Now--here is my secret: I tell it to you with an openness of heart that I doubt I shall ever achieve again so I pray that you are in a quiet room as you hear these words. My secret is that I need God--that I am sick and can no longer make it alone. I need God to help...
A strong inward focus in many churches creates a security blanket from a frightening world. Seems many prefer security over being salt, light, and leaven in the world. I think this reality grieves the heart of God and warms the hearts of many members of secure churches.
It's interesting to watch what happens when a child walks into a room. Does your face light up? When my children used to walk in the room when they were little, I looked at them to see if they had buckled their trousers or if their hair was combed or if their socks...
It is a big risk to love deeply, yet not to love is not to live.We need to love not just for the good stuff, but simply love for no good reason! So: Live freely. Sing your heart out. Cry until all your tears are spent. Laugh till you can't even catch your breath....
Missiologist Lamin Sanneh says that humility is at the heart of Christian mission because this faith--unlike "spirituality"--must be received from another. No one is born into this faith. Nobody stumbles upon it after walking in the woods or rummaging around in one's...
Henceforth, when we feel the hammers of life beating on our heads or on our hearts, we can know--we must know--that he is here with us, taking our blows. Every tear we shed becomes his tear. He may not yet wipe them away, but he makes them his. Would we rather have...
If we could look into each others hearts, and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and...
To call for two styles and to find impetus for the wintry sort of search demands boldness. It receives so little attention that anyone who defends it may well express the old reformers' anxiety: Am I alone right, and is the whole church wrong? Why in our era does the...
The heart of love is treating all persons equally, regardless of their proximity to us in life. When we care about other people’s children and not just our own, other people’s life chances, and not just our own people, then we have moved in the direction of the love...