Al Soto

“To take up one's cross is to proclaim, "My made-up self is dead to missing the mark of my original design. It has been crucified with Christ. I will not find real life apart from faith in the One who lives in me. The prideful, independent self of no use to God or to me, and I claim that it is no more,”
― Marilyn Vance, Self to Loser Self to Find

“Christian spiritual formation requires that we actively and continually receive from God. We need to be extraordinary consumers of grace; we need to receive his words of love and correction, his forgiveness, his affirmation, his life, and the list goes on. Without receiving from God, there is no true formation.”
― James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community

“When the parents act like children, we have a dysfunctional family. And when shepherds act like sheep, we have a dysfunctional church. There is no way to have accountable leadership if you do not know who to hold accountable and for what. The congregation is there to minister. The pastor is there to lead. The board is there to govern. The staff is there to manage. Don't mix up the positions if you are playing to win.”
― John Edmund Kaiser

“We have taught an entire generation to be so open-minded that their brains fell out.”
― James MacPherson