Brandon Hatmaker > Quotes

“Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it. But, I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.”
― Brandon Hatmaker, Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture

“We live in a world that is watching the church with one eyebrow raised. When Hollywood is viewed as doing more to feed the hungry and fight human trafficking than the church, we need to take a hard look at what we’re doing and ask if it’s enough. Jesus taught that when others see our good deeds they would assign value to God (Matthew 5:16). I can’t help but think that the same is true for his church.”
― Brandon Hatmaker, Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture

“The greatest enemy to reproducing disciples is our desire to consume. More times than not, we don’t want to be released for ministry. We’d rather someone else provide what we need and just consume it. And it’d be nice to have some hot coffee waiting there too.”
― Brandon Hatmaker, Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture

“If we’re trying to create a culture of service, we have to communicate and structure serving as a priority, not as an add-on or optional event.”
― Brandon Hatmaker, Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture

“We need to stop clinging to the “idea” of being transformed, and honestly, mournfully, and humbly ask him to break our hearts for the things that breaks his.”
― Brandon Hatmaker, Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture

“Being full of both grace and truth is part of his glory revealed. It’s not a balancing act. The goal is to max out both, neglecting neither. This fullness defined Jesus, yet our pendulum tends to swing a mile to the left or a mile to the right, depending on what our formative faith environment emphasized. Very few of us have been nurtured toward both. Some of us grew up in a truth-focused faith environment or church. Typically, these environments value doctrine over method or, at the bare minimum, focus more on Scripture, study, and obedience than on understanding freedom and grace. While this environment may result in a more developed view of a doctrinal gospel, it often lacks the ability to empathize appropriately during a situational or social issue. Our default becomes a form of legalism, and our confidence is often misinterpreted as arrogance or even judgment. Conversely, some of us grew up in a grace-focused faith environment or church. Typically, it is these “it’s the heart that matters” environments that often value the how over the what. The life that accompanies this focus is often expressed outside the walls of a church service or Bible study. Our default is grace, at times seemingly at the expense of truth, and our freedom is often misinterpreted as being too compromising. Those of us who grew up in truth-focused environments most likely struggle with extending grace to ourselves and others. Those of us who grew up in grace-focused environments most likely struggle with applying truth to ourselves and others. And so we clash when we come together to pursue gospel living, not always realizing the reason we see things so differently. What can we do about this? Knowing where our roots lie is a great place to start. From there we can ask the questions, Do I need to apply more truth to this situation, issue, or relationship, or do I need to extend more grace? and, How is my perspective perhaps skewed by my faith environment background?”
― Brandon Hatmaker, A Mile Wide: Trading a Shallow Religion for a Deeper Faith

“The church is on the fringe of our society, and we need to find new ways to undo the damage to our reputation.”
― Brandon Hatmaker, Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture

“W. David Phillips, author of Holy Rewired, on different ways to measure success. He titled it, Re-Imagining Success. “We are prone to measure success by how many and how much. And we determine who is a great leader by how many and how much.”
― Brandon Hatmaker, Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture

“In a broken world in need of hope, it’s depressing to consider the details that take priority in our minds.”
― Brandon Hatmaker, Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture

“We can rest assured that tension always has a purpose. Whether it holds us in place or just creates a moment where we have to consider our position or check our motives, it always comes with an opportunity for growth.”
― Brandon Hatmaker, Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture