Evangelicals

"I want a church I can stay in for years. I don't want surprises, scandals, or secrets from my church leaders."

"Today's biggest headlines are stories about people who thought they were doing something that was secret: Jesse Jackson's secret girlfriend and child, Monica Lewinski's private meetings with the president and confidential girl talk with Linda Tripp. Just think of the news stories we've watched on television..."

"People know what's going on with other people. So, we are wise if we live our lives as if there are no secrets. If we have nothing to hide, then there's nothing for people to discover, and we're clean. Living as if there is no such thing as a secret will keep you from all kinds of pain and suffering, and it will open the door for you to receive God's love more fully. Live as if there is nothing to hide and you will maintain innocence."

"So many times, I've seen men and women get into trouble when they travel away from home because they believe that no one will ever know what they do when away. This is a lie, and it will always come back to haunt you. In Genesis 38, the Bible tells the story of Judah, who went on a business trip. When he arrived at a distant town, he saw a prostitute and approached her to sleep with her. But he didn't have any money to pay her, so he had to give her some personal items as a down payment. Of course, everyone knew those items belonged to him, and soon what he had done in secret, far away from home, was a public matter. And, again, we're reading about his hypocrisy thousands of years later. His actions have brought shame to his entire family for many generations. It's just not worth it. I remember an old tent preacher saying, sin will take you further than you want to go; cost you more than you want to pay; and keep you longer than you want to stay."

"How much is your sin going to cost me?"

"I've never known anyone who has fallen into sin and been successfully restored by the formal church structure. Nor have I ever seen a formal church structure wisely deal with sin, enabling ministry to continue without interruption."

"Don't punish people who repent; heal them. I don't believe that private sin requires public rebuke or removal from office if repentance is taking place. However, when no evidence of true repentance exists, then discipline is in order."

"There is no such thing as a secret among our leaders; communication is very open and honest, and if it's not, then it can become seemingly brutal. You've heard my arguments for love, friends, and authenticity, but there are the deceivers, the manipulators, the control freaks, and the self-appointed teachers in the Body who would love to use our system for their own selfish purposes. We all know the realities of the old sin nature."

"I am convinced: people with pure hearts live better lives! Actually, one of the things I look for in a staff member is innocence. I love it when a person is not full of malice or unforgiveness or is not wrestling with secret sin. You can just tell by their countenance-they are wonderful people to be around."

"The third big idea is that we confess our sins to someone close to us--a friend or our spouse. I don't mean a public declaration of our shortcomings; I mean confession in the security of a trusted and living friend."

"I am a firm believer in living as if there were no such thing as a secret. If we hide our sins and live in darkness, we will never get the healing we so desperately need; in fact, if it is hidden so well that we don't even recognize it, we may never even find forgiveness."

"You know all the surveys say that evangelicals have the best sex life of any other group."

"I think I know what you did last night. If you send me a thousand dollars, I won't tell your wife."

"Hi, Mike, this is Art(hur). Hey, I was just calling to see if we can get any more. Either a $100 or $200 supply. And I can pick it up really anytime tomorrow, or we can wait until next week sometime. And so, I also wanted to get your address so I can send you some money for inventory. But that's obviously not working, so if you have it go ahead and get what you can. I may buzz up there. I don't know, maybe even later today, but I don't know if your schedule would allow that unless you have some in the house. So, I'll check in with you later today. Thanks, bye."

"I am steady with my wife. I'm faithful to my wife."

"I did not have a homosexual relationship with a man in Denver."

"I called him to buy some meth, but I threw it away."

"I went there for a massage."

"I was referred to Mike Jones from the concierge at a Marriott hotel when I asked for a masseur."

"It was during the massage that it started to become sensual, and that led to him masturbating me... That was and is our only sexual contact."

"I bought it for myself but never used it. I was tempted, but I never used it."

"During the conversation with Mike during and after the time he masturbated me, he told me about some drugs that he could get for me that would enhance my masturbation experience."

