Category Archives: Quotations

The un-celebrity church

Posted on July 9, 2009 by PaulVK

The phone rang. “Did you watch it?” “Watch what?” ( I suspected what ‘it’ was but I didn’t really want to talk about “it” anyway.) “The funeral” After which she recounted to me a lot of the post-death spiritual paraphernalia … Continue reading →

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Newbigin and Bailey on Jesus, Justice and Reconciliation

Posted on July 8, 2009 by PaulVK

In his book Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes Kenneth Bailey works through the parable of the barn builder (Luke 12). He notes that right from the beginning Jesus balks at the appeal for justice made by the younger brother against … Continue reading →

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Resisting the transfer of bitterness

Posted on July 8, 2009 by PaulVK

I’ve noticed that third-personification of one’s grievances is a critical feature of the anatomy of bitterness. When a person has chosen to take residence in near perpetual anger and bitterness the task of seeking validation and vindication for this bitterness … Continue reading →

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Eugene Peterson's "ecclesiastical pornography"

Posted on June 30, 2009 by PaulVK

Eugene Peterson is God’s prophet calling out to American clergy. His book “Under the Unpredictable Plant” is one of his clearest oracles on the subject. I have shopped his term “ecclesiastical pornography” more than once. Here’s the quote: “Parish glamorization … Continue reading →

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Are you asking for a sign? Praying for clarity?

Posted on June 19, 2009 by PaulVK

When the brilliant ethicist John Kavanaugh went to work for three months at “the house of the dying” in Calcutta, he was seeking a clear answer as to how best to spend the rest of his life. On the first … Continue reading →

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Quotes from Schaap’s 150th CRC Anniversary Piece

Posted on June 19, 2009 by PaulVK

James Calvin Schaap is the bard of CRC (Christian Reformed Church) church history. He teaches at Dordt College. He wrote a piece for the CRC’s 150th anniversary that I thought was prophetic. Here are some quote from it. http://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1413&context=pro_rege Today … Continue reading →

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How the American Experience enabled the development of World Christianity

Posted on June 17, 2009 by PaulVK

Mark Noll’s recent book “The New Shape of World Christianity” is a “must read” for anyone doing North American urban missiology where increasingly the urban church context is impacted by what is happening throughout the world. The thesis of this … Continue reading →

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Diff btwn Solid and Incredible

Posted on June 15, 2009 by PaulVK

Great Tim Keller quote from the CT article: It should give some comfort to church planters plagued by church-growth-ecclesiastical-porn: “The difference between a solid church and a terrible church is pretty much up to you,” he tells one group. “The … Continue reading →

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Posted on June 11, 2009 by PaulVK

From Mark Noll’s book The New Shape of World Christianity pg. 88. The book explores the relationship between the development of American Christianity in the 19th century and the current development of World Christianity. Even more germane to the concerns … Continue reading →

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Most things in Christianity can't be counted

Posted on June 11, 2009 by PaulVK

“Most of the things that count about Christianity cannot be counted, like the warmth or coolness of prayer, the resonance or hollowness of scriptural words, the songs or silences of the saints in heaven, the presences or absences in the … Continue reading →

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