Clint Walker > Clint's Quotes

“This principle - that your spouse should be capable of becoming your best friend - is a game changer when you address the question of compatibility in a prospective spouse. If you think of marriage largely in terms of erotic love, then compatibility means sexual chemistry and appeal. If you think of marriage largely as a way to move into the kind of social status in life you desire, then compatibility means being part of the desired social class, and perhaps common tastes and aspirations for lifestyle. The problem with these factors is that they are not durable. Physical attractiveness will wane, no matter how hard you work to delay its departure. And socio-economic status unfortunately can change almost overnight. When people think they have found compatibility based on these things, they often make the painful discovery that they have built their relationship on unstable ground. A woman 'lets herself go' or a man loses his job, and the compatibility foundation falls apart.”
― Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God

“Irish rock star Bono has said, “Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.”
― Shane Claiborne, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

“What if I had not believed that I should see the goodness of the LORD : in the land of the living! O tarry and await the LORD’s pleasure; be strong, and he shall comfort your heart : wait patiently for the LORD.”
― Shane Claiborne, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

“Eighteenth-century Jesuit Jean-Pierre de Caussade wrote, “The great and firm foundation of the spiritual life is the offering of ourselves to God and being subject to his will in all things. We must completely forget ourselves, so that we regard ourselves as an object which has been sold and over which we no longer have any rights. We find all our joy in fulfilling God’s pleasure — his happiness, his glory and the fact that he is our great and only delight. Once we have this foundation, all we need to do is spend our lives rejoicing that God is God and being so wholly abandoned to his will that we are quite indifferent as to what we do and equally indifferent as to what use he makes of our activities.”
― Shane Claiborne, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

“Lord, remind us that it is not always agitated uprisings and nonstop activity which lead to justice, but that change often comes through the quietcommitment of a small group of people. Help us raise our small body of people to set about quietly becoming the change we want to see in the world. Amen.”
― Shane Claiborne, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

“Isaiah 40:21–31 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (vv. 28, 31)”
― Kathleen Long Bostrom, Daily Feast: Meditations from Feasting on the Word, Year B: Meditations from Feasting on the Word: Year B

“we are theological amnesiacs;”
― Kathleen Long Bostrom, Daily Feast: Meditations from Feasting on the Word, Year B: Meditations from Feasting on the Word: Year B

“Three things come to mind as we look at this text: (1) we are theological amnesiacs; (2) the psalmist reminds us that God really is in charge; and (3) only when we feel weak and helpless, whether young or old, are we vulnerable enough to experience the power and grace of a God who “raises us up on eagle’s wings.” So, this text is about us, about God and what God does with us when all we seem to be is down.”
― Kathleen Long Bostrom, Daily Feast: Meditations from Feasting on the Word, Year B: Meditations from Feasting on the Word: Year B

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” —Edith Wharton”
― Zig Ziglar, Zig Ziglar's Life Lifters

“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they've never failed to imitate them.”
― Zig Ziglar, Zig Ziglar's Life Lifters

“Second-century Bible scholar Origen of Alexandria wrote, “We do not arm ourselves against any nation; we do not learn the art of war; because, through Jesus Christ, we have become the children of peace.”
― Shane Claiborne, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

“Most people do not see things as they are; rather, they see things as they are. Richard Rohr”
― Ruth Haley Barton, Pursuing God's Will Together: A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups

“W. E. B. DuBois, a co-founder of the NAACP, wrote, “Only by a union of intelligence and sympathy across the color-line in this critical period of the Republic shall justice and right triumph.”
― Shane Claiborne, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

“Faith is more than a matter of heart alone. The unique position of Transfiguration Sunday and its beautiful theophanies declares that the mountain is never the end of the journey. God does not gather us together just for a divine fireworks display, God always has something to say, usually something to ask. BRIAN ERICKSON”
― Kathleen Long Bostrom, Daily Feast: Meditations from Feasting on the Word, Year B: Meditations from Feasting on the Word: Year B

“Training is essential for almost any significant endeavor in life—running a marathon, becoming a surgeon, learning how to play the piano.”
― John Ortberg, Growth: Training vs. Trying

“To follow Jesus means learning to arrange my life around those practices that will enable me to stay connected to him and live more and more like him. In short, this is just another way of defining a spiritual discipline. A spiritual discipline is any activity that can help me gain power to live life as Jesus taught and modeled it.”
― John Ortberg, Growth: Training vs. Trying

“A disciplined person is one who can do the right thing at the right time in the right way with the right spirit.”
― John Ortberg, Growth: Training vs. Trying

