"The Call"

Grr! I had a nice post written and then I lost it! So here I go again...

I'm almost done reading "The Call" by Os Guinness. Some of it applies to my life and some doesn't, but over all, it is a good book.

One thing the last couple of chapters have talked about is how we tend to divide our society into secular and Christian. Work and play are secular while church and devotions are Christian. But this isn't how it should be. As a Christian, my faith should affect every area of my life. Jesus loved everyone, so I should love those I work with. Jesus had time for children, so I should too, and should really listen to them. Jesus is forgiving when I mess up, so I should be forgiving with my kids. Jesus loved everyone, regardless of status, so I should treat both my boss and the people at the gas station with equal respect. My faith should impact how I relate to EVERY area of life. I can't just turn my faith on and off when I want to.

Another quote that I like says:
"Karl Barth's famous description of himself is equally apt as a picture of Martin Luther. Painfully climbing up the steps of a medieval cathedral tower in the dark, he reached for the stair rope to stead himself and was amazed to hear a bell ring out above him - he had inadvertently pulled on the bell rope and woken up the whole countryside.

I think this applies to the EC as well. It seems like people were thinking and struggling with their own faith and how to live it out and began to write about it. They didn't plan to start a movement, but somewhere along the way, they pulled the bell rope and now people are beginning to wake up.