Philip Taylor

“But a third way of living as a stranger in a foreign land is to live as an ambassador. An ambassador is still a stranger who still might miss home, but they’re not resentful, and they don’t feel trapped. Neither are they disengaged, because they know they’re living in a strange land on purpose. They’ve been sent there. They have a job to do. They try to understand the dominant cultural story in their new country, but they are completely secure in their own. They know they can expect all the help that they need from their home country. God’s call on Christians is to this third way.”
― Paul S. Williams, Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World

“We don’t have to fit in or form community because we will soon be leaving. As long as it doesn’t personally impact us, we are not concerned with understanding the cultural story or social, political, and economic life of our neighbors. Ultimately, this “just visiting” mentality has allowed Christians to avoid their calling. In the “just visiting” mentality, we focus on texts that tell us our citizenship is in heaven, that we are not “of this world,” but conveniently forget the requirements of that citizenship—namely, to be God’s representatives for and in the world.”
― Paul S. Williams, Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World

“Are we angry at the persecution and suffering we’ve experienced because of our faithful witness to Christ (in which case, we need to forgive)? Or are we resenting the loss of influence and status that the cultural Christianity of the recent past has afforded us (in which case, we need to repent)?”
― Paul S. Williams, Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World

“The incarnation of the Son of God is the most extraordinary example. God took on human nature to make his gracious attributes personally experienced by humankind (John 1:14–18).”
― John W. Hilber, Old Testament Cosmology and Divine Accommodation: A Relevance Theory Approach