Something is radically wrong when the local church rejects a person accepted by Jesus...Jesus sat down at table with anyone who wanted to be present, including those who were banished from decent homes. In the sharing of a meal they received consideration instead of the expected condemnation. A merciful acquital instead of a hasty verdict of guilty. Amazing grace instead of universal disgrace. Here is a very practical demonstration of the law of grace---a new chance in life....

The story goes that a public sinner was excommunicated and forbidden entry to the church. He took his woes to God, "They won't let me in, Lord, because I am a sinner."

"What are you complaining about?" said God. "They won't let Me in, either."

Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

A saint is not someone who is good, but who experiences the goodness of God.
Thomas Merton

It is by grace you have been saved through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything you have done so that nobody can claim the credit.
Ephesians 2:8-9

The church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners.
Morton Kelsey

Thoughts from MLK

A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.

Faith is taking the first step when you don't see the whole staircase.

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.

Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.

Martin Luther King, Jr.