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The Grove Podcast
The Faith that Raises A Generation :: Dr. Crawford Loritts
00:40:48
In this honest conversation, Dr. Crawford Loritts joins Shelley Giglio to talk about faith, family, and the unseen work of God that will shape generations. From the role of prayer in parenting to the importance of repentance and humility before God, this episode is a reminder that lasting legacy is not built on perfection, but in surrender to Jesus. Whether you’re a parent or simply longing to break generational patterns, this conversation will encourage you to start where real transformation begins – at the feet of Jesus.
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- [00:00]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Hey, it's Christian Stanfill from Passion, and we are so excited to hit the road this summer with our friends Taya and Levi Lusko. These nights of worship are going to be so special, and we believe God has something unique in store for each city and each of us. Head over to passionmusic.com to get your tickets and we'll see you soon.
- [00:26]
Franchesca Price
Welcome back to the Grove Podcast, girls. It's Franchesca Price, and I'm so excited to kick off our spring season with you. If you spend any time around Passion, you'll definitely recognize our guest today. In this episode, Shelley Giglio sits down with Dr. Crawford Luritz, a pastor, leader, husband, father, and grandfather whose life has been marked by deep faith, prayer and reverence for God. Together, they have an honest conversation about legacy, how it's shaped, redeemed, and carried from one generation to the next. Get ready to dive into the power of prayer, the importance of repentance, and what it really looks like to stay faithful to what God has asked of us. Dr. Crawford reminds us that the fear of the Lord isn't something to shy away from. It's what anchors us and draws us closer to Him. Whether you're a parent or someone hoping to break generational patterns, we're simply asking, where do I begin? This conversation is for you. There is so much wisdom here, and God is ready to meet you. Let's listen in.
- [01:33]
Shelley Giglio
Where you been recently?
- [01:36]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Where have I been recently? I was down in Karen. I were down outside of Naples. Family life honored us, and. Yeah, I tell you what, you know,
- [01:49]
Shelley Giglio
what was the honor for?
- [01:50]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Well, I was on. I was on the speaker team. We were on the speaker team for like 30 some odd years. And I served on the board and pioneered a bunch of stuff. And, you know, you know, I don't know how I feel about it. I was halfway joking with Karen. I said I sounded as if I was attending my own memorial service or something, so.
- [02:07]
Shelley Giglio
But you know what I say about that, though, is that it's better to share that when people are here than to let people die. And then I stand up at their memorial service and say all the wonderful things that they meant to us. And I'm like, I'm proud of them for calling you down there and saying, we want to honor you.
- [02:28]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
It was extremely humbling. They were. They named a scholarship award for pastors and their wives after. It's the Crawford and Karen Laritz Pastor Scholarship Award. They give to 10 couples every year, pay for everything. So I'm. I was just Very, very honored by that.
- [02:46]
Shelley Giglio
Crawford, that's amazing.
- [02:48]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Yeah, we did that.
- [02:49]
Shelley Giglio
You know, I'm a big fan of you being honored, so that's a good thing.
- [02:53]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
So I want to make sure that I'm right about something. I don't know why people started asking me this. Maybe they ask you this all the time when they know I'm associated with Passion immediately here lately, they ask me, what is the secret sauce of the Passion Conferences? And I've been asked that a ton. And my reply is this. I say, my observation is there are three major things. Number one, Lou and Shelley have never deviated from the initial mission and passion of the conference itself. And it's just repeat on that. And they've been delightfully stubborn on that. And I think that that's very, very clear. And I think, secondly, my observation is that there's just been a ton of prayer going behind each one of these events. But the third one I say is that I said, now, you know, Passion. I mean, the creativity is there and the technology and all that. However, the simplicity and clarity of the program, that. That. That is not a whole lot of. I call it billboarding. That takes place where it's just. It's just clear. And I. And I think, you know, it's worship, preaching, worship, preaching, worship, preaching, and God shows up.
