EVANGELICAL INDIVIDUALISM

'I noted earlier the evangelical declaration that "it is well with my soul," and insisted that this is an important and profoundly expression of Christian assurance. But it is not enough. It is a central confession, but it is a central confession; it is not a full expression of Christian assurance. The God who declares here and now that it is "well" with my soul is the same creating Lord who once looked at the whole world he had made and proclaimed, "This is good." This God wants once again to say that things are "well" with his entire creation - and he will someday do so when he announces: "Behold, I make all things new...It is done! I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end'" (Rev.21:5-6). "It is well with my soul" is only a first step, an initial fruit of God's redeeming activity. We must share in God's restless yearning for the renewal of the cosmos.' 

Richard J Mouw, When the Kings Come Marching In, p.110. 

HEAVEN

'...even when a belief in an afterlife is functioning correctly for Christians, it contains an element of "pie in the sky." There is no getting around this fact, and it should not be embarrassing for a Christian to admit it. After all, if the pie is actually in the sky, then a "pie in the sky" belief is very appropriate.' 

Richard J Mouw, When the Kings Come Marching In: Isaiah and the New Jerusalem, p.44. 

SINGLENESS

'I have got plenty of people to do something with, but nobody to do nothing with.' 

Felicity Jones in The Week (8th November 2014), p.25.

WISDOM

'Wisdom is the spiritual, mental, and emotional ability to relate rightly to God, to others, and to our culture.' 

David Kinnaman, You Lost Me, p.210. 

EXCLUSION VS.TOLERANCE

'I want to suggest that when we accept the terms of the debate - exclusion vs. tolerance - we lose. When we chose exclusion, the church circles the wagons and becomes a fortresslike, members-only organization overcome by a siege mentality. We bar the door to everyone who looks scary or asks questions that make us uncomfortable. 

When we choose tolerance of every person and ideology, on the other hand, we shrink from sharing the very, very good news of Good's love, demonstrated like never before or since in Christ, and from confronting sin and suffering that is sin's results. Exclusion lacks love; the wrong kind of tolerance lacks courage. 

At the heart of the Christian story, however, is the Triune God's rejection of both exclusion and tolerance. The Creator was not content to exclude those who had rejected him, but neither was he prepared to tolerate our hatefulness and sin. So what did he do? He became one of us, one of the "other," identifying with us to embrace us in solidarity, empathy, and selfless agape love - all the way to the cross.'

David Kinnaman, You Lost Me, p.180. 

THE CHURCH IN EXILE

'The experience that faced the Jewish exiles mirrors the church's experience today. In fact, the biblical metaphor that best suits our current times and faith situation is that of exile. Just like the Jewish exiles, the church today is grieving its loss and is struggling with humiliation.' 

Michael Frost in David Kinnaman, You Lost Me, p.76. 

DISCIPLESHIP

'...disciples cannot be mass produced. Disciples are handmade, one relationship at a time.'
David Kinnaman, You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church....And Rethinking Faith, p.13.

DISCIPLING CHILDREN TODAY

'The remarkable power of technology to shape worldview along with the enormous amount of time young people spend with its many forms make the small amount of time they spend in Christian nurture seem almost negligible by comparison. The best preaching, worship, and education programs of a church simply cannot compete with television, movies, the internet, cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, and the ever-expanding list of technologies that shape our vision of the world. If families are not taught to make radical, costly, and time-consuming commitments to nurturing their children, the future of the church as a missional community in the West will be bleak.' 

Michael Goheen in Jason B Hood, Imitating God ion Christ, p.215. 

PREACHING CHRIST

'If the Bible is about Christ, some preachers and interpreters conclude that any direction application of Scripture to the life of the believer introduces works and threatens to collapse into moralism. Others preachers insist that the Bible be made practical, so that the stories of David are read not as foreshadowings of Christ but as stories that teach us courage, faith, and tricks for dealing with oppressive fathers-in-law and kings. The first has the head, the second has the body. Neither has the whole Christ.' 

Peter Leithart in Jason B Hood, Imitating God in Christ, p.180.