Quotes from Gary L. McIntosh

The one who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it. Lou Holtz

There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all. Peter Drucker

Here is how Karl Menninger defines loyalty: Loyalty means not that I agree with everything you say or believe you are always right. Loyalty means that I share a common ideal with you and that, regardless of minor differences, we fight for it, shoulder to shoulder, confident in one another's good faith, constancy, and affection.[16]

However, because ambition is easily disguised in Christian circles and couched in spiritual language (the need to fulfill the Great Commission and expand the church), the dysfunctions that drive Christian leaders often go undetected and unchallenged until it is too late.

What's natural eventually turns inward to bring stability, but then the church becomes so stable that no one wants to grow anymore. People begin to guard the structure and programs already in place, so it is difficult to close out an older ministry, let alone start a new one.

As North American culture glides toward secularism, significant numbers of church attendees view their church as a place where they gather in safety with others who hold similar beliefs and values. To them, the church is a home where they come each weekend to be healed, comforted, and encouraged before they venture back into an unfriendly world. Instead of being pioneers, venturing out to reach a lost world, numbers of churches have settled down to maintain the farm.

Restoring a sense of mission and vision for the future is a crucial challenge that must be accomplished if the church has any chance of survival. Calling the congregation back to the mission of the church and developing a new vision for the future is essential.

It is not unkind to say that the ingrownness of many congregations is the antithesis of the Great Commission to make disciples.

We cannot cause growth; we can only create a climate in which growth can take place.

If we don't meet people's felt needs, we will never meet their real needs.

As God's people, we are to be welcomers just as God is a welcomer. When we welcome newcomers to church, we are demonstrating the gracious love and care of God himself.