Quote from Tullian...
Tullian Tchividjian is the grandson of Ruth and Billy Graham. Tullian was the prodigal child that ran as hard as he could away from God. When he came to his senses he turned back to God and this is a quote about the church that he walked into. This comes from an article called "A Cry for Difference from the Culturally Weary."
"I was very thankful that I walked into a church that was different--a church where the otherness of God was sensed immediately. In the music, in the message, and in the mingling afterward, it was clear that God was the guest of honor there, not I. I had suffered the consequences of the modern world's emphasis on the individual, and I was unbelievably refreshed to discover a place that took the focus off me and put it on Him. He was the one being "lifted up for all men to see," not the pastor or the "praise team." He was the difference I longed for, not some carefully orchestrated performance that, believe me, I would have been able to see right through. And I am glad He was not communicated in the distasteful ways, whether musically or otherwise, that I had grown weary of. Whether or not I understand everything the preacher said that morning didn't matter. I was the recipient of something more powerful than a "user-friendly" service with its "seeker-sensitive" sermon. I was observing the people of God honoring God as God, and I was drawn in by the glorious mystery of it all. I was being evangelized, not by a man-centered show, but by a God-centered atmosphere."
What a great quote about who is the focus in our services. I am so thankful to read my son's books before he heads off to college for the fall.
Adam
"I was very thankful that I walked into a church that was different--a church where the otherness of God was sensed immediately. In the music, in the message, and in the mingling afterward, it was clear that God was the guest of honor there, not I. I had suffered the consequences of the modern world's emphasis on the individual, and I was unbelievably refreshed to discover a place that took the focus off me and put it on Him. He was the one being "lifted up for all men to see," not the pastor or the "praise team." He was the difference I longed for, not some carefully orchestrated performance that, believe me, I would have been able to see right through. And I am glad He was not communicated in the distasteful ways, whether musically or otherwise, that I had grown weary of. Whether or not I understand everything the preacher said that morning didn't matter. I was the recipient of something more powerful than a "user-friendly" service with its "seeker-sensitive" sermon. I was observing the people of God honoring God as God, and I was drawn in by the glorious mystery of it all. I was being evangelized, not by a man-centered show, but by a God-centered atmosphere."
What a great quote about who is the focus in our services. I am so thankful to read my son's books before he heads off to college for the fall.
Adam
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