Biblically the church is . . .

an organism not an organization

a movement, not a monument.

It is not a part of the community; it is a whole new community.

It is not an orderly gathering; it is a new order with new values,

often in sharp conflict with the values of the surrounding society.

Charles Colson (1931- )

The church does not lead the world nor echo it;

she confronts it.

Her note is the supernatural note.

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

When the church transcends culture, it can transform culture. In the Dark Ages, reform did not arise from the state but from communities of those who remained uncompromising in a compromising age.  Charles Colson (1931- )

The church is a force for good in a world bombarded with evil.

It is a force for love in a world buried with hatred.

It is a force for peace in a world torn with violence.   C. Neil Strait  

The church is like a bank-the more you put into it, the more interest you have in it.

   All our Lord succeeded in doing during his life on earth was to gather together a group of fishermen - the whole church of God and the enterprise of our Lord on earth in a fishing boat!         Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

A church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. L. L. Nash

A church that is soundly rooted cannot be destroyed, but nothing can save a church whose root is dried up. No stimulation, no advertising campaigns, no gifts of money and no beautiful edifice can bring back life to the rootless tree.    A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

 Before the service speak to God.

During the service let God speak to you.

After the service speak with your neighbor.

 Church-goers are like coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the flame aglow; when they separate, they die out.     Billy Graham (1918- )

The church exists for those outside it.   William Temple (1881-1944)

    The church has many critics but no rivals.  

 The church is a workshop, not a dormitory.     Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910)

 The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.   Edward McKendree Bounds  (1835-1913)

The holiest moment of the church service is the moment when God's people-strengthened by preaching and sacrament - go out of the church door into the world to be the church. 

We don't go to church; we are the church.  Ernest Southcott

 The problem is not hostility to the church; it is indifference. For many the church is simply irrelevant; it is not even worth criticizing, it is simply to be ignored.                    William Barclay (1907-1978)

What would my church be like if every member were just like me?

  When the church fails to break the [cultural] barrier, both sides lose. Those who need the gospel message of hope and the reality of love, don't get it, and the isolated church keeps evangelizing the same people over and over until its only mission finally is to entertain itself.  Charles Colson (1931- )

Wherever the Word of God is preached and heard; there a church of God exists, even if it. swarms with many faults.  John Calvin (1509-1564)

Light is the task where many share the toil. Homer

St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel every day; if necessary, use words."

If you're too open minded, your brains will fall out.

Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

 A closed mouth gathers no feet.                                                     

 Why do bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

  Eat well, stay fit -- die anyway.        Do you know where you will spend eternity?

 No husband has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

 A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

 Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

 Junk is something you throw away three weeks before you need it.

 There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.

 Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

 By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.

 Thou shall not weigh more than thy refrigerator.

 Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.

 I believe the only time the world beats a path to my door is when I'm in the bathroom.

 Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.

 What one does is what counts and not what one had the intention of doing. -- Pablo Picasso
 

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do. -- Edward Everett Hale

In nothing do men more nearly approach the Gods than by doing good to their fellow man. -- Cicero

Happiness is a by-product of an effort to make someone else happy. -- Gretta Brooker Palmer

One must never be in haste to end a day. There are too few of them in a  lifetime.  -- Dale Coleman

Advice would be more acceptable if it didn't always conflict with our plans. -- Anonymous

Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion.  -- Leigh Hunt

Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tries, and a touch that never hurts.  -- Charles Dickens

What really matters is what you do with what you have. -- Shirley Lord
 

With songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.  -- Isaiah 35:10
 

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.  --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Only a life lived for others is worth living. -- Albert Einstein