Velvet Elvis Quotes/Passages Part III

Hopefully, you've seen the pattern now and can figure that these are the quotes/passages from Movements 5, 6, and 7 of this fantastic book, Velvet Elvis by the fantastic Rob Bell. Here we go...


"God has an incredibly high view of people. God believes that people are capable of amazing things. I have been told that I need to believe in Jesus. Which is a good thing. But what I am learning is that Jesus believes in me. I have been told that I need to have faith in God. Which is a good thing. But what I am learning is that God has faith in me. The rabbi thinks we can be like him."

"The point isn't sin management. The point is who we are now."

"True spirituality then is not about escaping this world to some other place where we will be forever. A Christian is not someone who expects to spend forever in Heaven there. A Christian is someone who anticipates spending forever here, in a new heaven that comes to Earth."

"But the thing we are searching for is not somewhere else. It is right here. And we can only find it when we give up the search, when we surrender, when we trust. Trust that God is already putting us back together. Trust that through dying to the old, the new can give birth. Trust that Jesus can repair the scarred and broken image. It is trusting that I am loved. That I always have been. That I always will be. I don't have to do anything. I don't have to prove anything or achieve anything or accomplish one more thing. That exactly as I am, I am totally accepted, forgive, and there is nothing I could ever do to lose this acceptance."

"It is our turn to rediscover the beautiful, dangerous, compelling idea that a group of people, surrendered to God and to each other, really can change the world."

"The church doesn't exist for itself; it exists to serve the world. It is not ultimately about the church; it's about all the people God wants to bless through the church. When the church loses sight of this, it loses its heart."

"If the gospel isn't good news for everybody, then it isn't good news for anybody. And this is because the most powerful things happen when the church surrenders its desire to convert people and convince them to join. It is when the church gives itself away in radical acts of service and compassion. expecting nothing in return, that the way of Jesus is most vividly put on display. To do this, the church must stop thinking about everybody primarily in categories of in or out, saved or not, believer or nonbeliever."

"Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor, and our neighbor can be anybody."

"We are all created in the imagine of God, and we are all sacred, valuable creations of God. Everybody matters. To treat people differently based on who believes what is to fail to respect the image of God in eeryone. As the book of James says, 'God shows no favoritism.' So we don't either."

"Oftentimes the Christian community has sent the message that we love people and build relationships in order to convert them to the Christian faith. So there is an agenda. And when there is an agenda, it isn't really love, is it? It's something else. We have to rediscover love, period. Love that loves because it is what Jesus teaches us to do. We have to surrender our agendas."

"The way of Jesus is a journey, not a destination. On a journey, the scenery changes. A lot. We can prepare for some things but not all. We make mistakes, figure it out as we go along, and try new things. Failures are really just opportunites to learn. If you are part of a church, is the dominant understanding of faith in your church that of journey or destination?"

"Most of the messages we recieve are about how to make life easier. The call of Jesus goes the other direction: It's about making our lives more difficult. It is going out of our way to be more generous and disciplined and loving and free. It is refusing to escape and become numb and check out of this broken, fractured world."

"Not only is the way narrow, but it involves suffering. To truly engage with how the world is, our hearts are going to be broken again and again."

"Suffering is a place where cliches don't work and words often fail."

"Ultimately our gift to the world around us is hope. Not blind hope that pretends everything is fine and refuses to acknowledge how things are. But the kind of hope that comes from staring pain and suffering right in the eyes and refusing to believe that this is all there is. It is what we all need-hope that comes not from going around suffering but from going through it."

"The church is like a double-edged sword. When it's good, when it's on, when it's right, it's like nothing on Earth."

You made it! Kudos to you, even more if you've read all of the passages I've posted. Even if you haven't, they're still there, waiting for you. This ending will still be here when you get back. I hope you've enjoyed this, though I know it's a ton of reading. Hopefully you're interested and perhaps thinking about actually getting the book and reading the entirety of it, rather than the pieces I've given you. Again, leave a comment. Tell me which ones you like, which you don't, what you agree or disagree with, what challenge you, which confuse you. I'd love to talk about them with you! :]

Velvet Elvis Quotes/Passages Part II

So, here's part II to my favorite quotes/passages from this fantastic Rob Bell book known as Velvet Elvis. These are from Movements 3 and 4 of the book.

