Saturday, December 02, 2006

Erwin Again "brilliant"

I was going to try to regurgitate this from Erwin McManus but he is too eloquent here...

taken from "Unstoppable Force"

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor or a man his brother saying, "Know the Lord," because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest." (Hebrews 8:10-11)

Gods purpose has always been about redeeming a people. But the modern church has reduced it the conversion of individuals. And there is a radical difference between leading one person to faith and leading a people to faith. The former produces a follower of Jesus Christ; the latter produces a movement of Jesus Christ. The first requires one heart bound to God. The second requires many hearts bound together in God. We know that there is a mystical connection between man and God, but we seem to have forgotten that mankind was created to love in a mystical relationship to each other. It takes on many shapes: family, clan, tribe, village, commune, gang, sect, community, society, nation, people. At the center of each expression is a culture born out of cult. people are bound together by an ethos that shapes not simply actions but minds and hearts. God sent his Son not only to call individuals to himself, but also to transform culture. And he prays for us that we would be one even as he and the Father are one.

"all the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that nay of his possessions were his own, but the shared everything the had" (Acts 4:32)


All Erwin but great. I added the emphasis. Let that simmer for a few minutes. It will change your thoughts maybe...

1 comment:

Lon said...

excellent quotes. glad you're reading it. An Unstoppable Force is probably one of my favorite books of all time.