- [04:18]
Shelley Giglio
So that's it. What a great thing. I was just gonna ask you about Passion, and that's just amazing. That's a big compliment. That that's what you say about us. That really is. That is our heartbeat, you know, that's what we care about. We care about Jesus being central in everything. You know, you won't walk away from Passion talking about something other than Jesus. You'll end up walking away talking about him. He's the only one with life and power. So why would we wanna discuss all the other things? So I think that's part of it. And I really do think the prayer thing is underestimated by people. I think everything we do, I don't want to just walk in and assume of God. I want to have asked him. This is what we believe you can do. I'm worshiping you because I know you're faithful. I know you're in control. I know you're powerful. And now when I walk into the space, having asked you for specific things, I also get to walk away knowing what he did in specific ways. So to me, it's not just the general like, oh, that was awesome. You know, that was amazing. All of those are true. It was awesome. And Amazing. But I think it was more like we were praying for this and we were praying for this. And you're in a lot of those prayer times with us, and you know what we've asked God for. And so when you stand in the place and you see God answering and doing more than obviously we could have ever asked him, like he promises, but you feel like you're invested in a way that's different than I just assumed he would.
- [05:50]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Amen. And, you know, and I think, I don't know, Louis has so much on him and so do you. But I've thought about this would be a great tool to share with younger emerging leaders, that you don't have to be something other than what God laid His hand on you to be. And if you can stay faithful and focused, work your backside off, that's part of being faithful. It's no telling what God can do. I think we're always trying to find a little secret marketing gem or whatever, but it's just pouring yourself into what he says to do next.
- [06:29]
Shelley Giglio
Yeah, I think in not being, like you said, distracted, but all the what it could be, I think sometimes what other people see can be a real enhancement to what we're doing. So they can see something. They can join in and say, well, I see you as gifted in this area, or I see God doing this in your life. It seems like a good thing to add, but oftentimes it can be a huge distraction to just have all these voices telling you, well, you know what you should do. I know you think you should do it for 18 to 25 year olds, but we think you should do it for students or we think you should do it for adults or. I mean, there's a million of those. And I think sometimes really having blinders on and a real sincere focus on what did God ask me to do, what does he ask me to do, and how do I get to the end of my life knowing that I obeyed what he asked of me and not what everyone's opinion was, and not whatever their people's ideas were. I'm not responsible to those people. I'm responsible to God and. And I think that keeps us, I pray, on track.
- [07:37]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Amen.
- [07:38]
Shelley Giglio
I really do. You experienced passion for the first time this year with your grandkids, too. Tell me about it.
- [07:43]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
How was that last year, Jaden?
- [07:45]
Shelley Giglio
Oh, that's right. Jaden was there last year, which was fun. And then you added a couple this year, which was sweet, special.
- [07:53]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Oh, Shelly, I know that you hear this a thousand times. I had to turn away from looking at them because the tears were flowing down my cheeks. They, their hands were up in worship, they dropped to their knees in prayer. You know, they even over breakfast and stuff, they had their Bibles opened up and asking questions and this kind of thing. And it just did my heart good, you know. So it was, I mean, it's just, was amazing. It was absolutely, absolutely amazing.
- [08:24]
Shelley Giglio
It's things you've prayed for. You know, when I think about you standing there with your grandkids and I wanna talk to you about legacy. Cause I just think you're building such a beautiful one. But I think when you stand there, it's so different when we experience the things of God with people we love beside us to start with. Because we know that God's working in their life and our life simultaneously. And that's just a miracle, you know, that he could be speaking to us at our age, that he could be speaking to them at their age, and that we're all in the same space together. It's just so powerful.
- [08:55]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
So.
- [08:55]
Shelley Giglio
But also, I think you've prayed for those kids since, I'm sure, before they were born.
- [09:00]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
I would tell you, I would say a little funny story that happened at Passion this year, New Year's Eve, they all went to the Cotton Bowl. Okay. And, yeah. And so I told Jaden, who's the oldest, and Lonnie was the only girl in the mix. So I said, jaden, if Lonnie doesn't come back here, you don't come back here, okay? It's on you, buddy. Don't.
- [09:22]
Shelley Giglio
That's right.
- [09:23]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
So Lonnie was staying in our room. And about close to one o', clock, this is New Year's Eve, close to one o', clock, I, I, I looked over a bed, it was empty. And I said, I'm going to ring that boy's neck. So I, I called, I called Jaden, said, jaden, can't you tell time, buddy? And he goes, oh, I'm sorry, Papa. We were all on our knees praying in the new year. So I'm going. To.
- [09:52]
Shelley Giglio
Well, I just assumed it might be
- [09:53]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
something different, and I just want to apologize. So they were about ready to see a side of Papa that they hadn't seen in a while.
