“We’re united around Jesus and the authority of his Word and what the Bible is most clear about at the core, the gospel. And then there’s a freedom in the body of Christ to learn from each other, have different perspectives on different things, to have good, healthy discussions marked by humility and openness…And those things can’t divide us if Jesus is what unites us.”
“We have over 100 different countries represented in our church. And so we have all kinds of people from all kinds of different backgrounds, perspectives. And I don’t have much hope of getting everybody in our church to agree on everything. But I do have a lot of hope getting them to agree around the gospel at the core of God’s Word and even I would say some secondary convictions that unite us together as a local church.”
“I definitely don’t assume that walking through these issues will be easy. The last few years of my life and the life of our church show it won’t be, but that’s where I’m writing this book to say it’s worth it to experience a deeper unity in Jesus and so much that flows from that.”
“When it came to racial political tensions in 2020, we called our church and hundreds were involved in saying, we’re going to fast, we’re going to pray, we’re going to open our Bibles, we’re going to walk through and define justice biblically. We’re going to think through how that applies to issues of race and ethnicity. And we’re going to do this with the gospel at the core and learn how to be the church to each other.”
“In my own life, it is so helpful to sit down with the Word of God and to be listening to a brother or sister who has some different perspectives on how to apply that Word and what justice looks like when it comes to this issue of race or ethnicity or this issue of oppression or poverty.”
“I am a different person than I was five years ago. And that’s because I have been in the Word alongside brothers and sisters in Christ from very different perspectives than me.”
“Cultivate those kinds of opportunities: Sitting around sharing life with the Word of God at the center of what you’re doing, listening to each other other learning from each other, being stretched by each other, challenged by each other, holding fast to unity around the gospel in the middle of that, knowing none of that will be easy.”
“That’s part of why I’ve written this book and why I titled it ‘Don’t Hold Back’ because I have been tempted all along the way to, in a sense, throw in the towel, to coast, to not step into some of these things. It’s a lot more comfortable not to.”
“What a unique time and place to be in history, what unique opportunities and stewardship we have with the gospel in this time and place.”
“It’ll get costly. The more we step into it, the more costly it gets. But it’s worth it. He’s worth it.”
“I don’t think these issues are going away. I’m not under any illusion that it’s about to get easier.”
“I love showing in a church family of over 100 different countries and people from all kinds of different perspectives and backgrounds that Jesus can unite…in metro Washington, D.C., there’s no other explanation why this group of people is together than the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I love the opportunity to show that.”
