“If the divine Logos of God the Father became son of man and man so that He might make men gods and the sons of God, let us believe that we shall reach the realm where Christ Himself now is; for He is the head of the whole body (cf. Col. 1:18), and endued with our humanity has gone to the Father as forerunner on our behalf. God will stand 'in the midst of the congregation of gods' (Ps. 82:1 LXX) - that is, of those who are saved - distributing the rewards of that realm's blessedness to those found worthy to receive them, not separated from them by any space.” IfsMenBelieveWholeBodyMightChristianHumanityFoundFatherChristSpaceGoneDivineSonRewardsWorthySavedGods WillRealmsMidstOrthodoxBehalfCongregationCfsLogosBlessednessForerunners Author:Maximus the Confessor
“History does seem to repeat itself hence it's mindboggling to still hear the 'avoid all negative people' speeches from, of all people, supposedly important spiritual teachers. Ironically, their congregations would probably be the ones hiding their faces from the accuracies of truth speakers like Christ. Now, Christ was the complete opposite of negative, however the danger is that truth is often misunderstood as negativity by those who are constantly taught to only seek flattery.” PeopleDoeStillsImportantSeemsFacesSpiritualChristTeacherDangerTaughtTruth IsSpeechNegativeOppositesRepeatsHidingSpeakersNegativityFlatteryMisunderstoodAccuracyNegative PeopleCongregationSpiritual TeachersComplete Opposites Book:Killosophy Source: Killosophy
“Of all persecuted sects, the Baptists stand forth as most prominent, simply and only because they aim at a more complete and thorough reform than any others ever attempted. They teach that Christ's kingdom is not of this world; that the church is not a national, political, or provincial establishment; but a congregation of holy men, separated from the world by the receiving of the Holy Spirit.” MenWorldPoliticalSpiritChristChurchTeachThis WorldHolyAimKingdomsReformHoly SpiritEstablishmentReceivingBaptistsThoroughSectsCongregationProminentPersecutedHoly Man Book:Babtists, the Only Thorough Religious Reformers Source: Babtists, the Only Thorough Religious Reformers
“There are congregations on nearly every corner. I'm not sure we need more churches. What we need is a church. I say one church is better than fifty. I have tried to remove the plural form churches from my vocabulary, training myself to think of the church as Christ did, and as the early Christians did. The metaphors for her are always singular - a body, a bride. I heard one gospel preacher say it like this, as he really wound up and broke a sweat: "We've got to unite ourselves as one body. Because Jesus is coming back, and he's coming back for a bride not a harem.” ThinkingNeedsBodyChristianFormJesusChristChurchHeardTrainingMetaphorCornersWoundsBrokeNot SureFiftyRemoveSweatPreacherVocabularyComing BackBridesCongregationHarem Author:Shane Claiborne