- [10:02]
Shelley Giglio
I love, I mean, when your kids. And I was telling somebody the other day, related to Passion, they were just saying, you know, how does it feel? And A, we were so thrilled at what God did, just still marveling. We'll never get over it. But I think also, you know, walking away it's like passion really starts the day it ends in kids hearts. And the people that are fervently praying for them over the next season of their life are gonna see God do remarkable things. Because passion is only as good as it resonates deep within us. And we become carriers of that truth. It only is as good as our obedience. What do we do with it after we find out or understand now what? And so Jaden, Lonnie, all the kids that were with you and the 45,000 other ones, you know, they're really starting a trajectory in a way with God that maybe they have never experienced in their lifetime. So I think our fervent prayers need to continue. You know, that God would do it. He would do it.
- [11:09]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
And I think we should not underestimate. I know sometimes large events get a bad name. Everybody's, you know, push the super spiritual button about where's the discipleship and all this other kind of stuff. But I, I, I sat there and I thought to myself as I looked at the crowd, I said, you know, we dare not underestimate the affirmation of 40, 45,000 people and the spiritual drafting that takes place that grants, that gives hope and courage to these kids to say, I can do this. I can continue to pursue Savior.
- [11:42]
Shelley Giglio
And I'm not alone. I'm not alone. There are other people. They might not be in my purview at school every day, but there are other people that are with me on the same quest. And it's a powerful thing to resonate with that. And watching, I watched a lot. I know you're not a social media guy, and we're gonna talk about that in a minute because I told you about one time you went viral and you said, tell me what I did. And I'm like, crawford, you went viral?
- [12:07]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Yeah. When I tell my grandkids that I go viral, I say, no way, papa, no way.
- [12:13]
Shelley Giglio
Listen, it's my favorite anyway. But watching social media after Passion and seeing kids post from their point of view what their experience was, man, I was undone. Because I think from our viewpoint, you know, we sit up in the stands and so we can see the 10,000 kids on the floor. And obviously from our perspective, we can look around the arena and see most of the people in it. But when you're them and you're in that and what you're experiencing of God around your friends and people your age is, it's supernatural. It is literally the movement of God. And when they post about it, the things that come out of their Heart and life and a. They're hilarious because they're kids and they're just crazy. Half of them got up at 4 and stood outside in line to get in so they could stand on the floor. When, you know, who even cares where you stand? They're like, we care. We're out here. So they're crazy, but they're also being changed from the inside out. And, man, it is such a powerful thing to watch them testify. So what a beautiful thing. So grateful we got to experience it together.
- [13:21]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Absolutely.
- [13:22]
Shelley Giglio
Okay. Speaking of viral, I might post this clip in our little chat we're having now so that people can see it. But you came to Passion City. You preach here fairly regularly. Louie would love to have you as much as you possibly will come. But you talked about parenthood, and you talked about it in such a way over 35 or 40 minutes, that was so compelling. I really want to encourage people to watch the entire talk. But this little clip I posted and the church posted ended up just going completely viral. And the clip is primarily about the opportunity that parents have to pray for their kids. It wasn't a new idea. It wasn't a revolutionary thought, but the way you articulated it was so powerful, and people resonated so deeply that I think they'll carry it with them forever. Talk to us about where all that came in your heart and life and how you figured out that was the most essential part.
- [14:25]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Well, you know, it was branded in me by my mother. I mean, I. You know, my mother, and I think. Think I said that in the. In the talk, in the message. My mother prayed on her knees out loud every night.
- [14:40]
Shelley Giglio
I love that.
- [14:41]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Every night. And so often as a teenager, I would be up later than she would be. Often I would go by her. I would walk past her room, and a number of times I would heard. Heard my name on her tongue, which was not totally unusual, but she would be calling out my name to the Lord, and. And you know what that does to you when your mother is crying out to God and calling your name out to God. It just burns something in you. And. And that. That has stood as just a milestone in my own heart and life. And. And then when we were on staff with crew, you know, our kids are really small, and I was traveling, speaking on these university campuses and this kind of thing, and. And honestly, Shelly, there'd be. Sometimes I'd be in some university college town or whatever, and I was. I just. There's a number of my friends whose kids had grown up to be bitter because they had to be away. And in all that time, yeah, many an evening, 2, 3, 4 o' clock in the morning, I couldn't sleep. I slip out of my bed and in tears, I cried to God, please don't let my kids. I grew up to hate you, to grow up to be bitter because I have to be away. And so, you know, I made a ton of mistakes as a parent. I mean, you know, I may have disciplined the wrong child, you know, or Brian says that Holly, she's our youngest, that we, Karen and I raised her like she's our grandchild. So she got down with everything.
