The Progress Paradox: A Response to Craig Groeschel’s GLS19 Speech

Progress is a loaded word, full of as much bluster and bias as hope and healing. People would have you believe that progress speaks for itself- that it is clearly defined and backed by statistical proof.

The problem is that progress, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder. In other words, progress all depends on what lens you are looking through.

Today I attended day one of the Global Leadership Summit, a powerful leadership conference that I would recommend to anyone.

During the event, Craig Groeschel, pastor of Life Church, shared a message called “Bending the Curve.” He addressed the need for us as leaders to see beyond the system that tells us that more cost means better quality. In fact, he encouraged us to be creative enough to “bend the curve” by finding ways to actually produce more quality at less cost.

One example he gave for such low cost/high quality innovation was his church’s decision to stream or record his messages from one central campus to multiple satellite campuses across the US. Recording a message to share at multiple sites frees him up to actually visit other campuses, resulting in MORE quality and less energy/time cost to him and others.

Sounds like progress.

But I wonder if there is a much larger, though less obvious, cost to this kind of thinking. A large church with a charismatic speaker can certainly draw in a crowd and start many campuses, creating large-scale synergy and reaching thousands more people than a typical church could.

However, at what point does the voice of the one begin to drown out the voices of others? At what point does the mass-produced message of one gifted leader actually limit the potential for local communicators to embrace their gift and rise into the call to use their voice?

I believe Craig has a clear gift of communication and leadership and that God is using him to reach many people in profound ways. I’m not questioning his heart or motivations. Having never attended a satellite church, perhaps I lack a proper understanding of the structure and culture.

But my question still remains, not just to Craig and multi-site or megachurches, but to you and me: When does apparent progress have a negative consequence? When is it time to lead by growing a platform, and when is it time to lead by sharing that platform? When does the voice of one stifle the voice of many?

Jesus always offers a surprising twist on our version of progress.

One of the most fascinating things about Jesus was His choice to limit Himself. Not just the cosmic limiting of squeezing His God-ness into skin and bones, but also the way He held Himself back in speech and action.

Instead of defining Himself for His disciples, He asked them, “Who do YOU say I am,” (Matthew 16:15) which allowed Peter to experience a revelation from God. When pressed by Pilate to defend Himself against the accusations of the chief priests Jesus, the Word in flesh, remained silent. (Mark 15:3-5) And when Jesus healed and preached with authority on earth, he didn’t hoard that authority, but stepped back to empower His disciples. (Luke 10:1-3/ John 14:12)

My own tendency is to fight for and own my perceived areas of influence. But Jesus preferred to spread His influence by giving it up, creating a domino effect of disciples that reverberates through the generations right through today. That’s what I call paradoxical progress.

How do we mirror that in our homes, our churches, our communities and beyond? And how does progress look through that Jesus lens?

What about you? What questions do you have about the church and our view of progress? What do you think your church (or the larger church) is doing well? What are some ways YOU can use your voice or allow someone else to have a voice?