• confidence in the ideology of exceptionalism, • denial, amid the crisis, that that ideology has failed and is not sustainable, and • despair once the denial is broken and reality is faced.


“Eighteenth-century Jesuit Jean-Pierre de Caussade wrote, “The great and firm foundation of the spiritual life is the offering of ourselves to God and being subject to his will in all things. We must completely forget ourselves, so that we regard ourselves as an object which has been sold and over which we no longer have any rights. We find all our joy in fulfilling God’s pleasure — his happiness, his glory and the fact that he is our great and only delight. Once we have this foundation, all we need to do is spend our lives rejoicing that God is God and being so wholly abandoned to his will that we are quite indifferent as to what we do and equally indifferent as to what use he makes of our activities.”
― Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
― Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

“To be patient in an emergency is a terrible trial.”
― The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community
― The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community

“This principle - that your spouse should be capable of becoming your best friend - is a game changer when you address the question of compatibility in a prospective spouse. If you think of marriage largely in terms of erotic love, then compatibility means sexual chemistry and appeal. If you think of marriage largely as a way to move into the kind of social status in life you desire, then compatibility means being part of the desired social class, and perhaps common tastes and aspirations for lifestyle. The problem with these factors is that they are not durable. Physical attractiveness will wane, no matter how hard you work to delay its departure. And socio-economic status unfortunately can change almost overnight. When people think they have found compatibility based on these things, they often make the painful discovery that they have built their relationship on unstable ground. A woman 'lets herself go' or a man loses his job, and the compatibility foundation falls apart.”
― The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God
― The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God

“Loving without agenda: Often our neighborhoods are filled with special interest groups. The church is not a special interest group; rather we have a reconciling mission that seeks unity, that all might flourish. Consider how your faith community can champion what others are already doing.”
― The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community
― The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community
Clint’s 2024 Year in Books
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