Two quotes about Christian identity

“We have to understand, it’s not those who call themselves Christians who are true sons & daughters of God, but those who follow Jesus, regardless of what they call themselves.”
– Boze Herrington, in his Facebook post

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
– Matthew 7:21-23

A quote about church culture

“Christians, don’t let racist, misogynistic, and homophobic comments ‘slide’. Stand up for the bullied, not the bullies. Advocate for the oppressed, not the oppressors. And don’t let anyone shame you as ‘divisive’ when you do so.”

– Rachel Held Evans, in her excellent and highly recommended blog post “Changing the Culture that Enabled Mark Driscoll: 6 Ways Forward”

A quote about “holiness”

“Jesus never troubled the troubled or harassed the harassed. He never belittled the belittled, marginalized the marginalized or excluded the excluded.

These were the ones He befriended, came alongside of, and called disciples and apostles. These were the ones whose names and identities He said would be forever attached to the Gospel message. It was these He said would enter the Kingdom in front of the religious ‘scholars’ and fundamentalists of the day.

The only ones He ever pointed fingers at were the finger pointers.

So if you, in the name of holiness, seek to emulate Jesus and so exclude, marginalize, harass, belittle and finger-point, make sure you don’t end up looking like the only people He ever condemned.

Jesus is for the ‘sinners’ of this world, but stands opposed to those who are all too eager to slap that label on another.”

– Jeff Turner, from his Facebook post

A quote about “Christian accountability”

“Friendly reminder that someone who has never invested in your life has no place to criticize you or ‘hold you accountable’. Being able to challenge someone or ‘speak the truth in love’ means actually needing to have a relationship + genuinely caring about them.” – Rebekah Richardson

(Via Boze Herrington’s Facebook post)

Keiko Kitagawa in “Digital TV Guide” October 2014 issue (all editions, raw scans)

The above cover is from the Kansai edition; however, all editions use the same cover photo.