"God is always present. We're the ones who show up."

"If it is true, if it is beautiful, if it is honorable, if it is right, then claim it. Because it is from God. And you belong to God."

"I don't follow Jesus because I think Christianity is the best religion. I follow Jesus becase he leads me into ultimate reality. He teaches me to live in tune with how reality is."

"God isn't in one building only."

"Just because I'm a Christian and I'm trying to articulate a Christian worldview doesn't mean I've got it nailed. I'm contributing to the discussion. God has sopken, and the rest is commentary, right?"

"All things are yours. Being a Christian is not cutting yourself off from real life; it is entering into it more fully. It is not failing to go deeper; it is going deeper than ever. It is a journey into the heart of how things really are. What is it that makes you feel alive? What is it that makes your soul soar?"

"Shalom is the presence of the goodness of God. It's the presence of wholeness, completeness."

"Your job is the relentless pursuit of who God made you to be."

There we are. Same as last time. If you've taken a moment to read these, as well as the long list from movements 1 and 2, hopefully you're interested and perhaps thinking about actually getting the book and reading the entirety of it, rather than the pieces I've given you. Again, leave a comment. Tell me which ones you like, which you don't, what you agree or disagree with, what challenge you, which confuse you. I'd love to talk about them with you! :]

peaceandlove,
Danielle.

Quotes/Passages from Velvet Elvis.

So, I recommended the book Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell about a month and a half ago to those of you who actually take a second to read my ramblings (which I quite appreciate!) and I said I'd post some of my favorite quotes and such so here we go....

"We must keep reforming the way the Christian faith is defined, lived, and explained. Jesus is more compelling than ever. More inviting, more true, more mysterious than ever. The problem isn't Jesus; the problem is what comes with Jesus."

"I am learning that what seems brand new is often the discovery of something that's been there all along-it just got lost somewhere and it needs to be picked up, dusted off, and reclaimed."

"Everybody has faith. Everyone is following someone."

"The person who says we are here by chance and that there is no greater meaning has just as many beliefs as the person who says there's a creator. Maybe even more."

"Existence is not limited to what we can see, touch, measure, taste, hear, and observe."

"Everybody follows somebody. All of us make decisions every day about what is important, how to treat people, and what to do with our lives. These decisions come from what we believe about every aspect of our existence. And we got our beliefs from somewhere. We have been formed, every one of us, by this complicated mix of people and places and things. Parents and teachers and artists and scientists and mentors-we are each taking these influences and living our lives according to which teachings we have made our own. Some insist that they aren't influenced by any person or any religion, that they think for themselves. And that's an honorable perspective. The problem is they got that perspective from...somebody. They're following somebody even if they insist it is themselves they are following. Everybody is following somebody. Everybody has faith in something and somebody. We are all believers."

"Jesus exposes us to reality at its rawest. So the way of Jesus is not about religion; it's about reality."

"This is something people have struggled with since the beginning: how to talk about God when God is bigger than our words, our brains, our worldviews, and our imaginations."

"God has no thingness because there's no end to God."

"The first Christians announced this way of Jesus as "the good news". That tells me the invitation is for everybody."

"Jesus invites everybody to jump. And saying yes to the invitation doesn't mean we have to have it all figured out. This is an important thing to remember : I can jump and still have questions and doubts."

"So the invitation to jump is an invitation to follow Jesus with all of our doubts and questions right there with us."

"Questions, no matter how shocking or blasphemous or arrogant or ignorant or raw, are rooted in humility. A humility that understands that I am not God. And there is more to know."

"Central to the Christian experience is the art of questioning God. Not belligerent, arrogant, questions that have no respect for our maker, but naked, honest, vulnerable, raw questions, arising out of the awe that comes from engaging the living God."

"I did not ask for success, I asked for wonder." -Abraham Joshua Heschel

"When everything gets answered, it's fake. The mystery is the truth." -Sean Penn

"If you study the Bible and it doesn't lead you to wonder and awe, then you haven't studied the Bible."

"Being a Christian is more about celebrating mystery than conquering it."

