

MacDonald: I gave my life to Jesus Christ when I was 7 at a Sunday night service. I went home and asked my parents, and my mom led me to Christ. I wandered from the Lord, but He never let go of me. I know that I know that I am a child of God today.

Driscoll: I was raised Catholic. Some Catholics know and love Jesus. I was not one of them. A pastor’s daughter gave me a Bible. I finally understood sin as pride, not just moral issues. I had a whole lot of pride. Still do. God opened my heart to Jesus as I read through Romans. It was in my dorm room.

Graham: Childhood conversion. 6 years old. Evangelist came up and set up a tent. I walked the sawdust road. I have never doubted that experience, even though it was very young.

Jakes: My dad got sick when I was 10. He died when I was 16. It threw me into depression that created a spot in my life when I knew that the only hope I had to be fathered was from my heavenly Father. I was determined to know more about life and it drove me to the Author and Finisher of my faith.

Question: In my moments of honesty, the thing that frustrates me most about myself is…

Jakes: I have this passive-agressive personality. Sometimes I am loyal to a fault, and sometimes I get frustrated with myself because I am quicker to embrace than attack. But if you push all that love over, then I want to go to the other extreme and cut your throat. Not literally. Calm down!

Graham: The inability to let things go. When you’re a leader, you’re constantly trying to fix things. So the inability to really let it go, give it to God, or let it go away… I’m an obssessive “fix-it” kind of person. That’s the need to control a situation.

Driscoll: My selfishness. If I get angry, it’s because someone inconvenienced me.

MacDonald: Sometimes, I’m too good a friend. I volunteer too much. (joking) No… actually, the thing that frustrates me the most about myself is that I am more easily wounded than I let on. I can forgive, but I don’t get over it. I need to let it go. I’ve experienced so much forgiveness, I should be able to get over things faster.

Cordeiro: The line between caring deeply and worrying too much about something or someone. I can’t get that right. I wrestle with that. I hope I can figure that out.

Furtick: My wife said, “When will it be enough?” I can’t find the line between asking God to do more, not becoming complacent, and yet being grateful. It easily slips into wrong motives. I need another achievement, another asterisk.

Loritts: Sometimes, my heart will write a check that my calendar can’t cash. Not being a prisoner to need, or just because you can do it… understanding the tension of being a grateful servant.

Question: The gospel is our greatest treasure. It sparkles like a diamond. Which facet is sparkling most to you these days?

Loritts: The wonder of our Savior dying on the cross in our place. I’m overwhelmed at the fact that Jesus would die for me.

Furtick: I always thought God’s favor was a sidebar, but it is synonymous with grace. God is for us. I always would say that He is with me. But when I know He is for me… I always thought He loved me because He died for me, but that He didn’t really like me. But now I rest in him.

Cordeiro: God is pleased with us. Sometimes I am like Schindler. I’ve got to do one more thing to get God’s pleasure. And the Lord says, “No. Chill. I am pleased with you.” It’s in my mind. I need it in my heart.

MacDonald: The imputed righteousness of Christ. I’m not getting a report card. I’ve already got straight A’s. The imputed righteousness of Christ is a gift that cannot be imagined.

Driscoll: I’ve been thinking a lot about expiation. Not only are we forgiven in Christ, but we are made clean. For me, I always felt forgiven, but always dirty, damaged, and defiled. But Christ sees us as clean. God’s people get to wear white.

Graham: The call of the gospel. After 40 years, I am more passionate about this gospel and the call. And to know that your greatest years – the best really is yet. I’m more excited to preach the gospel than I’ve ever been more in my life.

Jakes: For me, it is knowing that we have a God that suffers with you. There is a fellowship in the suffering. We do not go through our struggles alone. I find that many people will experience the fellowship of success, but they don’t know that some degree of sorrow will come. We have a Suffering Savior. I never suffer alone.

Question: My one concern about young pastors would be…

Jakes: Young pastors see us on platforms, but because they don’t see the cost and the suffering behind it, they are not prepared for it when it comes.

Graham: That they don’t sell out the gospel or their own life for something cheaper. There is so much brokenness, and young pastors are bringing brokenness in. My prayer for the younger generation is purity of lifestyle that honors the gospel.

Driscoll: I speak to the tribe I’m a part of. I want to see their passion to reach people exceed their passion to review books.

