The War of Worldviews Quotes

“I discussed with the men how much they (and the rest of the world) operate in a scarcity mindset, searching for certainty and perfection because we’re afraid of not being good enough or strong enough or smart enough to protect ourselves and our families from the rest of the scarcity mindset predatory world. We’re trapped in repetition compulsion that leads to constant fear and conflict. The only way out is through connection with God first—the presence of Someone, not the absence of something.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“1. We have no friends—unloved. 2. We have been abandoned—unwanted. 3. We have been abandoned by the world—unseen. 4. We must fight—no peace. 5. We must fight and die—no life. 6. We must fight and die for our children’s children—no future, no hope.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“What is the alternative connection worldview lens through which to view this scenario?” Again in unison: a mindset of enoughness, leading to accepting the mystery of creative options, understanding that failure is learning and risk is unavoidable, resulting in being other-focused for the common good.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“All external conflict comes from internal conflict. All internal conflict is sourced in fear. All fear is sourced in a wrong view of reality/God, a wrong view of myself, and a wrong view of others.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“failure is learning and risk is unavoidable,”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“In The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer writes, The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the ​same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“On June 8, 1990, a Los Angeles Times article read, “Repenting: Cable TV mogul Ted Turner has promised to apologize for calling Christianity ‘a religion for losers’ when he speaks at the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Ga., Wednesday.”1 Although Turner originally meant his “losers” remark as an insult, I would have to say I agree with it. Being a Jesus follower is for losers. If anything is clear in the Gospels, it’s that Jesus is for losers. It’s the winners, the apex predators, the ruling elite, those who are, in today’s vernacular, “bussin’” and “bougie,” who have a hard time with Jesus. It’s hard for someone “dripping” and “extra” to get through the eye of a needle. The humble incarnation and Mount of Transfiguration game plan to the disciples is this: Jesus is for losers. Why? The truth is, everybody is a loser. It’s just that some know it and others are better at pretending it ain’t so. Everyone has separated and fallen away.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“Everyone has separated and fallen away. All humankind is in the same boat, “since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). That’s why Jesus came into the world—not to fix problems but to heal broken losers. Luke records an incident ​where the Pharisees are disgusted at the people with whom Jesus keeps company: The Pharisees and their scribes [seeing those with whom He was associating] began murmuring in discontent to His disciples, asking, “Why are you eating and drinking with the tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews]?” And Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but [only] those who are sick. I did not come to call the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to repent], but sinners to repentance [to change their old way of thinking, to turn from sin and to seek God and His righteousness].” (5:30–32)”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“Wrongly we court the favor of the rich and powerful, the kings and kingmakers of the empire world order, by convincing them we’re not a loser, that we’re one of the winners. But we court the favor of the King of Kings in just the opposite manner, by convincing him we are a loser. Jesus loves losers. He’s partial to them. They’re his favorites. Take that, winners! Think about it. Who did Jesus reach out to? Who did Jesus go out of his way to meet? Nobodies. Losers. Messed-up sinners. The marginalized. The forgotten on the fringe of society. And what about when Jesus was before the rich, the influential, the powerful? Caiaphas, Herod, Pilate? At best Jesus was disinterested and aloof, and at worst he was downright dismissive. The best way to garner the attention and compassion of Jesus is to present yourself before him as an unabashed loser. Be merciful unto me, a sinner. No doubt about it, Jesus is for losers. Christianity doesn’t need more celebrities; it doesn’t need to pander for the help and ​endorsement of the politically powerful and the independently wealthy. Christianity needs more losers. Jesus will upset the empire with his team of underdogs. It’s the way he’s always done it.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence. ADOLF HITLER”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“Men are driven by two principal impulses, either by love or by fear. Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved. NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“The separation worldview hates disorder, complexity, and perplexity. It craves certainty, power, and control. Unfortunately nothing in God’s reality works that way. Everything and everyone is in process, and to deny or resist that process is to not grow.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“When Moses raises five objections to God’s invitation to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, God responds by assuring him of his presence, power, and ability to overcome any perceived inadequacies, essentially saying that he will be with Moses and empower him to fulfill the task despite his doubts about his own abilities. God reveals his name, his true identity—“I Am” (3:14)—to emphasize his sovereignty and ability to act on Moses’s behalf.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“We cannot give away what we do not have. But listen! What we do have, we will give away. Wounded people will wound other people. Hurt people will hurt other people. Fearful, angry people will produce fear and anger in other people.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“The external conflicts in which we regularly find ourselves come as a result of the inner conflict swirling at our heart level. The inner conflict is sourced in a fear that derives from our constant abiding in a false view of God, which leads to a false view of ourselves and a false view of other people, especially strangers. Unless we experience God in a personal, experiential manner, the repetition compulsion cycle cannot be broken, because the overriding separation worldview lie is too deeply entrenched.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“The question that came to my mind wasn’t how can we obtain peace but rather, What is the cause of conflict in the world today? James 4 came to mind. What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and ​quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world [the ungodly multitude] is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world [the whole mass of humanity alienated from God] makes himself an enemy of God. (vv. 1–4 ESV)”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“In his first forty years, Moses accomplished a great deal. The Jewish historian Josephus says that as its general, he led Egypt’s army into Ethiopia, where he took an Ethiopian wife to secure peace with the Ethiopians rather than put them to the sword. As a prince, he received the best education available in governmental administration, arms, trade, religion, science, music, art, literature, architecture, and many other fields. In this way, God used the royal house of Egypt to prepare his chosen servant for the ​massive operation of leading stiff-necked Israel for forty years through the wilderness.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“1. Caesar separates people—Jesus unites people. 2. Caesar conscripts people—Jesus liberates people. 3. Caesar taxes people—Jesus cancels people’s debts. 4. Caesar creates war—Jesus creates peace.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“The gospel isn’t just about giving us facts; it reveals our true identity. It challenges the lies of the empire with the truth of the kingdom. So ask yourself, Whose message are you choosing to believe? Whose definition of “peace” shapes your life? And who is defining who you are? Because we cannot live under two competing stories, the gospel invites us to step into a new narrative, one that begins with a moment both ordinary and extraordinary.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“The kingdom of God is built upon the incarnation, transfiguration, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus and does not make us ashamed. It is real.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“A contrast of purpose. The world tries to control behavior from the outside through fear, laws, force, and shame. But the kingdom of God is about transformation from the inside out. It’s not about behavior modification but identity transformation. The kingdom isn’t built on self-interest or preserving one’s rights; it’s rooted in surrendering to the will of God, even when that costs us something. We don’t live to win; we live to love.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“Faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. For by this [kind of] faith the men of old gained [divine] approval. . . . Without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“In 2017, a study titled “Mindfulness in Action: Discovering How U.S. Navy Seals Build Capacity for Mindfulness in High-Reliability Organizations (HROs)” identified five key characteristics of a high-resiliency individual (HRI): 1. Operates in present tense 2. Knows what to pay attention to 3. Maintains a flexible and open state of mind 4. Is never stuck in old ways of thinking and can easily change paradigms 5. Faces failure with enthusiasm1”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“Lord,” I whispered, “what do you want me to know right now? What do you want me to do?”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“the words responsibility and expectation are found nowhere in Scripture. It speaks not of lists of responsibilities and expectations but instead of the ​ability to respond and to live in healthy, joyful expectancy of the Lord, in his kingdom. Psalm 27 sums this all up. In verse 1 the psalmist asks, If the Lord is our light and salvation and the refuge and fortress of our lives, whom shall we fear or dread? The psalmist continues with the goal of life being to dwell in the presence of the Lord each day, to gaze upon his beauty and inquire of him—ask him questions—for surely he will answer. This is life in the kingdom. The psalmist ends with this exhortation: Wait for and confidently expect the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord. (Ps. 27:14)”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“Remember the five self-absorbed “I wills” of Satan and his empire? Compare those to the servant heart “I wills” of God and his kingdom in Exodus 6:6–8: I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (v. 6) I will take you for my people. (v. 7) I will be to you a God. (v. 7) I will bring you into the land. (v. 8) I will give it to you for a heritage. (v. 8) And Jesus and God’s kingdom in the Gospels: I will make you fishers of men. (Matt. 4:19) I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28) I will keep you. (John 6:37) I will love you. (John 14:21) I will do what you ask in my name. (John 14:14) I will come again and see you again. (John 14:3; 16:22) I will send the Holy Spirit to you. (John 16:7)”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation

“There is no list of responsibilities and expectations in the kingdom of God. There is only invitation. The invitation is to believe and receive. The Gospel of Mark says, “Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of [the kingdom of] God, and saying, ‘The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of ​God is at hand; repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life] and believe [with a deep, abiding trust] in the good news [regarding salvation]’” (1:14–15). The call of Christ is simple: “Follow me.”
― Jamie Winship, The War of Worldviews: Choosing Connection in a Culture of Separation