If we are not deliberately thinking about our culture and our context, we will be conformed to it without ever knowing.

If you seek to serve people more than to gain power, you will not only serve people, you will gain influence.

A faith without some doubts is like a human body with no antobodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask the hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.

There's nothing that makes you more miserable (or less interesting) than self-absorption .

If you don't feel like praying, pray to God to give you the desire.

Faith in God's promises means not always following the expected, rational path.

The gospel is not about choosing to follow advice; it's about being called to follow a King.