- [16:21]
Shelley Giglio
Not them so much.
- [16:22]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
They bust my chops about how soft I am with the girls and all that kind of stuff, but to see God answering prayer and making prayer normative and, I don't know, I'm not smart enough. I was no big strategy of mine, but we try to make prayer a rhythm of our lives as a, as a family. And, and you know, and I, I, I came to conviction that it dependence upon God and sincerity and repentance is your greatest leverage in, in developing godly children. I'm not the sharp, sharpest pencil in the box. I, you know, I'm, I'm sinful just like everybody else. And, But I think what's been core has been that it's been prayer and, you know, a few other things too. I am blessed beyond measure to have had a dad that was a strong leader. And, you know, he wasn't perfect. He wasn't perfect, but a strong model and he modeled the destination. And, you know, I knew I would have held the play if I ever raised my voice to Sylvia Lauritz's words, wife. And just that presence, that too anchored me. And, you know, he would say things to me as growing up, son, don't ever run away from heart. You, you got a face, you got to press into it. And this kind of. And watching his resilience and faithfulness, wow. Day in and day out marked me. And so I'm sure that, that that's been a part of it. But yeah, so our kids love Jesus and we're grateful for that.
- [18:11]
Shelley Giglio
Praise God for that. They're also accomplished. I think their hearts are for the Lord and whatever they're doing and watching them succeed has to be one of your proudest moments. But I think their success is probably contingent on their love for God first. And I think that would be the thing that you'd be the most proud of, you and Karen. And so well done. I would just say well done.
- [18:38]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
I typically get too much credit, I think. And I'm not. This is not false humility here at all. They would tell you, especially the boys, about Karen's incredible influence on them. Phenomenal influence on them. And they never wanted to hurt their mother. Never wanted to hurt their mother. And, you know, plus, she could say things on knucklehead boys that I can't say to them, you know.
- [19:06]
Shelley Giglio
Yeah. And she's funny and all those things. They respect her for all that.
- [19:10]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Absolutely.
- [19:13]
Shelley Giglio
Well, I think, you know, most of the people who listen to this podcast are women, and just knowing somebody like Karen, and we should talk to her someday, too. But just knowing that she had such an influence on her family, my mom, the same. I think I had the experience you had with your mom of walking in on my mom praying. I often, often saw my mom on her knees by her bed. It wasn't a rare thing. It was a normal thing. And I knew that I was drafting off of her faith. I knew I was. I knew I hadn't figured out enough of my own yet to really take and own what I believed and to fully operate in obedience to what I believed. But, man, I could see my mom's humility and her dedication to the Lord and her ability to ask him for what she needed in her life. And it was just a perfect role model of, this is how you live. This is what you do. You know, you don't know all the answers. And she certainly wasn't perfect either, but she knew that her dependence had to be on God for us to be
- [20:16]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
okay, you know, And I think that is a. Probably affected how you have been such an encouragement to other women because of that role model and your background and that kind of thing. You know, Karen has helped me greatly. You know, you all can pick up on little cues that sometimes we don't do. And I remember I had gotten hard on Brian and Brennan both about something, and she said, honey, you. You really don't understand that. That they so want to be like you. They so want your affirmation and stuff. And so you need to be careful how you overstate things. And that's true. And I had to pick up from that and be. And be very careful because, yeah, one
- [21:06]
Shelley Giglio
of the things you mentioned was repentance as it relates to parenting. I don't see a lot of that, but I can see how that would be essential in parenting, where you just say, forgive me, I didn't do it right. I didn't say the right thing or do the right thing right there. Do you Feel like that was a big part of you raising your kids?
- [21:25]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
I think so. I think so, because I had to do a lot of repenting when I raised my boys especially, but, excuse me, even with our daughters learning to say I'm sorry and realizing that, you know, I had to model the kind of grace that I wanted them to be drawn to the Savior with and that kind of thing. And so, and that's what I, you know, I, I also saw some legal. Sometimes you make changes based upon what you see not working in your friends. I had some legalistic friends of mine who were frustrating their kids all because, I mean, they, their hearts were right, but they were acting, the parents were acting as if they never screwed up or that they, you know, that they themselves were, you know, they're the fourth members of the Trinity or whatever. And so, you know, and we know that's not true. And then, Brian, I came to tears. This was, gosh, maybe a year and a half or two ago, he, he wrote a book about my, My influence on him called the dad Factor and this kind of thing. But he was being interviewed on a podcast, and I, I heard the interview, and someone, he was asked something like, what's the greatest impact your dad has had on you? And he said these words, and I, I couldn't stop crying. He said, you know, I remember my dad's apologies more than I do his sins.
