Theology That Bites Back
“I think that the best sermons that ever have been preached, taking all the qualities of sermons into account, have probably been extemporaneous sermons, but that the number of good sermons preached from manuscript have probably been far greater than the number of good sermons preached extemporaneously; and he who can put those two facts together will arrive at some pretty clear and just idea of how it will be best for him to preach.”
Phillips Brooks, The Joy of Preaching, p. 132
“When God breathed the breath of life into Adam, and Adam first sat up, he did so with two opposable thumbs. And he used one of those thumbs when he chucked his first rock into the first pool he came to.”
Ploductivity, p. 30
“Both with architecture and with liturgy, there are some who assume that if one’s good, two must be better. The liturgy gets cluttered up with bright colors and shiny objects, and the architecture of the church looks, at the end of this process, like a gingerbread architect on acid did the whole thing.”
Let the Stones Cry Out, p. 41
“In order to evaluate a tool, we have to account for the telos, the end, the purpose. Hammers are used to build both brothels and barns.”
Ploductivity, p. 29
“The last thing in the world we want is to complete the steeple, and find out that the sign outside says Nehushtan Memorial.”
Let the Stones Cry Out, p. 37
“The real question about a sermon is, not whether it is extemporaneous when you deliver it to your people, but whether it ever was extemporaneous, whether there ever was a time when the discourse sprang freshly from your heart and mind” ().
Phillips Brooks, The Joy of Preaching, p. 130
“One of the things we need to remember when it comes to church architecture is that a building is corporate clothing. A building is how the whole church dresses. The trick is how to dress up without playing dress ups.”
Let the Stones Cry Out, p. 35
Paul “does not say that being rich is like having cooties, and that they should be trying to pass their cooties off to somebody else. As I say, he doesn’t teach that.”
Ploductivity, p. 24
“We already know that tormented and driven men can do an awful lot. When we look at the accomplishments of many men, we can almost see the lash behind them. But what can free men and free women do? What can gratitude accomplish?”
Let the Stones Cry Out, p. 30
