Quotes about Unity

Second-century Bible scholar Origen of Alexandria wrote, "We do not arm ourselves against any nation; we do not learn the art of war; because, through Jesus Christ, we have become the children of peace.

The tears we shed are not just for ourselves but for our world.

The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community [even if their intentions are ever so earnest], but the person who loves those around them will create community.

We can do more together than we can do alone.

promise never to leave us or forsake us. Since we are always in your presence, help us always to keep our eyes fixed upon you that we might follow your lead in the never-ending dance of your life as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

As Don Everts says in his book Jesus with Dirty Feet, "Referring to the church as a building is like referring to people as two-by-fours.

There are far too many Christians who believe that theological conformity is a prerequisite for community.

I once heard a pastor say, "The church is like Noah's ark. It stinks, but if you get out of it, you'll drown." I

God's deepest longing is for the church to be united as one body. In Jesus' longest recorded prayer, he prayed that we would be "one as God is one." As one old preacher said, "We gotta get it together, because Jesus is coming back, and he's coming for a bride, not a harem.

I also heard a good metaphor from a rancher. He was talking cows, but I think it works with people too. He explained that there are two ways to keep your cows together. One is by building fences and gates. The other is by creating a really good food source. When you create a really good food source in the center, you don't have to worry as much about all the gates and fences and who's in and who's out.

a generation that stops complaining about the church it sees and becomes the church it dreams of. And

At that moment, we decided to stop complaining about the church we saw, and we set our hearts on becoming the church we dreamed of.