Chuck is a giant, and I have been close enough to him to validate that he lives the top ten lessons that he shares. I first met Chuck while at Dallas Seminary, and had the privilege as a young consultant to be his vision navigator during his fourth year at Stonebriar Community Church. Stonebriar, planted in Frisco in far North Dallas, had 700 people at its first public worship and grew by 1000 people each year for the first four years. As I mentioned in Church Unique, Chuck's big idea is "joy." His mission is to encourage all people to pursue a lifelong, joyous relationship with Jesus Christ.
My favorite learning experience with Chuck was a small think tank with Greg Mott at Houston's First Baptist. I remember thinking: here is a 70 year-old church planter meeting with a 30 year old senior pastor of a 70- year old church. Chuck's humility and his command of Scripture is always amazing. In fact he is one of the most humble and teachable pastors I have ever worked with. That's why I especially appreciate his 10 lessons from 50 years of ministry:
- It’s lonely to lead
- It’s dangerous to succeed
- It’s hardest at home
- It’s essential to be real
- It’s painful to obey
- Brokenness and failure are necessary
- Attitude overshadows actions
- Integrity eclipses image
- God’s way is always better than my way
- Christlikeness begins and ends with humility