Patrick Watters

“the new creation thrives in an environment of freedom and love and depends on transformation coming from within, not conformity imposed from without. But that takes time and rare is the man, woman, or institution that can long refuse the urge to give people rules to follow instead of help to discover a transformative relationship with a loving Father. The demands of religion and the needs of an institution for conformity are perfectly aligned so as to make the path of human effort virtually irresistible. It can yield quick results externally, while it saps the vitality of the Gospel.”
― Wayne Jacobsen, Finding Church: What If There Really Is Something More

“What if some of the most successful people in the world got that way because their success was fueled by a misappropriated need for love? What if the people we consider to be great are actually the most broken? And what if the whole time they’re seeking applause they are missing out on true intimacy because they’ve never learned how to receive it?”
― Donald Miller, Scary Close: Dropping the Act and Acquiring a Taste for True Intimacy

“The genius of the Gospel was that it included the problem inside the solution. The falling became the standing. The stumbling became the finding. The dying became the rising. The raft became the shore. The small self cannot see this very easily, because it doubts itself too much, is still too fragile, and is caught up in the tragedy of it all. It has not lived long enough to see the big patterns. No wonder so many of our young commit suicide. This is exactly why we need elders and those who can mirror life truthfully and foundationally for the young. Intimate I-Thou relationships are the greatest mirrors of all, so we dare not avoid them, but for the young they have perhaps not yet taken place at any depth, so young people are always very fragile.”
― Richard Rohr, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

“Of course, there are many different topics and teachings that go into the full picture of making mature disciples. The process ultimately takes a lifetime.”
― Caesar Kalinowski, Small Is Big, Slow Is Fast: Living and Leading Your Family and Community on God's Mission