MacDonald: Our sense of timing is messed up. A lot of people are impatient for promotion. Take your list of what you want to get, crumple it up, and throw it away. Give your life to Christ. It’s worth it even if you get nothing for it.

Cordeiro: The danger of letting the calling become a career. Don’t take any shortcuts. Pay the price.

Furtick: We can fall prey to a spirit of entitlement. That is the antithesis of honor. It’s like Guitar Hero. Everyone wants to be a rock star, but no one wants to learn the chords.

Loritts: Faithfulness has been devalued. Continuity is the key to their effectiveness. Others paid the tuition for us to have the platforms that we have. The power of your ministry comes from the fact of grabbing your baton, realizing that you live for a time you cannot see. I’m nervous for this generation because it’s disconnected from the faith rhythms that go down the corridors of time.

Question: What do you see the church looking like in 20 years, given its current trajectory?

Loritts: I’m conflicted. I’m alarmed at the drift away from truth. That scares me a bit. On the other hand, I see guys like Steven, what Mark is doing, and I just want to stand up and be the number one cheerleader. I think that this next generation is going to do some incredible things. My big concern is that they embrace holiness and godliness and won’t get disqualified. On balance, I have a lot of hope. Despite the statistics, there is a refreshing movement of God in this 40 and younger crowd.

Furtick: I don’t have any right to speak to the trend. The future cannot be predicted, because it is waiting to be created. I don’t know what’s coming, but by God’s grace, I intend to carry it forward. Not watering it down, and not resigning anything to the devil. We’re going to move forward. But I can’t speak to the trend. I want to prophesy life over our generation.

Cordeiro: I have a lot of hope because of things like this. If we leave it to the tendency of today, we will become a subculture rather than a counter-culture. Life inside, but hard shell on the outside. We’ve got to blow that out and be a counter-culture.

MacDonald: God’s favor on America has been surprising in its continuance. I think that it’s hard to miss the trends in society and the church. I’m not called to be the police, but preaching that emphasizes the Word of God and the gospel versus felt need preaching is what is important. I want to call others to the same. It isn’t impossible that North America would become like Western Europe. All we can do is expend ourselves to the opposite.

Driscoll: 20 years ago, I was a college junior and a Christian for two years. My hope is not in my network or my denomination or an institution. God can grab anybody, turn them into somebody, and use them for anything. I want to see who God sets on fire.

Graham: Praise God it’s getting gloriously dark. If we read our Bibles, we see that things will get worse. The signs of times are multiplying. It’s not going to get easier, but harder. The challenge is to prepare the church for a totally different place in America and around the world. We know opposition at some level, but not persecution. It could be coming. We must prepare our kids and grandkids for much harder times, for courage. What would our generation do in the face of real conflict? I’m excited about the future of the next generation because the gates of hell will not prevail against our church. But we must prepare for tougher times.

Jakes: My hope is that in 20 years, this coming generation will translate the integrity of the Scriptures into the language of the times and not make the mistake in looking at mediums of communication as bad. We should not limit the platform to wooden platforms or chapels, but infect their culture with the gospel through every medium of technology and use the arts to make the point.

Question: What have you learned today?

Jakes: How important it is to not be so busy that I can’t come out of my own comfort zone. That I’m called beyond my borders.

Graham: The challenge to moral purity in the pastoral purity. The whole anger thing disturbs me. I haven’t thought about that – how much anger is in the pulpit, our ministry, our churches, our pews.

Driscoll: I like to have fun. This has been fun. It was fun to have dinner with the guys. I wonder if fun is one of the attributes of God.

Cordeiro: It reminded me how much I need to sit before the Word and learn.

Furtick: There is freedom in knowing that I don’t have to have every answer right now. I can sit back and take down a note and admit a struggle. May God help us through His grace. Slow to speak. Be a better learner.

Loritts: I have to sit and marinate. The modeling of listening with our hearts has been terribly important. I leave here burdened for the state of so many of my brothers. We can spiritualize our insecurities and our fears. Why are we afraid to talk to each other? Why does that threaten us so much? It’s something I’ve known before, but the older I get, the more passionate I am about what I really do know and the more free I am to say, “I don’t know.”

MacDonald: I’m going to process all that I’ve learned. I’ll watch the DVDs and listen. You listen differently when there is no pressure at all. Thank you for serving Jesus Christ and for being honest in talking about things that are uncomfortable. I thank my son, Luke MacDonald, and many people who have worked very hard to make this happen. I hope we’ve honored Jesus Christ.