Some Quotes....

Here are some quotes from a current book I am reading.. "ReJesus: A wild Messiah for a Missional Church" by Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost. I think this is going to be a very helpful book in understanding the huge shifts that are taking place in our world and especially as they relate to the church and following Jesus.

Fannie Lou Hamer says, "It isn't enough just to claim to be a Christian. If you are not putting that claim to the test where the rubber meets the road, then it's high time to stop talking about being a Christian."

"It appears that a good church upbringing will do many marvelous things for you, but one of the unfortunate things it also does is convince you that Jesus is to be worshipped but not followed."

"When our imaginations are taken captive by Jesus, we will see God differently. Rather than seeing God as a loving but distant Father who calls us to himself and directs the affairs of history from on high, we will begin to see God as near, as integrally involved in our lives; in effect, as one who sends himself to us rather than waiting for us to come to him."

"To do what pleases God is not simply a matter of morality but of sharing in God's life and mission. It's another way of saying that Christ does what he sees the Father doing and speaks what he hears from the Father. He is devoted to the mission of God. As such he is the model of all discipleship. The life Jesus is offering involves being taken up into the mission of the Father."

"Through Jesus' eyes the church is the sent people of God. A church is not a building or an organization. It is an organic collection of believers, centered on Jesus and sent out into the world to serve others in his name."

"{Jesus} is anti religious, offering his followers direct access to the Father, forgiveness in his name, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, to be rejesused is to come to the recognition that the church as the New Testament defines it is not a religious institution, but rather a dynamic community of believers who participate int he way of Jesus and his work in the world."