'...the essence of being the body of Christ'

Here are a couple of quotes that have been bouncing around my head, one for 14 years, the other for 14 minutes since I read it in my daily dose of Nouwen.

“In the post-Christian era, the medium is the message, and the medium of evangelism is regarded with extreme distaste by the surrounding culture….evangelism easily becomes the marketing ploy for Christianity akin to selling encyclopaedias. Various techniques are used in a highly manipulative agenda designed to get prospective customers to “sign up”. This is about as far away from the story of Jesus of Nazareth as it is possible to get.”

[Riddell, M. (1998) Threshold of the Future: Reforming the Church in the Post-Christian West. SPCK]

"The Church as the people of God can truly embody the living Christ among us only when the poor remain its most treasured part.  Care for the poor, therefore, is much more than Christian charity.  It is the essence of being the body of Christ." 

Henri Nouwen

There's insight and challenge there! 

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