a new kind of christian
first off, 24 started last nite and it was FREAKING AMAZING. 2 whole hours of nonstop intensity and there's 2 more hours tonite!! i can't take it.
now that we got that outta the way... i recently started and finished a book by brian mclaren - a new kind of christian - and liked it a whole lot. it makes you think about things differently and i like that. here are some quotes from it:
about reading the bible:
"what would happen if we approached the text less aggressively but even more energetically and passionately...honestly listened to the story and put ourselves under its spell, so to speak, not using it to get all of our questions about God answered but instead trusting God to use it to pose questions to us about us." [57]
about our witness to others:
"if we Christians would take all the energy we put into proving we're right and others are wrong and invested that energy in pursuing and doing good, somehow I think that more people would believe we are right" [61]
"instead of conquest...where we hope to 'win' them to Christ...i think of it like a dance. nobody wins and nobody loses...i hear the music of the gospel, my friend doesnt so i try to help him hear it and move with it. and like a dance i have to ask if the other person wants to participate. there's a term for pulling someone who doesnt want to dance into a dance: assault" [61]
about being 'saved' and 'saving others:'
"our escape from the narrowing of the gospel to an individualistic story only about saving souls to a missional, communal, and global story about saving the world" [116]
"it's like a line in the sand...its as if we have taken what is for Jesus a starting line and turned it into a finish line" [130]
"the essence of our identity as people of God isnt that we're an elite, saved for privilege, but ordinary people saved for service, for responsibility" [131]
"salvation is what we experience and spread in the process of joining God in his grand mission"
"stop counting conversions and start counting conversations" [109]
about the church:
"church doesn't exist for the benefit of the members. it exists to equip its members for the benefit of the world" [155]
now that we got that outta the way... i recently started and finished a book by brian mclaren - a new kind of christian - and liked it a whole lot. it makes you think about things differently and i like that. here are some quotes from it:
about reading the bible:
"what would happen if we approached the text less aggressively but even more energetically and passionately...honestly listened to the story and put ourselves under its spell, so to speak, not using it to get all of our questions about God answered but instead trusting God to use it to pose questions to us about us." [57]
about our witness to others:
"if we Christians would take all the energy we put into proving we're right and others are wrong and invested that energy in pursuing and doing good, somehow I think that more people would believe we are right" [61]
"instead of conquest...where we hope to 'win' them to Christ...i think of it like a dance. nobody wins and nobody loses...i hear the music of the gospel, my friend doesnt so i try to help him hear it and move with it. and like a dance i have to ask if the other person wants to participate. there's a term for pulling someone who doesnt want to dance into a dance: assault" [61]
about being 'saved' and 'saving others:'
"our escape from the narrowing of the gospel to an individualistic story only about saving souls to a missional, communal, and global story about saving the world" [116]
"it's like a line in the sand...its as if we have taken what is for Jesus a starting line and turned it into a finish line" [130]
"the essence of our identity as people of God isnt that we're an elite, saved for privilege, but ordinary people saved for service, for responsibility" [131]
"salvation is what we experience and spread in the process of joining God in his grand mission"
"stop counting conversions and start counting conversations" [109]
about the church:
"church doesn't exist for the benefit of the members. it exists to equip its members for the benefit of the world" [155]
posted by Kate at 1:02 PM
1 Comments:
Thanks for the helpful excerpts.
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