When J. Wilbur Chapman was called as pastor of the Bethany Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia in January of 1890, a layman approached him and said, "You are not a very strong preacher, but a few of us have decided to gather and pray every Sunday morning for you." That prayer meeting grew to over 1,000 before it was all over. Chapman conducted his own revival soon after taking the pastorate, and 400 new members were added to the church, most of them by profession of faith. The Sunday School attendance eventually reached 12,000. At the time, Bethany was the largest Presbyterian church in America.

- source Gerald Harris, The Christian Index, Volume 185, Number 23

Preaching

"To say 'lead us not into temptation' does not. . .mean that God himself causes people to be tempted. . . . First, it means 'let us escape the great tribulation, the great testing, that is coming on all the world.' [Second], it means 'do not let us be led into temptation that we will be unable to bear.' . . . Finally, it means 'Enable us to pass safely through this testing of our faith." - N. T. Wright

"Many assure us that Jesus really means 'keep us away from temptation,' or 'lead us out of temptation,' or 'remind us that you never tempt us.' Of couse none of these things is what Jesus actually said. He told us to beg God not to put us to a test, presumably because we would fail it. What a vote of confidence in us! What a vote of confidence in God! What a way to conclude a conversation!" - Telford Work

"If we spend all our effort on our own white-knuckled struggle against a temptation, it grows bigger and bigger." - Glen H. Stassen

"The way we tinker with our temptations and tweak our reasons for acting on them are indications that we actually enjoy dancing the tango with the Devil." - Albert Haase

"In praying to God to deliver us we acknowledge that God is greater than any foe of God. The power of evil must be admitted and taken seriously, yet not too seriously. Perhaps that is why, though the Lord's Prayer honestly focuses upon trial, temptation, and evil, it never mentions Satan by name." - William H. Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas

"There is no resistance to Satan other than flight. . . . Flee--that can indeed only mean, flee to that place where you find protection and help, flee to the Crucified." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Temptation

"Vision is not vision unless it is shared." - Unknown

"There is something better to be experienced. This is where the believability of the vision-caster comes into play. We all have a credibility tank, and with each success the tank rises, making it possible to cast an even larger vision next time. Most of our people are under-challenged. They want to be part of something that is bigger than them." - Steve Hale

Vision

"Faith makes the uplook good, the outlook bright, the inlook favorable, and the future glorious." - V. Raymond Edman

"We cannot remind ourselves too often that it is not our believing in things that makes them true. We believe them because they are true." - Handel H. Brown

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." - Hebrews 11:6 NKJV

"God raises the level of the impossible." - Corrie Ten Boom

"He that knows nothing will believe anything." - Thomas Fuller

“Sight is not faith, and hearing is not faith, neither is feeling faith; but believing when we neither see, hear, nor feel is faith; and everywhere the Bible tells us our salvation is to be by faith. Therefore we must believe before we feel, and often against our feelings, if we would honor faith.” - Hannah Whitall Smith

"It is not faith and works; it is not faith or works; it is faith that works." - Anonymous

"Faith is not a sense, nor sight, nor reason, but taking God at His word." - Evans

Faith

"You can't change a church without changing your schedule."

"To prevent the good from becoming the enemy of the best, activity must not stifle productivity."

"The overwhelming need to keep everyone happy places the church at the mercy of a vocal minority and only helps to retain the status quo."

"Churches that inted to be intentional in reaching the lost have good intentions, but they tend to give attention to lesser priorities and procrastinate in giving attention to their intentions."

"Some churches do everything by the book; it's just not the right book, the Bible."

"We cannot move from where we are until we acknowledge where we are."

"The pain of the present must exceed the pain of change in order to move the church where it needs to be."

"Often, the problem is that we don't properly identify the problem and the 'solution' just becomes another problem."

"Most churches love their traditions more than they love the lost."

"Before a church can experience New Testament growth, it must first realize that the reason for its existence is not itself, but for the benfit of non-members."

Church

"Love is not an affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained." - C. S. Lewis

"Love is service rather than sentiment." - John R. W. Stott

"Whatever is devoid of love is of no account in the sight of God." - John Calvin

"You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving." - Amy Carmichael

"Not tongues nor faith nor prophecy nor knowledge nor martyrdom nor philanthropy, but love is the Christian's mark of distinction." - Vance Havner

"Love should be the silver thread that runs through all your conduct." - J. C. Ryle

"You never so touch the ocean of God's love as when you forgive and love your enemies." - Corrie Ten Boom

"Christian love is not the victim of our emotions but the servant of our will." - John R. W. Stott

Love

The following is from Rev. Walter Erdman, William Borden's traveling companion for his trip around the world at 16 yrs of age. These were his words after hearing of the passing of William.

"I have been thinking more and more, since the news came, that the length of time God permits us to stay here is not related to a certain amount of work He wants us to do, so much as to a certain closeness of relationship to Himself He wants us to attain. Some of us who are less useful, perhaps, are allowed to live on longer that we may learn more and be perfected in understanding."

The next quote is on stewardship from Rev. Samuel Zwemer, whom Borden first heard at a missionary convention when he was 18.

"Who is there to-night who can always see the shadow of the Cross falling upon his banking account?Who is there who has the mark of the nails and the print of his spear in the plans and life, his love and devotion and daily program of intercession? Who is there who has heard the word of Jesus and is quietly, obediently, every day, as He told you and me, taking up his cross to follow Him?"

William Borden

"Mankind has succeeded quite well in reducing God to a pitiful nothing! The God of the modern context is no God at all. He is simply a glorified chairman of the board, a kind of big businessman dealing in souls. The God portrayed in much of our church life today commands very little respect." - A. W. Tozer

God

"The church is afflicted by dry rot. This is best explained when the psychology of nonexpectation takes over and spiritual rigidity sets in, which is an inability to visualize anything better, a lack of desire for improvement.

There are many who respond by arguing, "I know lots of evangelical churches that would like to grow, and they do their best to get the crowds in. They want to grow and have contests to make their Sunday school larger." That is true, but they are trying to get people to come and share their rut. They want people to help them celebrate the rote and finally join in the rot. Because the Holy Spirit is not given a chance to work in our services, nobody is repenting, nobody is seeking God, nobody is spending a day in quiet waiting on God with open Bible seeking to mend his or her ways. Nobody is doing it--we just want more people. But more people for what? More people to come and repeat our dead services without feeling, without meaning, without wonder, without surprise? More people to join us in the bondage to the rote? For the most part, spiritual rigidity that cannot bend is too weak to know just how weak it is." - A. W. Tozer

Church Growth

“A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.” - Thomas Jefferson

“If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.” - Mark Twain

“I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” - Winston Churchill

“A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” - George Bernard Shaw

“Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.” - Frederic Bastiat, Economist (1801-1850)

“Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” - Ronald Reagan (1986)

“In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.” - Voltaire (1764)

“Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!” - Pericles (430 B.C.)

Government

"Truth is always strong, no matter how weak it looks; and falsehood is always weak, no matter how strong it looks." - Phillips Brooks

Truth

"If we cannot go away for a vacation, we can take an "inside vacation" and find grace to help in time of need. God gives more rest than time will allow!" - Vance Havner

Rest