John S. Dickerson > Quotes

“Christ’s incarnation was less a reaction or response than it was a proactive demonstration of love:”
― John S. Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church...and How to Prepare

“With each younger generation, evangelicals account for less of their generation.”
― John S. Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church...and How to Prepare

“Billy Graham’s crusades likely marked the peak of mass evangelism.”
― John S. Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church...and How to Prepare

“Growing up on the Atlantic Coast, I spent long hours working on intricate sand castles; whole cities would appear beneath my hands. One year, for several days in a row, I was accosted by bullies who smashed my creations. Finally I tried an experiment: I placed cinder blocks, rocks, and chunks of concrete in the base of my castles. Then I built the sand kingdoms on top of the rocks. When the local toughs appeared (and I disappeared), their bare feet suddenly met their match. Many people see the church in grave peril from a variety of dangers: secularism, politics, heresies, or plain old sin. They forget that the church is built upon a Rock, over which the gates of hell itself shall not prevail.[9]”
― John S. Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church...and How to Prepare

“We are here to serve God’s purposes. When we truly believe this, it resets the priorities in our lives.”
― John S. Dickerson, Hope of Nations: Standing Strong in a Post-Truth, Post-Christian World

“evangelicals overestimate our size and influence as a movement.”
― John S. Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church...and How to Prepare

“The American church has traded shepherding—the highest call of a pastor—for management. In the worst cases, we have traded it for showmanship and social engineering.”
― John S. Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church...and How to Prepare

“It will cost something to walk slow in the parade of the ages, while excited men of time rush about confusing motion with progress. But it will pay in the long run, and the true Christian is not much interested in anything short of”
― John S. Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church...and How to Prepare

“Not just convincing converts, but making disciples? Not just filling the seats in auditoriums, but training the souls of transformed individuals? Are we valuing the quality of our discipleship more than the quantity of our attendance? Jesus’ words and life reveal that evangel-followers can know whether they are succeeding or failing by this: whether new growing disciples are being made or not.”
― John S. Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church...and How to Prepare

“Christians seek a spiritual globalization, but culturally we do well to operate with an awareness of what others believe. While we will always pursue peaceful coexistence, we will not fall under the blind assertion that all cultures seek peaceful coexistence.”
― John S. Dickerson, Hope of Nations: Standing Strong in a Post-Truth, Post-Christian World