Ryan Clegg

“Many skills make for an effective minister, but there is one without which everything else we do is useless: make disciples. Apart from that, all the money we raise, buildings we build, ministries we organize, sermons we preach and songs we write won’t move the mission forward. Without that one thing, we fail.”
― J.D. Greear, Gaining By Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches that Send

“All you then have to do is to keep out of his mind the question “If I, being what I am, can consider that I am in some sense a Christian, why should the different vices of those people in the next pew prove that their religion is mere hypocrisy and convention?”
― Lewis C S Clive Staples, The Screwtape Letters

“Saying, “Preach the gospel; if necessary use words,” is like me saying, “Tell me your phone number; if necessary, use digits.” Apart from digits, there is no phone number. Apart from words, there is no gospel.”
― J.D. Greear, Gaining By Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches that Send

“So, each one represents Devotion according to his liking and imagination. He who is in the habit of fasting thinks that because he fasts he is very devout, even though his heart is filled with hatred; and while fasting he will not dare to sip wine or even water, but neither will he refrain from drinking the blood of his neighbor by means of gossip or slander. Another considers himself devout because of the very great number of prayers he recites every day, even though soon after this he speaks words that are annoying, arrogant, and hurtful to those in his house and to his neighbors. Another very gladly takes alms from his purse to give to the poor but cannot take any gentleness from his heart to forgive his enemies. Yet another will forgive his enemies but will not pay what he owes unless legally forced to do so. All such persons are generally looked upon as devout, whereas in fact they are not.”
― St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life