Our Weird Wonderful Friend Craig Groeschel

Craig Groeschel and I met a good while back. I was a pastor leading a large, established mainline church. I’m sure he thought I was weird. He was a pastor who had left the mainline and was trying a new approach called video church. Honestly, I thought he was a little weird.

Some things never change…but little did I know that Craig thinks weird is a compliment! Craig’s new book, “Weird: Because Normal Isn’t Working,” captures a whole lot of the thought and drive behind Craig’s mindset. It’s one of those books that will cause you to think differently.

During my most recent trip to LifeChurch, we had a chance to visit about the book and Craig was then gracious enough to answer some questions for me. I think you’ll find his answers insightful, and that you’ll really enjoy the book.

WV – Most people would hate to be called weird, but you seem to like it. Explain.

CG –For my whole life, I pursued normal. One of my biggest goals was to “fit in.” When I started studying scripture, God led me away from normal to a life of “weird.” Instead of pursuing the normal values of this world, with God's help, I'm pursuing His will. The better I get to know God, the more different I become.
After becoming a Christian, one girl in college was making fun of me for being weird and told me I should meet another girl who was equally as weird (and “overboard for God”). That’s how I met Amy. We’ve committed to a life of weird.

WV – Can you put some skin on that for me? What does a weird life look like and why is it better than normal?

CG –Well, to put it simply, the God-kind-of-weird is better because “normal” isn’t working—at least certainly not in the culture we live in. For example…

• When it comes to finances, what is normal? Normal is debt, worry, tension and fear. Simply put, normal is broke.
• When it comes to our schedules, normal is overwhelmed, stressed and burned out.
• When it comes to relationships, divorce is as normal as a marriage that lasts.

According to Jesus, most people are on the broad road with the crowd. They find comfort in the crowd. But those on the narrow road—the different—are the ones who truly find life.

WV - Most of our readers are church leaders. What’s one weird principle they can take to work with them today?

CG –If you look at what’s going on in church and the world today, you’ll quickly see that normal isn’t working. In fact, it never really has. Take a look at church history and you’ll see that the real Kingdom breakthroughs happen when church leaders break from normal to try something new, something weird. Peter preaches to Gentiles, and the Gospel spreads. Martin Luther gets a Bible in the hands of the people, and a Reformation happens. John Wesley takes the message of Christ outside the church into the open air, and revivals start. It’s convinced me that to reach people no one is reaching, we'll have to do things no one is doing. Our ministries may be called weird, but hopefully God will call them effective.

WV –Let me close by saying, this guy is the real deal. Our firm has the chance to serve a whole lot of great pastors, and Craig is one of the best I have met. He’s a good man, and is spending his life trying to make a faithful witness. It’s always an honor to find other weird people to work with him at LifeChurch, and I think you’ll find that this book will help you know one of the great pastors of our time.
Thanks Craig, for being weird.