We renovate the heart by, of course, changing it, but we can't do that, really, without changing the other essential parts of the human personality.

Few people arise in the morning as hungry for God as they are for cornflakes or toast and eggs.

A disciple is a person who has decided that the most important thing in their life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do.

Dallas Willard warns us too of the "cost of non-discipleship." We may be able to live with some pain, but when our whole self becomes more and more rotten, the cost is far greater than dealing with the problem as soon as possible. This is why I think following Jesus, though challenging, is much easier than following anything else. The world has nothing better to offer me. Jesus has come to right my wrongs and to make me refreshingly new.

I'm practicing the discipline of not having to have the last word.

Churches are not the kingdom of God, but are primary and inevitable expressions, outposts, and instrumentalities of presence of the kingdom among us. They are 'societies' of Jesus.

Every church needs to be able to answer two questions. First, what is our plan for making disciples? And second, does our plan work?