There are folks who burn the Koran and hold signs saying, "God hates fags" and all sorts of sick things - and they often hijack the headlines with hatred. We know that is not what Christ was like. Shane Claiborne More Quotes by Shane Claiborne More Quotes From Shane Claiborne The more I get to know Jesus, the more trouble he seems to get me into. Shane Claiborne trouble knows jesus I learned more about God from the tears of homeless mothers than any systematic theology ever taught me. Shane Claiborne systematic tears mother Christianity is at its best when it is peculiar, marginalized, suffering, and it is at its worst when it is popular, credible, triumphal, and powerful. Shane Claiborne powerful peculiar suffering We might hope to change the world through better, bigger programs to stop global warming, but global warming will not end unless people become less greedy and less wasteful, gaining a fresh vision of what it means to love our global neighbor. Shane Claiborne vision mean people Biological family is too small of a vision. Patriotism is far too myopic. A love for our own relatives and a love for the people of our own country are not bad things, but our love does not stop at the border. Shane Claiborne vision country people We give people fish. We teach them to fish. We tear down the walls that have been built up around the fish pond. And we figure out who polluted it. Shane Claiborne wall giving people If we believe terrorists are past redemption, we should just rip up like 1/2 the New Testament because it was written by one. Shane Claiborne rip believe past The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination. Shane Claiborne fascination christianity jesus I just have a more holistic sense of what it means to be for life, knowing that life does not just begin at conception and end at birth, and that if I am going to discourage abortion, I had better be ready to adopt some babies and care for some mothers. Shane Claiborne mother baby mean Maybe we are a little crazy. After all, we believe in things we don't see. The Scriptures say that faith is "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1). We believe poverty can end even though it is all around us. We believe in peace even though we hear only rumours of wars. And since we are people of expectation, we are so convinced that another world is coming that we start living as if it were already here. Shane Claiborne crazy war believe The church is a place where broken people can fall in love with a beautiful God. Shane Claiborne falling-in-love beautiful people It's hard to hear the gentle whisper of the Spirit amid the noise of Christendom. Shane Claiborne gentle spirit noise If the people of God were to transform the world through fascination, these amazing teachings had to work at the center of these peculiar people. Then we can look into the eyes of a centurion and see not a beast but a child of God, and then walk with that child a couple of miles. Look into the eys of tax collectors as they sue you in court; see their poverty and give them your coat. Look in to the eys of the ones who are hardest for you to like, and see the One you love. For God loves good and bad people. Shane Claiborne couple teaching children ...I believe in a God of scandalous grace. I have pledged allegiance to a King who loved evildoers so much he died for them, teaching us that there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for. Shane Claiborne teaching kings believe One by one, these disciples would infect the nations with grace. It wasn't a call to take the sword or the throne and force the world to bow. Rather, they were to live the contagious love of God, to woo the nations into a new future. Shane Claiborne thrones grace world I am convinced that if we lose kids to the culture of drugs and materialism, of violence and war, it's because we don't dare them, not because we don't entertain them. It's because we make the gospel too easy, not because we make it too difficult. Kids want to do something heroic with their lives, which is why they play video games and join the army. But what do they do with a church that teaches them to tiptoe through life so they can arrive safely at death? Shane Claiborne army war kids As Christians, we should be the best collaborators in the world. We should be quick to find unlikely allies and subversive friends, like Jesus did. Shane Claiborne allies christian jesus There are congregations on nearly every corner. I'm not sure we need more churches. What we need is a church. I say one church is better than fifty. I have tried to remove the plural form churches from my vocabulary, training myself to think of the church as Christ did, and as the early Christians did. The metaphors for her are always singular - a body, a bride. I heard one gospel preacher say it like this, as he really wound up and broke a sweat: "We've got to unite ourselves as one body. Because Jesus is coming back, and he's coming back for a bride not a harem. Shane Claiborne christian jesus thinking My goal is to speak the truth in love. There are a lot of people speaking the truth with no love, and there are a lot of people talking about love without much truth. Shane Claiborne goal talking people A pastor friend of mine said, "Our problem is that we no longer have martyrs. We only have celebrities. Shane Claiborne martyr problem said
