Quotes about Influence

Faith is not simply a private matter, or something we practice once a week at church. Rather, it should have a contagious effect on the broader world. Jesus used these images to illustrate his kingdom: a sprinkle of yeast causing the whole loaf to rise, a pinch of salt preserving a slab of meat, the smallest seed in the garden growing into a great tree in which birds of the air come to nest.

Perhaps the reason politics has proved such a snare for the church is that power rarely coexists with love. People in power draw up lists of friends and enemies, then reward their friends and punish their enemies. Christians are commanded to love even their enemies.

Ironically, (the church's) respect in the world declines in proportion to how vigorously we attempt to force others to adopt our point of view.

The church has allowed itself to get so swept up in political issues that it plays by the rules of power, which are rules of ungrace

Change came from below, as it usually does, rather than being imposed from above.

Author Stephen Brown notes that a veterinarian can learn a lot about a dog owner he has never met just by observing the dog. What does the world learn about God by watching us his followers on earth?

Jesus, who said little about how believers should behave when we gather together and much about how we can affect the world around us.

We must continually ask ourselves: Is our first aim to change our government or to see lives in and out of government changed for Christ?

When the church joined with the state, it tended to wield power rather than dispense grace.

When the church has occasion to set the rules for all society, it often veers toward the extremism

What does the world learn about God by watching us his followers on earth?

the Bible gives no direct advice for citizens of a democracy. Paul and Peter urged their readers to submit to authorities and honor the king, but in a democracy we the citizens are the "king.