"With God being so massive and awe-inspiring and full of truth, why is his book capable of so much confusion?"

"The Bible is open-ended. It has to be interpreted. And if it isn't interpreted, then it can't be put into action. So if we are serious about following God, then we have to interpret the Bible. It is not possible to simply do what the Bible says. We must first make decisions about what it means at this time, in this place, for these people."

"God has spoken, and everything else is commentary."

"Everybody thinks their opinion is the right one. If they didn't, they'd get a new one." -Anne Lamott

"The Bible meets us where we are."

"The Bible tells a story. A story that isn't over. A story that is still being told. A story that we have a part to play in."

Alright, that's just from the first 2 movements of the 7 in the book. I'll post movements 3-4 soon! Let me know which ones are your favorites, which you agree or maybe disagree with, which challenge you. :]

Another Recommendation....

Seems like I'm always suggesting stuff for anyone out there reading this blog, but I finished a book today that is far too fantastic for you not too go grab and read right now. It's called Velvet Elvis and it's by Rob Bell. My youth pastor recommended it about a year ago and I finally got around to finding and reading it and I wish I wouldn't have waited so long! When I'm not too lazy to go upstairs and grab the book, I'll post some of my favorite quotes and passages from it up here. As I said, after you read this, go to your nearest Christian book store and grab this book and be ready for one of the most challenging and eye-opening books you may ever read.

Love and Peace,
Danielle.

Shattered.

I went back home today. It felt good, I needed it. It was one of the first times I'd gotten to hear the new pastor, Scott, preach, and it was amazing. He had an amazingly creative way of getting his point across that made the message for everyone, not just the adults. Tntantoday was all about our concept of God. Some of the descriptions on the board were:

*Pale, white man
*What my parents believe
*Jesus
*The big guy
*The Grandfather in the sky
*The cosmic cop
*Divine Accountant

Scott was talking about how "our God is too small". About how we all serve these different Gods, based on our concept of Him. He talked about God being Abba, which is the Arabic word for "Daddy" and about how God always has his arms open waiting for you to come into Him, and the message really hit me. He had giving everyone a small tile, like you would see in a bathroom. We wrote down our concept of God on it with a sharpie and then smashed it with a hammer, just leaving the pieces. On mine I wrote "The Ultimate Judge" and "The Big Guy". It's allowing me to see God more as someone who's always there with His arms wide open. I can't wait to hear more of Pastor Scott's messages and hope that every day, God continues to open my eyes and challenge me.

I'm going home, to the place where I belong.

Yesterday started out as a typical day. Wake up, turn off the alarm, get breakfast. While I was eating I was hanging out on Facebook and Myspace, still slightly disappointed that a few friends I was hoping to see weren't coming out tonight. I saw a friend from North County had posted a blog about how he hadn't seen a lot of our old group over break and I began to miss them all even more. I thought I'd adjusted out here. I guess I have. Homesickness is no fun though. Yesterday was one of the worst cases of it I've had in months. I got on the bus, listening to my iPod and all my songs kept bringing images of North County to me. I come to my house everyday, I hang out, I sleep here, I eat here, my friends come over....yet it still isn't quite "home". I don't know. Maybe when a place and it's people are so deeply rooted in your heart, you never quite get over being far away from them. It's 30 miles...and I really shouldn't complain. I've had friends move from Chicago, Iowa, and even one that moved to Tennessee and mine was just moving counties. Maybe I was just very attached to everyone and everything about my old county. It makes it even more amazing when I see them, but the downtime pretty much sucks. I feel better today, but I'm really hoping to go back home tomorrow for a visit......

Peace,
Danielle.

"..and i'm going home. to the place where i belong."

Some favorite song lyrics.

Mkay, so I know I've been posting a lot of music on here lately but I cannot resist the temptation to post this chorus. In the movie Rent there's this amazing song called "What You Own" sung by Anthony Rapp (YAY!) and Adam Pascal. This chorus has stuck out to me for a while and I felt it necessary to share it with you:




When you're living in America,
At the end of the millenium,
When you're living in America,
Leave your conscience at the tone.





Does anyone else thoroughly enjoy that? I do!

Hope everyone's doing good!

Love,
Danielle.