"I actually used them three times, throwing them away in shame before use two times. It is for these offenses that I confessed being immoral and deceitful."

"The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality. And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There’s a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life."

"Please forgive my accuser...and, actually, thank God for him. I am trusting that his action will make me, my wife and family, and ultimately all of you, stronger. He didn't violate you; I did."

"A fantasy of mine is to have an orgy with about six young college guys ranging from 18 to 22 in age."

"You called my children animals!"

"God deliberately chooses imperfect vessels — those who have been wounded, those with physical or emotional limitations. Then he prepares them to serve and sends them out with their weakness still in evidence, so that his strength can be made perfect in that weakness."

"Even if people have disappointed you or circumstances have not turned out as you had hoped or prayed, know that God is with you, cares for you, and loves you. He is working all these things together for your good right at this very moment."

"When there is a fight between your heart and your head, experience has taught me that the best thing you can do is pick up your Bible and remind yourself of what God says."

"Sometimes when you're in a dark place, you think you've been buried. But you've actually been planted. Be patient... Your time to grow is coming!"

"I am living proof you can start bad and end good through a relationship with Jesus Christ."

"To step into tomorrow’s possibilities you must let go of yesterday’s realities. Be careful of your choices between what was, is and will be. It is very hard to fully step into your destiny while you are still holding on to your history."

"You know, I personally have to fight to protect my thoughts so my thinking does not spiral out of control. When my mind is full of joy and peace, I can run fast every, I can run harder, I can run further they are. So choose to think about what you're thinking about every single day. Another important aspect of running is that runners stretch and strengthen. So in order to run at optimal capacity, runners need to stretch before and after each run. I'm speaking to myself right now. So if they do not, their bodies will become rigid and inflexible. Exhibit a, that would be me. I have to admit I do need to take my own advice in this area because as we grow older we lose our flexibility and we're prone to more and more injuries. I often think I don't have time to stretch and then I wonder why I feel very very stiff the next day. Stretching actually reduces muscle tension, it promotes circulation, and it reduces the risk of injury. Stretching is a very very important practice."

"more you focus on what you are called to do, the less you become distracted by what someone else is or isn’t doing. It’s hard to run your race and your course while focusing on someone else’s race and course."

"“Faith is believing God is who He says He is, and that He will do what He said He would do.”"

"I wasn’t God’s first choice for what I’ve done for China. ... I don’t know who it was... . It must have been a man... a well-educated man. I don’t know what happened. Perhaps he died. Perhaps he wasn’t willing . .. And God looked down... and saw Gladys Aylward ... And God said— “Well, she’s willing!”"

"“The most important thing that you can do with your [life] is to integrate it into the never ending story of God’s Kingdom,” Tunnicliffe said Wednesday. “God’s already at work in the world. He’s doing things. We just need to align with what He is doing.”"

"“If anyone tells you that we’ve gone soft on world evangelization, you can tell them that we are totally committed to world evangelization because it is only Jesus Christ that changes people’s lives,” he said."

"“We are also working on guidelines in area of evangelization and proselytization because we are under deep attack,” Tunnicliffe added."

"No matter how long the river may be, it has its end. We're waiting for justice, a fair trial, and safety, which we were deprived of in South Africa due to law enforcement corruption and... several assassination attempts we survived"

"I just want to say, it’s so heartbreaking. As a man of God, I have forgiven them and their actions"

"I hope if they are humans that they will apologise over such behaviour."

"My ministry was growing too big, and this was part of xenophobic jealousy and more other things"

"I’m convinced that, powered by hope and fueled by courage and anger, we have the power to transform our collective future."

"It’s one of the doctrines of the Bible that atheists love to point out as one of the reasons why they could never believe in the God of the Bible. It’s the God who creates the eternal barbecue for sinners."

"To explain away hell leads to the explaining away of the gospel. This is not good from Kirk Cameron."