The Open Secret Quotes

“Through the repeated hammer blows of defeat, destruction, and deportation, interpreted by the faithful prophets, Israel has to learn that election is not for comfort and security but for suffering and humiliation.”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“God's kingship is present in the church, but it must be insisted that it is not the property of the church. It”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“The working concept of God for most ordinary Christians is - if one may venture a bold guess- shaped more by the combination of Greek philosophy and Islamic
theology that was powerfully injected into the thought of Christendom at the beginning of the High Middle Ages than by the thought of the fathers of the first four centuries.”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“The reign of God that the church proclaims is indeed present in the life of the church, but it is not the church’s possession. It goes before us, summoning us to follow. The practical implications of this will be discussed in a later chapter. Here it is enough to say that the picture given us in the Acts is one that is constantly being reproduced in the missionary experience of the church. It is the Holy Spirit who leads the way, opening a door here that the church must then obediently enter, kindling a flame there that the church must lovingly tend.”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“Universality and particularity do not contradict one another but require one another. How”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“the mission is not ours but God's.”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“The witness of which the New Testament passages speak is God's gift, not our accomplishment.”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“The church is witness insofar as it follows obediently where the Spirit leads.
The”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“the Spirit himself is sovereign over the mission, the church can only be the attentive servant. In”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“Mission is not just something that the church does; it is something that is done by the Spirit, who”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“the history of Christian attempts to discern the signs of the times makes discouraging reading. At”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“God does not cancel his calling.
If”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“The reign of God is his reign over all things.”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“Every proposal to seek authorization elsewhere than in the gospel itself must lead us astray. The”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“It is God who chooses, calls, and sends. When”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“the authority of Jesus is ultimate, the”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“the "home base" of missions is now nothing less than the worldwide community, and”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission

“separation of church from mission is theologically indefensible. More”
― Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission