Darrin Patrick Quotes

Authentic friendship is not one-sided. It is an equal commitment from both parties. True friends both give and receive. True friends know you and want to be known by you - celebrate you and are willing to be celebrated by you. They challenge you and seek to be challenged by you. And they serve you and are willing to be served by you.

If your friends never make you uncomfortable. You don't have friends. You have fans.

You don't preach to hear yourself, you preach to heal the church.

You don't measure your maturity by comparing yourself with others. You judge maturity by comparing yourself to Jesus.

When we think of pride we tend to think about arrogance - the guy who talks about himself all the time. But we don't often recognize it in the guy who spends his days worrying about his own success even if he never says a word about it. They are both consumed with themselves, but their pride takes different forms. Pride is ultimately an inordinate focus on the self.

Most people think that Christianity is spelled DO: they look at the Bible or the life of Christ, and they simply try hard to live like Jesus. Christianity is really spelled DONE: it is what Christ has done that enables us to live a life of obedience.30

Would your city weep if your church did not exist?

Well-meaning members lose sight of their role as servants and become increasingly focused on controlling the very church they are called to serve. When a serving heart is replaced by a controlling heart, division is bound to ensue. And when selfish division lies unchallenged, areas of ministry and service become turfs to be defended, and brother and sisters in Christ become opponents and obstacles to individual accomplishment.

Is Jesus a Saviour who saves you, or is he an assistant who helps you save yourself?

ARE YOU A SETTLER, DRIVER, OR REBEL?

God doesn't want your crises-mode promises.

Most churches do not grow beyond the spiritual health of their leadership. Many churches have a pastor who is trying to lead people to a Savior he has yet to personally encounter. If spiritual gifting is no proof of authentic faith, then certainly a job title isn't either.

You must have a clear sense of calling before you enter ministry. Being a called man is a lonely job, and many times you feel like God has abandoned you in your ministry. Ministry is more than hard. Ministry is impossible. And unless we have a fire inside our bones compelling us, we simply will not survive. Pastoral ministry is a calling, not a career. It is not a job you pursue.

If you don't think demons are real, try planting a church! You won't get very far in advancing God's kingdom without feeling resistance from the enemy.

If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. Once a month I get away for the day, once a quarter I try to get out for two days, and once a year I try to get away for a week. The purpose of these times is rest, relaxation, and solitude with God.

A pastor must always be fearless before his critics and fearful before his God. Let us tremble at the thought of neglecting the sheep. Remember that when Christ judges us, he will judge us with a special degree of strictness.

The only way you will endure in ministry is if you determine to do so through the prevailing power of the Holy Sp

Faith, not cowardice, takes the step into unknown territory for the sake of Jesus Christ and His church. Love, not self-preserving protectiveness, sacrifices its own life that others might live. Hope of new life, not resignation to inevitable decline, yields itself up in the quest for a better future.

The key to ministry in any and every context, both now and for the last two thousand years, is missionary flexibility.

We should never intentionally offend, but if you follow Jesus, you will offend religious people.

If there is no challenging of the sinful heart, there is no gospel preaching,

Any person that says, "Of course I wouldn't do ______" doesn't know their own heart.

Turns out, we don't want to be content. We keep buying more stuff and doing more things. The striving is endless. The pile of gadgets grows, and the desire for bigger houses, nicer cars, and a cooler wardrobe is insatiable.