The extraordinary becomes ordinary, and the ordinary loses its own charm. Many christians were raised in an environment of managed expectations with measurable results. For all its vitality, eangelicalism is a movement, not a church. Institutions kill the entrapenerial spirit. You have to break out of the ordinary and follow the spirit into new frontiers. Our problem isn't that we're too veering away from obvious, impressive activity - there's nothing wrong with it. I'd like to see more energy spent on restless ourselves and each other. It's an impatience with the familiar, slow and mostly imperceptible aspects of life.
Have you noticed that words like “extreme” and “revolutionary” have ironically become part of our “ordinary” vocabulary, even in the world of contemporary Christianity? We’re constantly being encouraged to “transform the world,” to pursue “radical discipleship,” or simply to do “big things for Jesus.” But what is the cost of this continual use of superlatives? The hosts, with the help of Tish Harrison Warren, discuss this issue and point to a recovery of “ordinary discipleship” in a world of hype (originally aired 09-01-13).
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