“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.” (Deut. 33:12)”
― Philip F Reinders, Seeking God's Face: Praying with the Bible Through the Year

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” (1 Thess. 5:23-24)”
― Philip F Reinders, Seeking God's Face: Praying with the Bible Through the Year

“We bind ourselves to each other in times of strength so that in moments of weakness we do not become unbound.”
― Ruth Haley Barton, Pursuing God's Will Together: A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups

“Therein lies the problem with most churches. Churches perceive they are a friendly church because the members are friendly to one another. But they don’t think about walking in the shoes of first-time guests. They don’t look at their facilities, their parking, their website, or their friendliness from a guest perspective.”
― Thom S. Rainer, Becoming a Welcoming Church

“I think the people were genuinely friendly,” Kathy added. “They had real smiles on their faces. They greeted us warmly in the parking lot and when we entered the building. And folks were really helpful getting our kids to their areas.” Kathy paused then added, “We really had an overall good experience. But, there was one part that just was not that good. It was the nine to ten minutes after we sat down in the worship center and before the services started. No one spoke to us. No one sat by us. No one even acknowledged us. It was really uncomfortable until the service began.”
― Thom S. Rainer, Becoming a Welcoming Church

“Even in incredible churches, very few members make the effort to greet and speak to someone already seated before the service begins. And, frankly, most church members don’t ever go sit with guests. Guests are most often overlooked in the few minutes right before the worship services. No one speaks to them or sits with them.”
― Thom S. Rainer, Becoming a Welcoming Church

“This chapter is about surprises, things that church members may not consider about guests. One of those surprises was a figurative cry from church members: “Where’s the information?” Many guests want to get more information about the church they are visiting. While they may have gotten some information on the website, their visit indicates an even greater interest. They are looking for information. Can they find it at your church? Many of them told us they could not. So here is a simple solution for churches of all sizes. Have a centrally located place where there is an abundance of information about the church. Call it a welcome center or guest center or information center—just have something. Make it simple, but attractive. Have information available about the church. Have Bibles to give away.”
― Thom S. Rainer, Becoming a Welcoming Church

“About one out of seven guests told us, surprisingly, they did not return because the people were too friendly. Some noted that issue in the context of the stand-and-greet time, while others said it was an issue at all points in the church. “I came away worn out from the visit to the church,” Justin told us. “The people were all over us. My wife and I and our two kids were one of very few young families there, and they seemed desperate to get us. We left asking ourselves, ‘Who are these people?’ We had seen some of them in town, and they sure weren’t friendly there. But they put on a good show when we visited.”
― Thom S. Rainer, Becoming a Welcoming Church

“Many guests really want to know, “What’s next?” Is your church ready to answer them?”
― Thom S. Rainer, Becoming a Welcoming Church

“Good church signage is a statement of your church’s hospitality. It means you are expecting guests; and it means you desire for guests to come to your church.”
― Thom S. Rainer, Becoming a Welcoming Church

“What led you to visit our church? The question began as an innocent conversation starter. I ask guests questions about themselves and their families. I do my best to get to know them, and to make the conversation about them. But, at some point, my curiosity gets the best of me. Out of the dozens of churches near them, what was the main factor that prompted them to try our church? The answer still surprises me. “We visited the church’s website.” We now hear that response from approximately seven out of ten first-time guests. Guests use Google to search for local churches, and they look at different church websites. They see the church sign driving by, and decided to look up the website. They hear a conversation about the church, and check it out by visiting the website.”
― Thom S. Rainer, Becoming a Welcoming Church

“So if you really expect to see younger families visit your church, you absolutely must demonstrate that your church is safe, secure, and sanitary. In fact, I just spoke with a Millennial who told me she was not taking her kids back to a particular church because the toys were so unsanitary. “It was a literal breeding ground for germs and diseases,” she told me. “I will never return there.”
― Thom S. Rainer, Becoming a Welcoming Church

“First, there are a lot of those children. The Millennial generation, those Americans born between 1980 and 2000, is the largest generation in America’s history. They are seventy-eight million strong. And though only about one out of four attend church with any degree of consistency, there are still almost twenty million or more who will show up at a church. And guess who is coming to church with the Millennials? Their kids. Some call them Gen Z, and others call them iGen. In Jean Twenge’s book, iGen, she describes this generation in this subtitle: “Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.” Whew. While the author offers some fascinating insights to the kids of this generation, one thing about them is totally clear: Their parents want them safe and protected wherever they are, including church.”
― Thom S. Rainer, Becoming a Welcoming Church