God doesn't want to change the world without you.

Our churches should attract the people Jesus attracted and frustrate the people Jesus frustrated.

I think they [ monastic folks ] were going to the desert to build a new society and in a sense to build a new world, a new culture together where it was easier to be good and holy.

How ironic is it to see a bumper sticker that says 'Jesus is the answer' next to a bumper sticker supporting the war in Iraq, as if to says 'Jesus is the answer - but not in the real world.

Perhaps there is no more dangerous place for a Christian to be than in safety and comfort, detached from the suffering of others.

I am convinced that if we lose kids to the culture of drugs and materialism, of violence and war, it's because we don't dare them, not because we don't entertain them. It's because we make the gospel too easy, not because we make it too difficult. Kids want to do something heroic with their lives, which is why they play video games and join the army. But what do they do with a church that teaches them to tiptoe through life so they can arrive safely at death?

When we realize that we are both wretched and beautiful, we are freed up to see others the same way.