What is Gritty Faith?
The toughest faith possible.
I can only imagine what Daniel was doing in the Lion's Den and what Paul was thinking about while being stoned. What Job was feeling while on a garbage heap, scraping his sores, or what Mary felt as she faced public humiliation for being an unwed mother.
Did they do anything wrong? No, not in God's eyes. But their faith had to rise to the occasion.
They had what I call a GRITTY FAITH.
What is GRITTY FAITH? A tougher-than-average faith that isn't dependent on results but determined to battle for a lifelong personal relationship with Christ.
One day, out of frustration, I was on the verge of giving up and quitting. Believe me, the desire was very, very strong.
I expressed my frustration to a friend who recommended a book entitled GRIT by Angela Duckworth. But I didn't read it at first. I discovered that Angela was a psychologist and that this book was about her research into GRIT. Booorrrring. But eventually, my curiosity got the best of me, and so I decided to give it a chance.
I'm glad I did.
Her research could tell you, with some certainty, whether or not you would succeed based on your level of grit. I wondered if this could be applied to one's faith and future as a follower of Jesus.
That has taken me down a road that I didn't even think existed. I'm sure many of you can share similar experiences. God is revealing Himself in ways you never considered.
You and I will never thrive as followers of Jesus until we fully embrace the faith that He gives us.This is why I believe so many people are deconstructing their faith. They have been living with something that has left them feeling empty.
Duckworth defines grit as passion and perseverance for long-term goals. (1)
The depth of my passion and my determination to persevere are very Biblical qualities that I should exhibit. They are relevant to my faith in Christ. Thus, I quickly determined that while I loved Jesus and was determined to worship Him with my life, I lacked the grit to finish what God was doing in and through my life.
I was quitting on myself.
I'm not saying that you don't have faith. However, your future and success as a follower of Christ may require a level of faith that you may not be familiar with.
I learned that the days of knowing more about Jesus being "good enough" to be a Christian are over. Now you must be prepared to engage in battle in everyday life.
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 (NLT)
I was called into ministry at the age of 15. Serving is all I have known for my whole life. I attended Bible College with dreams of going into the world and leading people to give their lives to Jesus. To help them discover and experience the Gospel for themselves. I assumed everyone else in the ministry shared that vision as well. But I was wrong. In short, they were abusive. My wife and I were a means to an end for them. We were not hired to serve; we were there to perform. Sing well, attract big numbers in attendance, ensure people are happy, design beautiful buildings for people to enjoy, build awesome sound systems, make sure the church van is always gassed up, and all for meager wages, under barely tolerable living conditions.
Believe me, we made it work. But at one point, my wife and I were on the verge of divorce; I was gritting my teeth at night, and my wife was waking up screaming from night terrors. I was working seven days a week, 80 hours a week, and weighed in at a paltry 110 pounds.
I had to find some grit if I was going to survive. I prayed and said, "God, I'm listening." I shut up and, for the next few minutes, he told me what to do. Here is the interesting thing about all of it. Those steps were to save my marriage; they had nothing to do with ministry.
That was my first lesson about GRITTY FAITH. Be gritty about what God is gritty about. There was nothing that was going to keep me from getting fired. But our marriage was moving in the right direction, and as soon as it was, so were we. By God's hand, a church took the risk of hiring me as a youth pastor, and we moved on.
But did our lives get any easier? No. We were living in a converted Airstream trailer under some high-voltage power lines from the local nuclear power plant. We were paid poorly, but by the grace of God, we managed to succeed. Again, we performed, but this time, we focused on disciplining teens and leading people to worship. The church had doubled in size, and it was bursting at the seams. The finances were never better, and we were the hottest thing in town.
One day, while praying in my office, God spoke to me and said, "In 30 days, you will be a senior pastor." I nearly passed out. There were a few minutes of me asking God to confirm what He said. All he did was repeat the same sentence. My wife and I started preparing to move; we were polishing our resumes and getting ready to move on - then it happened.
The pastor calls one Sunday morning. His marriage is in big trouble. He is taking a 30-day sabbatical. I'm the senior pastor now. I would rather have been punched in the gut by Mike Tyson than have had to walk up to the congregation that morning. But what other choice was there? Run? Where?
This is where I learned another lesson about GRITTY FAITH. Faithfulness is more important than success. The reason why God brought me to that church was for those 30 days. The church didn't split or fall apart during that time. But I could see the handwriting on the wall. His lack of faithfulness was going to destroy everything.
It wasn't long before I left, and I took a senior pastorate in South Florida, but it didn't get off to the right start. They hired me and then moved the church to another city without my knowledge. We went from a strip shopping center to a 10-story building—a permanent sanctuary to a temporary one. We couldn't grow the first year because a deacon in the church approached all the guests with their multi-level marketing business. The Treasurer was stealing money from the offerings. Multiple offenses, problems, and sins were presenting themselves regularly. After a year of struggling, the forces controlling the church left one by one, some quietly, some violently. But I learned my third lesson.
Listen and trust. I had to make so many tough decisions that the only thing I could do was pray, listen, and do. I had some whom I could call on for wisdom, but it was always a mixed bag of answers. But I learned to trust His voice amid a host of nightmares.
My next pastorate was at the invitation of the fellowship I am a part of. A church was in trouble, and they asked my wife and me to come and do our best. We showed up to the first meeting, and the people were so mad that they were throwing hymnals at the leadership, screaming at the top of their lungs, and slamming doors. I was handed the keys and told, "Good luck." On our first Sunday there, we had six people. That included my wife, me, and two friends I brought. I had to change the locks because a lot of stuff that the people had donated to the church disappeared, including the plants in the front yard. It was downhill from there for the next couple of years.
Here, I learned a lot of lessons about GRITTY FAITH. That's because I have been here 30 years now. (As of September 2025) But here is a big lesson I learned: #4. Talent only got me so far; wisdom is getting me the rest of the way. There is nothing wrong with talent. It is a reflection of the gifts and skills God has given you to serve others with. But if you rely on it to make you successful, you're in the wrong business.
Proverbs 4:7. "Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment." (NLT)
Some people make faith appear to be a performance. It isn't. Faith is the expression of our love and gratitude to God by following His commands and honoring Him with our actions. Some call that worship. More than a song, worship is GRITTY FAITH in action. When your faith stands up to the evil that would destroy you, your family/marriage, kids, grandkids, church, ministries, business, friendships, and anything else God has blessed you with is Gritty Faith.
So, you're looking for a life coach? Ministry Coach? Church Growth Coach? Executive Coach? Parenting Coach? (I didn't even get to talk about my daughter!) Then you're in the right place. I don't deal with theory - I deal with reality. Gritty Faith!
Oh! The last lesson I learned. When people see you going through tough times with Jesus, they will expect Jesus to do something great through you.
- Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner.