"In an era when many of us feel that time is our scarcest resource, hospitality falters... 'In a fast-food culture,' a wise Benedictine monk observes, 'you have to remind yourself that some things cannot be done quickly. Hospitality takes time.'" - Dorothy C. Bass, Receiving the Day

"God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain." - C. S. Lewis in Letters of C. S. Lewis

"You can accomplish almost anything if you have patience. You can even carry water in a sieve if you wait until it freezes." - Source unknown

"The average person becomes visibly agitated after waiting 40 seconds for an elevator." - Harper's Index, February 1997

"Patience is a virtue praised by many, possessed by few and sought only occasionally. We pray and want an immediate response. We either do not know or do not care that God has ordained that when and how our prayers will be answered are decisions which belong to Him alone. God may delay in coming, but He never comes too late. And God may send an answer to prayer by wrapping it in a package we do not recognize. Many of us are impatient and fret anxiously either because we do not recognize the answer God sends or because it does not come at a time we think it should. There are occasions when we must wait for God. His time schedule is not ours. But though the waiting seems long, the outcome is certain. Nobody who bides God's time will ever be disappointed. "- Source Unknown

Patience

"I don't know of any other profession in which it is quite as easy to fake it as in ours. [We can do it] by adopting a reverential demeanor, cultivating a stained glass voice, slipping occasional words like 'eschatology' into conversation - not enough to confuse people, but enough to keep them aware that our habitual train of thought is a cut above the pew level...Without [prayer, Scripture study, and spiritual direction], there can be no substance - without these practices, the best of talents and best of intentions cannot prevent a thinning out into a life that becomes mostly impersonation." - Eugene Peterson (quoted in Pastor's Weekly Briefing, Feb. 28, 1997, page 1)

"You are the custodian of the most important information in the world. You are a specialist in what God has to say to people through the Bible. Your divine calling far supercedes all other professions. Your presence and impact have eternal consequences in the world. What you say is in God's name and for His sake." - Henry Blackaby, Power of the Call

"Jesus already died for your congregation. If that isn't good enough for them, ain't no point in you dying, too." - Tony Evans

"It's not in the nature of the shepherd to produce sheep. It's in the nature of sheep to produce sheep. It's in the nature of the shepherd to equip, to train, to care for, and to provide for the sheep." - W. G. Robertson, retired pastor, Southside Baptist Church, Monroeville

"When are you most likely to face temptation?' Of course those surveyed, 81% said it was when they have not spent much time with God; 57% when they have not had enough rest; 45% when life is difficult; 42% during times of change; 37% after a significant spiritual victory. It seemed to me these figures profiled a substantial number of the pastors I meet along the way. Today, I heard of two more of our colleagues who yielded to temptation and failed morally, and it reminded me to remind you to 'Flee the evil desires, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart' (2 Timothy 2:22). Read the list again and see if it does not represent your danger zone. There is a 'new wind' blowing amidst the church and those who lead her, and, with it, Satan stirring to prevent the Spirit's outpouring. Let us not be guilty of 'putting out the Spirit's fire' through our own moral and relational weakness." - H. B. London, Jr.

"The task of pastoral ministry is, above all else, to arrange the contingencies for an encounter with the Divine." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Spiritual Care

"Loving the people and maintaining the heart of a servant is the basis for all that the pastor does. - Warren Wiersbe (quoted in 'Bibliotheca Sacra', Oct-Dec 1997, page 507)

"The Christian Ministry is the worst of all trades, but the best of all professions." - Pastor John Newton, who wrote the words to 'Amazing Grace' (quoted in Power for Living, Aug. 31, 1997, page 8)

"One of the things that amazes me is the expectation by churches for the perfect pastor. Of course, the only one to have existed was the Good Shepherd (pastor) Jesus Christ, and they crucified Him. I thought of these things when I learned that a very superior pastor had to leave his church. He was remarkably able, but not too versatile, but what pastor can meet all needs? What churches need are not pastors to please them, but men who please God." -R.J. Rushdoony (In Chalcedon Report, Mar 1996, page 32)

Pastor

"God dwells in a state of perpetual enthusiasm. He is delighted with all that is good and lovingly concerned about all that is wrong. He pursues His labors always in a fullness of holy zeal. No wonder the Spirit came at Pentecost as a sound of a rushing mighty wind and sat in tongues of fire on every forehead...Whatever else happened at Pentecost, one thing that cannot be missed by the most casual observer was the sudden upsurging of moral enthusiasm. Those first disciples burned with a steady, inward fire. They were enthusiastic to the point of complete abandon." - A.W. Tozer in Of God and Men

"The time is near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be freemen, or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses, and farms, are to be pillaged and destroyed, and they consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance, or most abject submission, and that is all we can expect. We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die." - General George Washington's general orders, July 2, 1776

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination." - Tommy Lasorda, famed baseball manager

Passion