Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit Quotes

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I sometimes wonder if God calls us into the church because it represents not the people of God at their best but us at our worst. I wonder if he calls us to become embedded in this wretched institution precisely because it is wretched. And calls us t...

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

For his own unfathomable reasons, God chooses to disguise himself when he comes to this planet, and there have been few disguises better than the church.

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

If the church is the body of Christ [who was disguised in servant form], why would we think the world would be able to pick us out of a crowd of other well-meaning organizations?

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

The wealthy, Jesus says, can only get into heaven through the eye of a needle; the same applies to churches wealthy in numbers and programs.

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

To live [in the church] at the beck and call of marketing logic is to live in slavery.

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

[denial] is an attempt to bring order to our lives.

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

We say we long for intimacy with God and others, and yet we structure our lives so that this becomes impossible. One might think we are avoiding intimacy, that maybe we really like our finely managed lives just the way they are.

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

The Christian life does not just evolve. It also requires specific decisions and public commitments to deepen our faith and obedience.

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

To love with expectations is, in the end, an oppressive, driven thing, and people know it when they receive it.

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom," says Paul. And we are most in line with the Spirit, most faithfully obedient, when instead of trying to manipulate people into faith, we simply live in that freedom and let the Spirit do the work of...

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

The Good News does not hinge on words like do or change but on the powerless, irrelevant, and frightening words like belief and faith.

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

God's love for us is uncoerced and so freely given that it does not demand a response. But so freely is it given that it creates freedom in the recipient, so that our response is not one of obligation or duty, nor the returning of a favor, but uncoer...

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

As is typical of this God [of Israel], he calls his people into freedom in the most unlikely place.

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

Only unconditional grace can transform a hardened heart into a grateful heart. Only a free gift can demolish any notion of quid pro quo. Only an utterly merciful act of love can fashion a new creation capable of love. As theologian Karl Barth puts it...

Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit