"One thing is clear to me: the temptation of power is greatest when intimacy is a threat. Much Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead. Many Christian empire-builders have been people unable to give and receive love." H. Nowen
Tag: Quotations
Quote of Note #211: Humble and Audacious Prayer
"And it is in prayer thus understood that we are invited to participate, alone with God and in community. This prayer is at once an act of humility and an act of triumph." K. Barth
Quote of Note #210: We Will Still Love You
"Do what you will, and we shall still love you. We cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws, because noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good." MLK, Jr.
Quote of Note #209: Gracious Persuasion vs. Hostile Conquest
"This change should always be the desired outcome, rather than the pride of having won a battle and leaving an opponent flattened and humiliated in the dust." J. Crotts
Quote of Note #206: The Cultural Conformity of the Church
"Called to combat social evils, [the church] has remained silent behind stained-glass windows." M.L. King, Jr.
Quote of Note #205: Surrendering to God in Prayer
"Surrender is entrusting to God things over which we have no control." D. Benner
Quote of Note #201/Prayer Note #68: Make Me Merciful & Kind
"Father, restore our souls in Jesus Christ, that we may be merciful and kind, even as Thou art."
Quote of Note #199: Coercive Force vs. Humble Love
"Loving humility is marvelously strong, the strongest of all things, and there is nothing else like it."
Quote of Note #198: Lying to Ourselves & Resentfulness
The man who lies to himself can be more easily offended than anyone. You know it is sometimes very pleasant to take offense, isn't it?
Quote of Note #197: The Church and the State
"The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state and never the tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority."
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 