- [23:05]
Shelley Giglio
And that is so, you know, I
- [23:08]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
thought to myself, now, if you thought a little while you could remember a number of my sins, but, but that is so powerful and just hold you accountable that, you know, I, I. So I think, I think the whole apology thing, not faking an apology, but just being genuine about it. If you overstepped your bounds, if you were too harsh in your discipline, if you didn't show up when you should show up, or whatever it might be, my goodness, why wouldn't you say I'm sorry?
- [23:45]
Shelley Giglio
Yeah, I feel like sometimes we do that for everyone else, but we forget inside of our family that it's the most essential place to practice that. And I think we want to be seen as right and strong. And, you know, why would I wanna say I'm sorry to you? Cause look what you've done to me. You know, there's all that stuff in life, but, man, if there's ever a place to show repentance and just to be apologetic, I'm sorry. I didn't get it right. I didn't say the right thing. I definitely did not have the right tone, you know, when I said Whatever I said, maybe it wasn't the wrong thing. It just sounded horrible. And I need to tell you I didn't mean it that way or I did, and I'm sorry that I did that exactly right.
- [24:26]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
And when you repent, you really underscore or what really is a secret sauce to shaping future generations. Let me explain what I mean by that. When I apologize for something I've done wrong or a sin I've committed in front of my kids or whatever, I'm saying to them that I desperately need a savior. I need Jesus just as much as you need Jesus. And I'm coming alongside of you saying that we need to express that mutual dependence upon our Savior. And that's what we carry from one generation to the next. And now. So, you know, that is so powerful.
- [25:10]
Shelley Giglio
I think some. So much. And I think what you were saying about your dad being strong and being a great role model, not perfect, just on the right track. I think so much of what we think about God comes through our parents. And that's hard sometimes because our parents aren't perfect. And there are a lot of people who have no relationship whatsoever with their parents for various reasons. And that makes it difficult then to relate to God who calls himself Father. You know, how do I relate? I have a horrible image of Father. Everything about my father is not right. How do I then get over that so that I can get to a God that's good? You know, that's a very confusing thing to a lot of people. Talk to those people who are hearing you say, my dad modeled for me, what it looked like to be strong. My mom prayed on her face for me by name. Talk to people for a second who didn't have that kind of growing up who still have the same opportunity with God as you do.
- [26:09]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Yeah. And there are tons of people like that. There are tons of people in my extended family like that as well. And, you know, and let me. Let me go back to my heritage. My great grandfather was a slave. His name is Peter. We have no record. We have no record of his mother father. We have no record of that. And somewhere along the line, and this is hope giving, somewhere along the line, Peter surrendered his heart and life to Jesus. And it was the power of the gospel that changed him. And. And I don't know where he got this from, but my grandfather, My dad told me that I never met my grandfather, but he developed this passion for the family and in his heart. Here's a point I want to make to everybody. Listen. And I get it. I Get the holes in our lives and I get the inadequacies and all of that. And I get the fact that you know so much pain and condemnable decisions and other things that just splatter all over us, and it hurts like the dickens. But if God can raise a dead Jesus and if the word of God is true, there's there, there are miracles. And you got to decide by the grace of God, I'm going to be what, what was not given to me. And here's the point. Decision always precedes the development. And at a certain point in my life, at a certain point in my life, I've got to stop. And putting embalming fluid in all the misery and holding it up, I got, I got to stop that. I've got to somehow another turn the corner and get what I didn't have. Discipleship, male role models become an aggressive follower. You got to do that. And the reason why you have to do it. And my wife had to do this. My wife, I mean, you're asking my dads, but she, she grew up in a single parent situation. There's a horrible, horrible situation there. But somewhere along the line, older women came into her life that loved her and nurtured her and discipled her. And you know, I tear up when I think about this because we've been married almost 55 years.
- [28:27]
Shelley Giglio
She.
