Spiritual growth thrives in the midst of our problems, not in their absence. Spiritual growth occurs in the trenches of life, not in the classroom. Mike Yaconelli More Quotes by Mike Yaconelli More Quotes From Mike Yaconelli The power of the Church is not a parade of flawless people, but of a flawless Christ who embraces our flaws. The Church is not made up of whole people, rather of the broken people who find wholeness in a Christ who was broken for us. Mike Yaconelli brokenpowerjesus The grace of God is dangerous. It's lavish, excessive, outrageous, and scandalous. God's grace is ridiculously inclusive. Apparently God doesn't care who He loves. He is not very careful about the people He calls His friends or the people He calls His church. Mike Yaconelli churchgracepeople Christianity is not about learning how to live within the lines; Christianity is about the joy of coloring. The grace of God is preposterous enough to accept as beautiful a coloring that anyone else would reject as ugly. The grace of God sees beyond the scribbling to the heart of the scribbler - a scribbler who is similar to two thieves who hung on crosses on either side of Jesus. One of the two asked Jesus to please accept his scribbled and sloppy life into the kingdom of God and He did. Preposterous. And very good news for the rest of us scribblers. Mike Yaconelli heartbeautifuljesus Rest is a decision we make. Rest is choosing to do nothing when we have too much to do, slowing down when we feel pressure to go faster, stopping instead of starting. Rest is listening to our weariness and responding to our tiredness, not to what is making us tired. Rest is what happens when we say one simple word: “No! Mike Yaconelli decisions-we-maketiredsimple Im unfinished. Im unfixed. And the reality is thats where God meets me is in the mess of my life, in the unfixedness, in the brokenness. I thought he did the opposite, he got rid of all that stuff. But if you read the Bible, if you look at it at all, constantly he was showing up in peoples lives at the worst possible time of their life. Mike Yaconelli showing-upoppositesreality Spirituality isn't about being finished and perfect; spirituality is about trusting God in our unfinishedness. Mike Yaconelli spiritualitytrust-in-godperfect Play is an expression of God's presence in the world; one clear sign of God's absence in society is the absence of playfulness and laughter. Mike Yaconelli laughterexpressionplay Nothing in the church makes people in the church more angry than grace. It's ironic: we stumble into a party we weren't invited to and find the uninvited standing at the door making sure no other uninviteds get in. Then a strange phenomenon occurs: as soon as we are included in the party because of Jesus' irresponsible love, we decide to make grace "more responsible" by becoming self-appointed Kingdom Monitors, guarding the kingdom of God, keeping the riffraff out (which, as I understand it, are who the kingdom of God is supposed to include). Mike Yaconelli partydoorsjesus I want a lifetime of holy moments. Every day I want to be in dangerous proximity to Jesus. I long for a life that explodes with meaning and is filled with adventure, wonder, risk, and danger. I long for a faith that is gloriously treacherous. I want to be with Jesus, not knowing whether to cry or laugh. Mike Yaconelli knowingadventurejesus Until we start thinking in terms of revolution instead of compromise the Church will continue to pat itself on the back with token steps of renewal. Mike Yaconelli churchchristianthinking Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives. Mike Yaconelli spiritualletting-goreality There are a whole lot of people who are so freakin' busy—they've so cluttered up their lives—they're at their wits' end. And if they'd only just stop for a minute, they could hear the God of the universe whisper to them, “I love you. Mike Yaconelli busylove-youpeople Think about how many of us have wondered why we don't fit, why our faith doesn't stabilize us, why we seem so out of sync with most of the world. Genuine faith is the isolating force in our lives that creates tension wherever we go. To put it another way, faith is the unbalancing force in our lives that is the fruit of God's disturbing presence. Mike Yaconelli wayworldthinking Religious people love to hide behind religion. They love the rules of religion more than they love Jesus. With practice, Condemners let rules become more important than the spiritual life. Mike Yaconelli religiousspiritualjesus Christianity is not about learning how to live within the lines; Christianity is about the joy of coloring. Mike Yaconelli lineschristianityjoy What landed Jesus on the cross was the preposterous idea that common, ordinary, broken, screwed-up people could be godly. Mike Yaconelli godlyideasjesus Speed damages our souls because living fast consumes every ounce of our energy. Speed has a deafening roar that drowns our the whispering voices of our souls and leaves Jesus as a diminishing speck in the rearview mirror. Mike Yaconelli voicemirrorsjesus Children live in a world of dreams and imagination, a world of aliveness… There is a voice of wonder and amazement inside all of us; but we grow to realize we can no longer hear it, and we live in silence. It isn’t that God stopped speaking; it is that our lives became louder. Mike Yaconelli voicedreamchildren Spirituality is not about being fixed; it is about God's being present in the mess of our unfixedness. (Messy Spirituality) Mike Yaconelli messyspiritualityfixed Spirituality is a mixed-up, topsy-turvy, helter-skelter godliness that turns our lives into an upside-down toboggan ride of unexpected turns, surprise bumps and bone shattering crashes ... a life ruined by a Jesus who loves us right into his arms. Mike Yaconelli armsbumpsjesus
