Baptism is rich in meaning. It suggests cleansing. When you are a disciple, you understand that you are cleansed by Christ. You understand that Christ died in your place on the cross, paying for your sins, fully forgiving you for all your wrongs. You are cleansed from guilt, and you are becoming a cleaner, healthier, more whole person.
Brian D. McLarenThe Church has little idea how unorthodox it is at any given moment. If a church can't yet be perfectly orthodox, it can, with the Holy Spirit's help and by the grace of God, be perpetually reformable.
Brian D. McLarenWhat if Jesus' secret message reveals a secret plan?โ. What if he didn't come to start a new religion-but rather came to start a political, social, religious, artistic, economic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution that would give birth to a new world?
Brian D. McLarenWhen any sector of the Church stops learning, God simply overflows the structures that are in the way and works outside them with those willing to learn.
Brian D. McLarenOur message and methodology have changed, do change, and must change if we are faithful to the ongoing and unchanging mission of Jesus Christ.
Brian D. McLarenIt's not about the church meeting your needs; it's about joining the mission of God's people to meet the world's needs.
Brian D. McLarenI was relaxing in my parents' swimming pool with my brother, Peter. I asked him how the engineering business was going, and he reciprocated: 'How's the ministry world going?' 'Okay,' I said, 'except that a couple of weeks ago I realized that I don't know why Jesus had to die.' Then Peter, without skipping a beat, without even a moment's hesitation, said, 'Well, neither did Jesus.'
Brian D. McLaren