"God wants to father all of us until we're dead sure of his approval, his guiding power and his promise of heaven."

"Ten years ago, 15 years ago, I think the church would have been asleep at the switch. This level of activism and engagement with the needs of society by local churches I never thought I'd see it in my lifetime."

"The real deal is always going to win in the end."

"I hate thinking about it, teaching about it, and writing about it. But the plain truth is that hell is real and real people go there for eternity."

"It takes a great deal of courage to follow another person's lead."

"Those churches have closed down or have been merged with a church that has a more positive vision."

"He's dangerous because when God talks to him Bob will do whatever God asks him to do at great cost, even if no one agrees, if it's contrary to the way the stream is going, if Bob feels God is in it he will do it."

"Thirty years ago, we were in a movie theater and thought it was so cool because we were finally delivered from the horrors of stained glass and wooden pews."

"Dignity does not float down from heaven it cannot be purchased nor manufactured. It is a reward reserved for those who labor with diligence."

"I look at tens of thousands of church leaders who still do need a bit of an awakening."

"Visionary people face the same problems everyone else faces; but rather than get paralyzed by their problems, visionaries immediately commit themselves to finding a solution."

"More than anything, people want the reality of the discussion at hand. If what is going on in that building is the real thing, if the transforming love and power of Jesus Christ is being experienced, you can sit on a metal folding chair or in a plush theater seat."