Quotes of the week May 9, 2008
Here are a few quotes that influenced me this past week:
“You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” Anne Lamott
“In some sense the most benevolent, generous person in the world seeks his own happiness in doing good to others, because he places his happiness in their good.“Jonathan Edwards
“One of the most important discoveries I have ever made is this truth: God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in him. This is the motor that drives my ministry as a pastor. It affects everything I do.” John Piper
“The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.” Robert Bloch
“For me, the beginning of sharing my faith with people began by throwing out Christianity and embracing Christian spirituality, a nonpolitical mysterious system that can be experienced but not explained. Christianity, unlike Christian spirituality, was not a term that excited me. I couldn’t share something I wasn’t experiencing. And I wasn’t experiencing Christianity.” Donald Miller
Last but not least….
“Mom, listen! They have Jesus on KLOVE! (while listening to a Chris Tomlin interview. His mom tells him it’s not Jesus, but Chris Tomlin). But Mom, that’s how Jesus sounds when He talks to me.” Wyatt, my nephew
Currently Reading March 24, 2008
- Adventures in Missing the Point: Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo
- They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Dan Kimball
- Breaking the Missional Code: Ed Stetzer and David Putman
All three books are very, very good and deal with a similar topic.
Adventures in Missing the Point attempts to answer the questions: What if there is more to our faith than just getting our souls into heaven? What if there is a power in the gospel thats been kept under lock and key because of our culture-controlled church? If we placed our beliefs and their origins under the microscope, what would we see?
They Like Jesus but Not the Church deals with the very touchy issue of the “emerging generation’s” view of the church and churchgoers. Kimball has the premise that people are generally open to talking about Jesus, but want nothing to do with the church. They see Pastors as “creepy” and feel that the church is full of hypocrites. I would almost agree with them.
We are reading Breaking the Missional Code as a church staff and although it’s taken about a year to get through, I think that Ed Stetzer has given a great prescription for the church. Stetzer and Putman address the growing gap in the church in the 18-45 year old bracket. They also discuss why the younger generations have become disenfranchised with the church and denominations.
We’re finally near the end of BTMC and we’re reading about church planting, which is of great interest to me.
