“A church is theologically sound and missionally appropriate when it remains faithful to the gospel and simultaneously seeks to contextualize the gospel (to the degree it can) in the worldview container of its hearers.” (Ed Stetzer and David Putman)
“The Christian message is 100% true, but as we present it, is it 100% relevant? Time and time again, Jesus taught us how to engage people effectively with His message. When He spoke with fishermen, He spoke about fish. When He spoke with rich people, He spoke about money, and so on.” (Bishop John of Amorion)
“Consider the rise of the Christians during the Roman era. People were drawn to Christians, not because of evangelistic outreaches or crusades, or through mass media—those didn’t exist. The church grew because Christians were doing the gospel and had a community—a local church—where people really loved each other.” (David Kinnaman & Gabe Lyons)
“A church that looks and talks and sounds just like the world has no reason to exist. A church that does not emphasize asceticism and discipleship is as pointless as a football coaching staff that doesn’t care if its players show up for practice." (Rod Dreher)
“Biblically the church is an organism not an organization—a movement, not a monument. It is not a part of the community; it is a whole new community. It is not an orderly gathering; it is a new order with new values, often in sharp conflict with the values of the surrounding society.” (Chuck Colson)