A new book...

I started reading Forgotten God by Francis Chan recently. The book is about the holy spirit and how we as the western church are missing the holy spirit. So far all I've really read is the introduction and the first part of chapter 1, but there are already parts that have stuck out to me. Here are some quotes...

"The church becomes irrelevant when it becomes purely a human creation. We are not all we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Spirit of God.

"Perhaps it's not theology we're missing, but rather theological integrity. Many have the knowledge but lack the courage to admit the discrepancy between what we know and how we live."

"And perhaps the core issue is really about our holding back from giving ourselves to God, rather than our getting 'too much' of Him. Perhaps when a person says, 'I'd just like a little God, thank you very much,' she or he is really saying, 'I'd rather not give the parts of my life that I really care about over to God, so I'll just on to this, that, oh, and that, too...'"

"I think the worst part is when you get outside the church's walls and interact with believers and nonbelievers in the same sphere. Can you really tell a difference? If you didn't recognize their faces from church, would you know from their actions and lifestyle that they were followers of Jesus?"

"And this is the question I just can't get around: If it's true that the Spirit of God dwells in us and that our bodies are the Holy Spirit's temple, then shouldn't there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not?"

"Yet when those outside the church see no difference in our lives, they begin to question our integrity, our sanity, or even worse, our God. And can you blame them?"

I don't really have a lot to add to these quotes at this point. But it's definitely convicting. And not just for the church as a whole - for me personally. Does my life reflect the spirit living in me? Am I different from the world? I'm not sure I always am. I have a feeling this book is going to challenge me in ways that I need challenged but at the same time am not sure I'm ready for. But is anyone ever ready for that kind of challenge? Here goes nothing...