- [28:27]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
She goes back and says, by the grace of God, it stops. And God honored that decision, and he will do that. For those listening to us right now, at a certain point in life, at a certain point in life, you've got to say, my past may explain me, but it does. It does not excuse me. It explains me, but it doesn't excuse me. And where the hope comes in, and it's not in your own bootstrapping, paradoxically, it comes in embracing your weakness and getting to Jesus, who is your strength, and getting around people who will love you, model what you need, become an aggressive follower. And every day those corners are being turned and legacies are being established. So that's what I would say.
- [29:22]
Shelley Giglio
Crawford, that's just so good. I think about legacy in your life with your kids, your grandkids. We've talked about them some, but I think about, you know, generational steadiness. When I think about you, I think about a guy who has wisdom, but that wisdom comes from the fear of God and not just because he's lived a long time and had some experiences in life. I think that's one kind of wisdom. We all get it with age. And I get that, but that's not the kind of wisdom I'm talking about. I'm talking about the kind of wisdom that knows that God has to be first in your heart and that his way is the best way. And once we have that understanding and approach him in that way of reverence and respect, everything about us changes. We see our place, we understand how we fit. We know that we're made, loved and created and valued, but that we don't have the driver's seat in life. All those things are what I respect about you. Some, the most. Talk about the fear of God, how that took root in you, how you understood that. I'm not just afraid my mom or dad will be mad. And I'm not just going because everyone expects me to. And I'm not just doing the right thing because it's the right thing. I really have an appreciation and respect for God that motivates me to live right.
- [30:45]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
I think it's grown over time. I don't know that I could have articulated that growing up in our family or whatever. I think as you look back then, you see how that helped to shape you. By the way, I just did a series last summer on all these Bible conferences on the fear of the Lord. Well, Shelly, I got embarrassed.
- [31:08]
Shelley Giglio
You need to give us a link to that and we will add it on so people can find it.
- [31:12]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
I got, I got convicted, to be honest with you, that, you know, I think it's over. Was it 243 times, something like that in the Bible that the fear of the Lord or the fear of God is mentioned? Now check this out. It's over a thousand times in which it is directly implied. And so the fear of the Lord and we don't talk a lot about it because we think God needs a publicist and we want to help him with his image. And, and we don't want to scare people to death. And, but, but, but. And the fear of the Lord is a primary motivation. And it is, it is, it is the, the, the, the delightful response is that, that he is forever now. We're going to live forever someplace. But he is ultimate and we're all going to have to deal with him in terms of judgment, blessing or rewards and that kind of thing. So you have to live in such a way in which you embrace accountability. You see arrogant, proud people really, really hamstring the whole idea of leaving a good legacy. It is dependent people who understand that if God does not intervene, we're not going to make it. But that's the place to Be. That's the place to be. And you know, the fear of the Lord says, there's a Hebrew word that's translated loving kindness. Hesed in the Old Testament. The fear of the Lord is not a. It's not a pulverizing fear, although I don't want to move too far away from it. It is the acknowledgment that God is awesome and he is powerful. He has all of this, and yet at the same time, he tenderly holds me in his hand. It's like my wife hates this illustration, but I can't think of a better one. It's like King Kong, you know, where he's gently holding this reporter in his hand, and she's feeling safe and she's feeling all this power around her that's keeping her safe. On the other hand, he's just kind of like obliterating this monster over here, destroying. And so, yeah, so that's the fear of the Lord. We know what he's capable of doing, and yet he chooses to lean toward us and said loving kindness. And that. That holds you accountable and responsible. It's kind of like I never, you know, I feared my dad growing up. I did. I feared him. I didn't fear him that because he's going to be mean to me or, you know, he's going to knock the snot on me or whatever. I didn't fear him for that, although I know he could back up what he asked me to do, wanted me to do, right? I. I feared him because I. I knew that he always wanted the best for me. He always wanted the best for me. And he would get on my case. Like, if. If he, if he saw me not performing in school the way that I should, I should be, he would say this. He would give me this speech. He said, now, son, you know how hard it was for me growing up. You know how hard it was for your uncles. You know what all that took place. You know why I'm working so hard so that you can do better, boy, you're going someplace, so act like it. That was his line. And I mean, it's just. Just amazing. Well, it is that fear that should motivate us to get over our stuff, to stop procrastinating our development, to. To make sure we keep short accounts with God and short accounts with one another. It is the understanding that all of us are going to be very dead one day. Very dead.
- [35:06]
Shelley Giglio
That's right.
