If the gospel of Jesus Christ can be proclaimed as a theology of self-esteem, imagine the health this could generate in society!
I am not fully forgiven until I allow God to write his new dream for my life on the blackboard of my mind. .. God has a great plan to redeem society. He needs me and wants to use me.
A mission is a place where you ask nonbelievers to come and find faith and hope and feel love.
We are the Love, loving.
God's forgiving grace is incomplete until he gives me - and I accept - a new kingdom-building dream and opportunity.
We all know that a church is not a building.
I love my son and am proud of my son.
Any analysis of 'sin' or 'evil' or 'demonic influence' or 'negative thinking' or 'systemic evil' or 'antisocial behavior' that fails to see the lack of self-dignity as the core of the problem will prove to be too shallow.
What we need is a theology of salvation that begins and ends with a recognition of every person's hunger for glory.
I found myself immediately attracted to Pope John Paul II when, upon his election to the Papacy, his published speeches invariably called attention to the need for recognizing the dignity of the human being as a child of God.
We are all children starving to experience and know the heart of reality.
One classical role of the pulpit in Protestantism has been to 'preach sermons' which imply indoctrination more than education. Within this from of communication, there is an inherent, intrinsic inclination to intimidate, manipulate, and, hence, offend the person's most prized quality of humanness - his dignity.
Labels such as, 'evangelical', 'fundamental', 'charismatic', 'liberal' contribute to polarization and produce a climate of implied or outspoken distrust. Respectful dialogue becomes virtually impossible. What we desperately need to offset this disunity and distrust is a new and cleansing theology of communication.
The real minister's name that we honor is Jesus, not Schuller.
The Roman Catholic Church isn't going to change its theologies.
My family and I would never receive royalties on the revenue that my materials brought into the church; materials that were created on our own personal time.
Roman Catholics utter their Papal edicts, Protestants quote their Bible, Fundamentalists declare their orthodox theological dogmas, and we are all expected to renounce private reflection and peacefully acquiesce to these pronouncements. And the result is that the dignity of the person is violated by such oppressive, intelligence-smothering forms of communication.
Classical theology has erred in its insistence that theology be 'God-centered,' not 'man-centered'.
How we express ourselves in worship remains up in the air.
The subconscious is ahead of the conscious, and we never know what really drives us.
The Cross sanctifies the ego trip. For the Cross protected our Lord's perfect self-esteem from turning into sinful pride.
Tremendous human energy is needed to walk God's walk, work God's work, fulfill God's will, and complete his dream for our self-esteem.
God flourished my ministry and my career of creative thinking, communicating and writing back 50 years.
Come to me. Are you lost? I can see another way from where I live. The heart can see a path that's out of sight to the head-a path you'll surely overlook, left alone on your lofty perch up there, too distracted by your world to see the real world where I live. I live on the level of laughter, tears, and-yes-prayer.
