Commonplace

A Church Where Anyone Can Grow

I come back to this quote from Ray Ortlund often.

It’s simple and clear.

This is what I long for the church to be.

I share it here in it’s entirety so I don’t lose it, so I can keep coming back to it often.

Gospel + Safety + Time = a church where anyone can grow

Gospel + safety + time. It’s what everyone needs. A lot of gospel + a lot of safety + a lot of time.
Gospel: good news for bad people through the finished work of Christ on the cross and the endless power of the Holy Spirit. Multiple exposures. Constant immersion. Wave upon wave of grace and truth, according to the Bible.
Safety: a non-accusing environment. No embarrassing anyone. No manipulation. No oppression. No condescension. But respect and sympathy and understanding, where sinners can confess and unburden their souls. A church environment where no one seeking the Lord has anything to fear.
Time: no pressure. Not even self-imposed pressure. No deadlines on growth. Urgency, but not hurry, because no one changes quickly. A lot of space for complicated people to rethink their lives at a deep level. God is patient.
This is what our churches must be: gentle environments of gospel + safety + time. It’s where we’re finally free to grow.

(source)

Simply write.

Write simply.
As few words as you need, but no fewer.
But simply write.

–Via Seth Godin

The plan, not so much

The process of planning is very valuable, for forcing you to think hard about what you are doing, but the actual plan that results from it is probably useless.

–Marc Andreessen

Ten Looks

“For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.”

–Robert Murray McCheyne

Only God

“David married Bathsheba, and Solomon was born. When David confessed his sin of numbering the people, he built an altar on a piece of property he had bought, and on that piece of property, Solomon built the temple. Only God can take a man’s two greatest sins and build a temple out of it.”

–Warren W. Wiersbe, from Real Peace: Freedom and Conscience in the Christian Life.

Sit Quietly

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

–Blaise Pascal

Easily Edified

A mature Christian is easily edified.

Harold Best, via: An Aspirant to Easy Edification

Five Hour Rule

Success, In One Hour A Day (x5)

The rule itself is pretty simple: Carve out one hour from each weekday (one hour + five weekdays = five hours) to devote to deliberate practice and learning. Insert any bit of reading, studying, or practicing here that is applicable to the greater goal of advancing in your field. That’s it. Ta-da. Watch out, Mr. Buffett.
The reason why the five-hour rule is so effective in priming the world’s most accomplished people for continued success comes down to two things. First, working harder and longer is not the same as working smarter. Not even close. Smart working includes taking a little time away to learn instead of do. This will help you focus on long-term self-improvement, rather than your current workload. Do you really think Bill Gates reading 50 books a year is directly tied to his daily projects?

—The 5-Hour Rule Is Used By The World’s Most Successful People

Love is not

Life is fragile, love is not.

-A Perfect Day (A Christmas movie)

No need to justify your sorrow before God

In your illness, in your pain, in your suffering, don’t immediately compare yourself to others, and don’t feel the need to justify your sorrow before God. Don’t wallow silently and stoically. Turn first to your Father, cry out to him, and receive his comfort.

From the excellent article by Tim Challies, But Others Have It Worse.

We are a soul

We don’t have a soul, we are a soul.

–Dr. Derek Thomas

Custodians of Memory

“Writers are the custodians of memory, and that’s what you must become if you want to leave some kind of record of your life…”

–William Zinsser