- [35:06]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
And, you know, and death is batting a thousand. I mean, that's. That's going to happen. And so I've got to live my life on mission and the goal of parenting for what is to pass on the image of God from one generation to the next, to benchmark the future. Right. So I got to give them the very best I can so that they could stand on their own two feet and be independently dependent on God, on God for themselves during their time in history.
- [35:42]
Shelley Giglio
Man, I am so glad we talked today, because that is powerful truth. And what you're sharing and the way you're sharing it is so applicable to all of us. I think where it leaves me. And maybe you could speak to this before we start to wrap up. But is okay. I hear you. I do want a legacy that's past my failures and my predicaments and my circumstances. I don't want that to be my definition in life. So I hear you. And I want it to be something that's meaningful. I want it to be something that's lasting. I want my kids to talk about me in a way that feels like it honors the Lord.
- [36:22]
Franchesca Price
Where.
- [36:23]
Shelley Giglio
Where do I start?
- [36:24]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Oh, boy.
- [36:25]
Shelley Giglio
Where do I start?
- [36:26]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Shelley, that is the essence. The essence issue is where do you start? But, man, the good news is that there is a starting place. It's called Jesus. What you need to do is get on your knees and cry out to God, God, I don't want to try to fake it. I'm a sinner. I've said and done things that are not right. I'm inadequate. But you will be my adequacy. And I turn for my sin. And I thank you that Jesus died on the cross in my place and for my sin, and would you give me a new life? And he promises to do that. Not only does he promise to do that, it's. You know, as Christians, we're not pitiful. We're not without resources. He gives us his Holy Spirit the moment we say yes to Jesus. And the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity who empowers us to live out the truths and the applications of the things that we're talking about right now, where we can go to him and draw on that strength. And the other thing that he does, the moment we say yes to Jesus, is that he places us into the family of God. So we have brothers and sisters who are cheerleaders, who can spiritually draft with us, who can serve as sort of like the physical hands and feet of the Lord Jesus, and they can embody his love. So you have a new family, you have a new Savior. And by the way, you Have a new power source of the person of the Holy Spirit. And then he gives you his word.
- [37:56]
Shelley Giglio
Beautiful.
- [37:57]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
His word is not just good advice to be taken everything. It is the very voice of God that can empower you. Now it's not going to be easy. It's not going to be easy. There's going to be warfare involved, but we're not without these resources. So your starting place is at the cross. Your starting place is at Jesus. And you keep coming back to him, asking him to lead you to different places. I mean there are churches all over the place, Passion City Church here in Atlanta and all kinds of Bible believing churches that hold up Jesus. But what you have to do is humble yourself. Stop acting as if you're the sharpest pencil in the box. Stop acting as if you have all the answers. None of us do. And our deliverance is found in our honesty. That's the first place to begin. Yeah.
- [38:52]
Shelley Giglio
Powerful. Will you pray for us that we will take a step of obedience tonight for listening.
- [38:57]
Dr. Crawford Luritz
Holy Father, how we thank you for your love and mercy. We're so thankful that you love us so much. And your love is not just a sentimental love that's stands back and says I care about you, I care about you. But you've given us real resources. You've sent your son to die for us. You've given people, Lord who can help us, who can come alongside of us to love us and to pray for us. And then you've given us your spirit. So I pray for encouragement, I pray for strength, I pray for those listening to this who perhaps need to make. Go make some apologies to spouses or to kids or, or whatever. I just pray, Father, that you'll give them the courage, give them the strength and by all means will you affirm them when they make these right choices and decisions. Thank you God for what you will do in Jesus name, Amen.
- [39:52]
Franchesca Price
What a powerful way to end this episode. I hope you're walking away feeling challenged and also deeply encouraged, just as I am. What stands out most to me from this conversation is the reminder that legacy doesn't begin with perfection. It begins with true surrender and being honest before God. No matter what your story has been, what was given to you, or what you find missing, you are not disqualified. In Christ there is always a starting place and that starting place is Jesus. My personal prayer is that something you heard today would prompt a step of obedience. A prayer you've never prayed before, a conversation you need to have, or a renewed commitment to seek God with reverence and humility Legacy is built one faithful step at a time, and none of us have to walk that road alone. If you want to stay up to date with all things the Grove, join us online@thegroveonline.com and follow along on Instagram at @PCC the Grove if you love this show, and we hope you do, leave us a review or tag us on Social. Until next time, stay faithful and keep your eyes on Jesus. We'll see you soon.