Tullian Tchividjian: Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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Tullian Tchividjian is the senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and the grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham.
CONNECTION TO OUTREACH MAGAZINE: Tchividjian was one of the National Outreach Convention speakers featured in the September/October 2010 issue of Outreach.
TULLIAN SAYS:
Share a personal story about an interaction with your grandparents [Billy and Ruth Graham] that has influenced how you view evangelism and outreach and/or how you engage in those practices today.
The greatest hindrance to Gospel advancement in our lives and in the world is us—our egos, our pride, our self-righteousness, believing our own press, and so on. So I asked my granddad a couple years ago, “Daddy Bill, how have you stayed so humble over the years, especially in light of all you’ve accomplished?” He, of course, doesn’t think he’s humble, but he answered, “When you start each day in the presence of the living God by praying and reading your Bible, it’s hard to go through life feeling big.” I honestly believe that while people are looking for bigger methods, God is looking for smaller people. My granddad has showed me by his life that God does everything through people who understand they are nothing, and God does nothing through people who think they are everything. Gospel-saturated evangelism only flows through Gospel-saturated evangelists.
What has been the most successful, rewarding experience in your ministry to date?
Seeing people’s lives changed as a result of preaching the Gospel. Seeing light bulbs go off in the hearts and minds of people who sit under the regular preaching of the Word. It’s only when the primary thing (preaching) becomes secondary that the secondary things become primary in the life of the church—and this inevitably leads to divisions. Nothing changes a church like the faithful exposition of the Gospel from every text in the Bible. I’ve committed myself to that, and I’ve found that it yields lasting fruit—the kind that doesn’t fade.
What has been your most fantastic mistake? What did you learn from it?
I made some hiring mistakes early on as a senior pastor. I hired too quickly. Since those mistakes, I’ve concluded that I’d rather want what I don’t have than have what I don’t want. These days, I hire much more slowly—and I don’t just look for competency, like I did early on. I look for character, competency and chemistry.
What areas of growth have you experienced in your personal spiritual life in the last year?
Because the past year was the most difficult year of my life due to the merger between New City and Coral Ridge along with the untimely death of my father, I learned a lot about my sin, God’s grace and the beauty of the Gospel. For instance, I never knew just how dependent I’d become on human approval and acceptance until God took it away. It was through this painful year that God helped me rediscover the freedom that Jesus plus nothing equals everything; that everything I long for—meaning, affection, purpose, security, approval, and so on—I already possess in Christ. When you understand that your significance and identity is anchored in Christ, you don’t have to win—you’re free to lose. In Christ, my identity and significance is secure, which frees me to give everything I have because in Christ I have everything I need.
What has been the greatest obstacle to spiritual growth for you in the last year? How have you overcome it?
I know this may sound trite, but the greatest obstacle to spiritual growth for me this past year is no different than any other year: It’s me! We make a big mistake when we conclude that our biggest problems—obstacles—exist outside us. The Bible makes it clear that our biggest problem exists inside us. Most people live with the idea that our greatest problems are outside (other people, circumstances, and so on) and the greatest solution is inside (working harder, performing better, and so on). But the Gospel tells us that our greatest problem is inside (our sin) and the only solution is outside—namely, the finished work of Jesus. Our relationship to God is based on Christ’s performance for us, not our performance for Him. So that, the only people who really end up getting better are those who realize that their relationship with God does not depend on them getting better.
HOW TO LINK: Connect to Tullian at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, on Twitter at Twitter.com/PastorTullian or through his blog at TheGospelCoalition.org/blogs/tullian.
BOOKS BY TCHIVIDJIAN:
Do I Know God? Finding Certainty in Life's Most Important Relationship (Multnomah)
Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different (Multnomah)
Surprised by Grace: God's Relentless Pursuit of Rebels (Crossway)
Jesus + Nothing = Everything (Crossway)
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