I’m skimming through Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis and just ran across a quote that I had underlined and starred and put a bunch of exclamation points next to when I read it last year.  I’d add more to those, but there isn’t any room, so instead I’ll share it with ch’all:

We reclaim the church as a blessing machine not only because that is what Jesus intended from the beginning but also because serving people is the only way their perceptions of church are ever going to change.  This is why it is so toxic for the gospel when Christians picket and boycott and complain about how bad the world is.  This behavior doesn’t help.  It makes it worse.  It isn’t the kind of voice Jesus wants his followers to have in the world.  Why blame the dark for being dark?  It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn’t as bright as it could be.

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