CHURCH UNITY

'Unfortunately most Evangelical ministers only come in contact with non-Evangelical thinking conditions of reactive encounter. Much of their assessment of the gifts of non-Evangelicals comes out of situations in which each party is so acutely aware of the peculiarities of the other's enculturation that its own response is polarized and exagerated. If one addresses a congregation of bulls while wearing a red suit, one is likely to conclude that dialog is useless. Leaders who manage to project an image which has been purified from enculturation, who are courteous, charitable and free from intellectual self-righteousness, are likely to see a different side of the opposition. Ultimately both sides must come to recognize that they are dealing, not always with raging wolves, but often only with confused and angry sheep.'

Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, p.326.  

CHURCH UNITY

'...the participants in dialog must accept their responsibility to love, respect and empathize with one another, and not draw back from this as if it were a dangerous heresy. All parties must be ready, at least provisionally, to learn something from Christ through one another and to recognize something of Christ in one another. Evangelicals must admit that many of the values present in the original evangelical movement are still preserved in non-Evangelical sectors of the church, sometimes more fully expressed there than among themselves. We must realize that our opponents are not always rejecting orthodoxy but only our handling of it. We must seek to help others to reach truth rather than passing sentence on those with imperfectly sanctified minds. We must grow to understand the historical forces which have distorted the faith of others and learn enough of the semantic and cultural roadblocks in their minds that we can speak in a tongue which will reach them. All must remember that there is plenty of historical evidence for the worst stereotypes the parties have of one another - and then forget the stereotypes and deal with the present reality.'

Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, p.323.

EVANGELICAL UNITY

'...the separatist and the inclusivist should respect one another, keeping in mind that great buildings are sometimes raised on rejected cornerstones.

Both of these ecclesiological postures require constant attention and criticism, of course. They are makeshift correctives for the opposing errors of schism and indiscipline which afflict the church in its imperfect historical existence. Each is slightly off balance, and needs repeated tuning so that it can avoid collapsing into parochial sectarianism or indiscriminate spiritual chaos.

The separatist needs to be reminded to maintain realistic contact with inclusivist denominations and federations and seek federal (and where possible, organic) union with other Evangelical bodies. The fact that separatists often neglect these unitive procedures and even indulge in further separations is presumptive evidence that the original separation from the parent body was not fully principled but motivated by parochialism, hypercritical perfectionism or the source which Paul indicates as the root cause of schism, an exagerrated view of one's tradition, party or personal leadership which puts any one or all of these ahead of the unity of the body of Christ.

The inclusivist needs to be warned to exercise discipline where this is necessary for the health of the church and be advised to strive for sharp doctrinal clarity in the midst of twilight surroundings. Some inclusivists have remained in their denominations mainly because they have always been a little fuzzy in their doctrinal awareness. They can easily fall into a posture of downplaying doctrines altogether as a divisive factor and sustituting experience.'

Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, p.312.   

THE CHURCH

'Dividing the church in the interest of renewing it is no more feasible than severing the parts of a body to improve its health. Even if the severed parts survive, they suffer loss, and they will never function properly until they are reunited in fellowship. Leaders who secede from imperfect denominations and denominations which eject imperfect leadership simply lose the values of the group they reject while they insure the unrestrained growth of its defects in a body of future converts.'

Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, p.306.

HUMANKIND

'Is it not as clear as day that man's condition is dual? The point is that if man had never been corrupted, he would, in his innocence, confidently enjoy both truth and felicity, and, if man had never been anything but corrupt, he would have no idea either of truth or bliss. But unhappy as we are...we have an idea of happiness but cannot attain it.'  

Blaise Pascal in Alan Jacobs, Original Sin, p.117.

FAITH

'Real true faith is man's weakness leaning on God's strength.'

DL Moody in Sally Lloyd-Jones, Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing, p.221.

FAITH

'When you were little, did someone big ever carry you? Did you rest your head on his shoulder, lean your whole weight on him?

Faith is leaning your whole weight on God. Resting your head on his shoulder.

Faith means resting - relying - not on who we are, or what we can do, or how we feel, or what we know.

Faith is resting in who God is and what he has done.

And he has done EVERYTHING.

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us." (1 John 4:16).'

Sally Lloyd-Jones, Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing, p.77.

FEARLESSNESS

'Fearlessness in those without power is maddening to those who have it.'

Tobias Wolff, This Boy's Life, p.21.

CONVERSATION

'The techniques of opening conversation are universal. I knew long ago and rediscovered that the best way to attract attention, help, and conversation is to be lost. A man who seeing his mother starving to death on a path kicks her in the stomach to clear the way, will cheerfully devote several hours of his time giving wrong directions to a total stranger who claims to be lost.'

John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley, p.9.

MARRIAGE

'...a journey is like a marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.'

John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America, p.4.