Deep and Wide

Some beliefs have come to appear so obvious that they are off limits for debate.

We are not mistakers in need of correction. We are sinners in need of a Savior.

I want skeptics to doubt their disbelief. I want believers to believe deeper. I want people who don’t own a Bible to leave committed to finding one. I want cultural Christians to dust theirs off and start reading them again.

If we, or the people in our churches, ever get to the place where we are willing to make what we have available to God, amazing things will happen. And after the dust settles, everybody’s faith will be bigger. Our confidence will increase. We will experience Emmanuel — God with us.

Technically it is incorrect to say, “The Bible says …” or “The Bible teaches….” The Bible doesn’t really say or teach anything.

The men and women who made up the nucleus of the church weren’t simply believers in an abstract philosophy or even faithful followers of a great leader; they were eyewitnesses of an event.

You don’t have the luxury of babysitting the previous generation’s approach to doing church. There’s no time for that. Besides, you’ve only got one life to give to invest in this glorious cause. So invest it well. Make the necessary adjustments to your approach.

Jesus was not content to simply say what was true. Being right was not enough. Being biblical was not enough. Being exegetically correct was not enough. That was not his purpose in coming. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. And he communicated to that end.

Being organized is not enough. You must appear to be organized.