Can we, should we, reinstate the communal meal in at least some of our table rituals? If so, do small group settings become necessasry, even in larger congregations? And what kind of liturgical spaces will then be needed? Can we, should we, allow for the wide variety of activities that characterized first century worship? In particular, can we open ourselves to the Spirit’s guidance so that a rich array of charismata can come into play? Is it possible for us to conduct some of what we call church business within periods of eucharistic worship? Can we allow prayerful discernment to shape our decision making on these matters? Can we begin to see our eucharistic services, from start to finish, as missionary events during which visitors are brought closer to the Body of Christ and the Kingdom, whatever the level of their participation, and we so-called insiders are built up for our vocation as witnesses of the gospel?

- John Koenig, Feast of the World’s Redemption : p. 237.

To turn within and pray incessantly by living in an awareness given us by the Holy Spirit of God’s immense love for us guiding us in all things is possible for all of us. It requires, however, a constant living out of our Baptism, a crossing over from our own self-containment and a putting on of Jesus Christ’s mind of seeking always to please the Heavenly Father. Praying always is a state of not saying prayers but a state of standing before God in the depths of our being and being constantly in tune with His operations. We find ourselves less distracted by the fears of what others would say, of norms and fashions set by a worldly society or persons close to us. We even can rise from the haunting memories of our sinful past and our crippling “mind-set” patterns of thoughts and images to a freedom and clarity of inner vision that Jesus Christ had promised would be the possession of His disciples who heard his word.

- George Maloney, Inward Stillness : p. 101.

Man’s instinct does not tell him, as animal’s instinct does, what he must do. Because he has to cut himself off from the roots of his past by throwing away traditions, he is at a loss as to what he ought to do. Usually he finds himself in the position that he does not know what he wants exactly.

-  George Maloney, Inward Stillness : p. 131

The Book of Acts does not report that the apostles remembered the so-called “Great Commission” and conscientiously set about obeying it. Nor do we see them thinking about the lost status of individuals whom they had not reached. The event of ingathering came first. Only later did the Twelve think about it. Only still later did they “send” someone. The theology to explain the rightness of the ingathering was imposed by the events, which it explained after the fact. The Twelve did not set out to obey the Great Commission; they talked about the risen Lord and they broke bread together in their homes and thus they found themselves together first with Hellenized Jews and then even with Gentiles… The action of mission was prior to theory about it.

This observation might provide some guidance within the current lively debates about “church growth” and cultural homogeneity… If reconciliation between peoples and cultures is not happening, the Gospel’s truth is not being confirmed in that place.

The question, however, is how far we should go in shaping the gospel message to fit the expectations and thought forms of the culture. When does the ’seeker’ become a ‘consumer’ and begin demanding from the church an accommodation that distorts the gospel? In other words, when does Church Growth pragmatism hit the fan of a biblical theology of the church? The expenditure of emotional energy, material resources, and personal commitment to meet the high expectations of affluent, self-focused people diverts the church’s resources from global missions and social justice ministry…

- Douglas Webster in Evaluating the Church Growth Movement, p. 259.

When we start being too impressed by the results of our work, we slowly come to the erroneous conviction that life is one large scoreboard where someone is listing the points to measure our worth. And before we are fully aware of it, we have sold our soul to the many grade-givers. That means were are not only in the world, but also of the world. Then we become what the world makes us. We are intelligent because someone gives us a high grade. We are helpful because someone says thanks. We are likable because someone likes us. And we are important because someone considers us indispensable. In short, we are worthwhile because we have successes. And the more we allow our accomplishments - the results of our actions - to become the criteria of our self-esteem, the more we are going to walk on our mental and spiritual toes, never sure if we will be able to live up to the expectations which we created by our last successes. In many people’s lives, there is a nearly diabolic chain in which their anxieties grow with their successes. This dark power has driven many of the greatest artists into self-destruction.

- Henri Nouwen, Out of Solitude: p. 18-19

A person reared in a Christian home, who has absorbed the faith along with other family values from trusted parents, will one day face a crisis that puts loyalty to the test. She may have had religious experiences, may have felt something of the closeness of God. Without warning, that sense vanishes. She feels nothing except doubts over all that has gone before. Faith loses all support of feeling, and she wonders if she has been living under an illusion. At such a moment it may feel very foolish to hold on to faith regardless. Yet, as Ignatius counsels, now is the time to ’stand firm.’ Faith can survive periods of darkness but only if we cling to in the midst of the darkness.

- Philip Yancy, Reaching for the invisible God : p. 91.

An insight of bohemians has been that our ability to maintain confidence in a way of life at odds with the mainstream culture greatly depends on the value system operating in our immediate environment, on the kind of people we mix with socially and on what we read and listen to.

Christian moralists have hence long understood that, to reassure the anxious, it may be best to emphasise that, contrary to what an optimistic mindset teaches us, everything will in fact turn out for the worst: the ceiling will cave in, the bank will lie in ruins, we will die, everyone we love will vanish and all our achievements and even our names will be stamped into the ground. If the idea brings comfort, it may be because something within us instinctively recognises how closely our miseries are bound up with the grandiosity of our ambitions. To consider our petty status-worries from the perspective of a thousand years hence is to be granted a rare, tranquilising glimpse of our own insignificance.

- Alain de Botton, Status Anxiety : 248

“It seems like some people ruin their lives trying to get into that book.”

- Steve Wiebe’s daughter in the King of Kong