Nero did not throw Christians to the lions because they confessed that ‘Jesus is Lord of my heart.’ It was rather because they confessed that ‘Jesus is Lord of all,’ meaning that Jesus was Lord even over the realm Caesar claimed as his domain of absolute authority.
–Michael Bird
Seems the marketing strategy of the church these days is: “You can have the life you’ve always wanted.”
But who would want a life that looks like a cross?
–Rodney Reeves, Spirituality According to Paul (33)
This Spoken Word video by Odd Thomas is a great meditation for Christmas Eve. At the end is a portion of a sermon from the early church father, Augustine. I’ve included it here as well:
Neither revolution nor reformation can ultimately change a society, rather you must tell a new powerful tale, one so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes the preferred story, one so inclusive that it gathers all the bits of our past and our present into a coherent whole, one that even shines some light into the future so that we can take the next step… If you want to change a society, then you have to tell an alternative story.
-Ivan Illich, Austrian philosopher
Each generation has to wrestle afresh with the question of Jesus… we should discover more and more of who Jesus was and is, precisely in order to be equipped to engage with the world that he came to save. And this is a task for the whole church.
-N.T. Wright (The Challenge of Jesus, p. 31)
The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.
-Jim Collins, author of Good to Great
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
he was buried,
he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
and he appeared to Peter, then to the twelve.1 Corinthians 15:3-5
Intelligent silence is
the mother of prayer,
freedom from bondage,
custodian of zeal,
a guard on our thoughts...
a companion of stillness,
the opponent of dogmatism,
a growth of knowledge,
a hand to shape contemplation,
hidden progress,
the secret journey upward.
-John Climacus
Spirituality is not a formula; it is not a test. It is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency; it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection; it is about connection. The way of spirituality begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. -Mike Yaconelli
