Hobby Lobby’s David Green urges Christians to rethink success, offers wisdom on leaving a lasting legacy

In a culture that often measures success by personal achievement, wealth and recognition, David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby, contrasts this with the assurance that a life that matters is defined not by what someone accumulates but by what they set in motion for generations to come.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Green, whose privately held arts-and-crafts company employs 50,000 people at 1,000 stores in 48 states and grosses nearly $8 billion a year, traced his own understanding of legacy back to his upbringing in a pastor’s home.

“I came from a pastor’s home. My mother and dad were great pastors — mainly of very small churches — and I think I learned a lot from them,” the 84-year-old CEO said. “Not as much as I should have when I was younger, but they had a big influence on my life.”

That influence, he said, shaped both his faith and the way he approaches business, family and leadership, even as success came later than he expected.

“The Bible talks about our life being nothing but a vapor,” Green said. “That helps us decide what we’re going to do with our lives. We’re here for a short time — so what are we going to do with it?”

Green’s new book, The Legacy Life, written alongside legacy strategist Bill High, urges readers to reject a short-term view of success in favor of a biblical, generational mindset. Drawing from his own experience, Green offers practical guidance for developing a legacy perspective, articulating personal mission and values and passing down stories that matter.

High, who has spent decades advising families on multigenerational planning as CEO of Legacy Stone, told CP that one of the most common misconceptions he encounters is the belief that legacy is primarily financial.

“People think legacy is an estate plan,” High said. “They think that’s the ultimate aim, and it’s not. That’s just a document.”

“I told the Green family early on, ‘You actually have a good estate plan, but you don’t necessarily have the best legacy plan,’” he said. “If you’re going to succeed generationally, you need a clear vision, mission and values that one generation can articulate to the next.”

According to High, families that succeed across generations are those that think intentionally about the long view, sometimes as far as a century ahead.

“If you start with that basic foundation and clearly define where you’re going over the next 100 years, you’ve got a shot,” he said.

For Green, grounding that vision in Scripture has been essential; Hobby Lobby funded the Museum of the Bible as part of that commitment. He said one of the biblical ideas that consistently shaped his thinking is the reminder that life is fleeting.

That written framework, Green said, has served as an anchor as the family looks toward future generations. One of the most significant shifts the father, grandfather and great-grandfather described was rejecting what he called the “work hard, then retire” mindset, a pattern deeply ingrained in Western culture.

“I think what helped us shift was our parents,” Green said. “We knew what was important to them. My mother loved the Lord, had children who served the Lord, and had a strong marriage. On her dying bed, she said, ‘Do you see them? Do you see them?’ And she was seeing angels.”

That moment, he said, clarified what truly lasts.

“Just acquiring a lot of stuff is not what makes someone happy,” Green said. “God’s been very good to us in business, but we want to do it for a reason bigger than this vapor life.”

High said families that successfully pass down faith and values tend to share one practical habit: regular family meetings.

“In Scripture, there are seven major celebrations, Passover being one of them, but there’s one that happens every week: Sabbath,” High said. “It’s about pulling back from work, remembering, resting and reflecting on the One who created you.”

Families that thrive, he said, build that rhythm into their lives.

“They have a regular family meeting, a regular agenda, and they talk through the business of the family,” High said. “Who are we? What is God doing? Where is He taking us?”

Green said his family had already practiced that principle for years through monthly family giving meetings, a tradition he credits with shaping their shared values.

“We’ve done that for about 25 years,” Green said. “Giving is a great way to transmit family values.”

Despite the demands of leading a large company, Green said maintaining balance between work and family has always been a priority and one that influenced major decisions at Hobby Lobby.

Green said he and his wife, Barbara, made intentional choices to spend time together as a family, including traveling across 44 states with their children in a small car and a pop-up tent. That philosophy, he said, carries over into how the company operates.

“When I was raising my kids, I actually worked less than I do now. We just loved being together,” he said, adding that he tells future managers, “The most important thing is your marriage and your family."

“That’s one of the reasons we close on Sunday. It’s important for our people to have family life.”

He also credited strong leadership within the company, including that of his son, Steve, who became president of the company in 2004, for allowing him to step back.

“Having great people in various departments takes a lot of pressure off,” Green said. “God’s been good to give us a lot of great people.”

For young entrepreneurs hoping to honor God while building successful businesses, Green offered the reminder that “everything belongs to God,” adding: “We see ourselves as stewards.”

“We say God owns it, but then we treat it like we own it,” Green said. “If He owns everything, then we don’t own it. We’re stewards.”

That lesson was reinforced during one of the most difficult seasons of his career, the oil bust of the mid-1980s, a crisis that forced him into prayer and dependence.

“Our bank threatened to foreclose on Hobby Lobby,” Green said. “It was the first year we ever had a loss. I literally crawled under my desk and cried out to God,” Green said. “I realized we can’t do anything without Him.”

High emphasized that families do not need wealth or public influence to build a meaningful legacy. He encourages families to start small, even before children arrive, by defining values and preserving stories.

“Wealth is not just financial capital,” High said. “It’s spiritual, emotional and social. Write down your top 10 stories,” High said. “Moments of faith, moments of despair, failures, those stories carry values.”

Drawing from the biblical tradition of Passover, High said storytelling is how faith and identity are passed down.

“The youngest always asks, ‘Why is this night different?’” he said. “Storytelling captures emotion and preserves values.”

As for Green, his ultimate vision remains centered on faith rather than fortune.

“My greatest aspiration isn’t financial,” he said. “It’s using what we have to tell as many people as possible about Jesus.”

He cited the company’s involvement with global ministries and efforts to share the Gospel with children worldwide.

“We don’t have this set up so we can sell it and sit on the beach,” Green said. “It’s His, and we just want to be good stewards as long as we can.”

The Oklahoma City native said seeing his children and grandchildren continue in faith gives him confidence that the work will endure.

“We see Gen 3 and Gen 4 serving the Lord,” he said. “That’s what excites me. Legacy is setting something in motion that outlives you.”

The Legacy Life is now available.