Quotes about Influence

many such episodes it became clear that religion allied too closely to the state leads to the abuse of power. Christian experiments with church-state blending, whether in Geneva under Calvin or in Spain and Latin America under the Inquisition, may have worked for a time but inevitably provoked a backlash against the church, such as that seen in secular Europe today.*

It is difficult, if not impossible, to communicate the message of grace from the corridors of power.

Grace has its own power, even in international politics.

One reason the broader world does not look to Christianity for guidance is that we Christians have not spoken with a credible voice.

Jesus did not mix his spirituality with politics.

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

The church works best as a force of resistance, a counterbalance to the consuming power of the state.

A church that lives by power dies by power.

Rather than looking back nostalgically on a time when Christians wielded more power, I suggest another approach: that we regard ourselves as subversives operating within the broader culture.

You and I are the mechanisms God has put in place to keep today's corrupting systems of thought from taking root and then taking effect in the hearts of our children.

Through the wise, skillful words of this author, God was telling me that effective ministry could never be measured by the size of an audience, by the number of books I'd written, by the acclaim of the crowds, but only by the lives being changed as the Spirit of God rested upon me.

I cannot stop anyone from making wrong choices. I can only help them make the right ones." There was deep sadness in Ruwach's tone, rooted in love, as if he would have done anything to prevent Brianna from suffering the consequences of her choice.