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21 " Life on earth has sharp teeth. "
― , Unashamed
22 " ...if you live for people's acceptance, you'll die from their rejection. "
23 " Life on earth has sharp teeth. It has a way of wounding us. The only way to begin nursing your wounds is to name your wounds. There are few guarantees in life, but you can count on this: if you ignore your wounds, they will not go away. They will get worse and grow infected. "
24 " Old habits die hard, and if you’re not careful, the person you used to be can overtake the person you’re trying to become. "
25 " I remember when my oldest son took his first step. My wife and I were so excited, but we expected him to fall right after he took it. And he did. But we didn't condemn him for stumbling. We were patient and encouraging. We clapped when he got back up and cheered him on for continuing to try. Each time he attempted to walk, he would take more steps than the last time. But he would still fall, and sometimes he hurt himself. By letting him fail and loving him through it, he eventually succeeded. "
26 " ...because we don't know any stories of the many others who are falling, we assume that we are the only ones who do... Falling wasn't the end of the world as long as I got back up and kept walking. "
27 " The decisions I’ve made in my personal life have helped me resist the temptations I face in my professional life. I was lucky early in my career and was given wise counsel to cap my salary and live below my means. Money itself isn’t evil, but the love of it is the root of all kinds of evil. So these things helped me to stay grounded. I "
28 " It's like God knew that one day I'd need a little extra something to keep showing up when it felt awkward, to keep walking when no one noticed, to keep making music even though many dismiss it before even listening to it. "
29 " repentance is a continual act—a lifestyle—rather than a single event. "
30 " None of us realized that each act of violence was training us to perpetuate the cycle when we were grown up and could graduate from abused to abuser... I've had to learn that my natural responses aren't normal, that the only way to live a future that's better than my past is to cling to God in the present. "
31 " There is no such thing as Christian rap and secular rap. Only people can become Christians. Music can't accept Jesus into its heart. So I am not trying to make Christian music or secular music. I'm just making music. Hip-hop, like all music, is a good thing. I could use it for evil by filling it with violence and misogyny and profanity. Or I can use it to glorify God. "
32 " Everything a believer touches and uses in a way that honors God is, in a sense, no longer “secular. "
33 " can’t tell you where we got the idea that following Jesus is some kind of quick fix for all of our struggles, but it wasn’t from the Bible. No, the Scripture is like one big, unbroken story about people who decided to follow God and ended up failing almost as much as they succeeded. "
34 " I’ve had to learn that my natural responses aren’t normal, that the only way to live a future that’s better than my past is to cling to God in the present. "
35 " I am no longer willing to accept Christian expression that refuses to hear voices from the margins. Christ’s body is global and diverse. The perspectives that come from the people who make up Christ’s body reveal the brilliance of our Creator, like the different facets of a diamond. Erasing the edges is equal to denying the beauty of God. Others have different contexts and areas of emphasis, but they should be heard and valued as legitimate. "
― , I Am Restored: How I Lost My Religion but Found My Faith
36 " I came to this painful realization: I wasn’t devoted to God. I was devoted to my devotion to God. "
37 " Sometimes we don't want God to be real because we want permission to sin without consequence. We want an intimate God on Sundays and an impersonal God who looks the other way for the rest of the week. "
38 " The American church was late to the party in condemning racism. We were all scarred by the silence and social scorn from our family Christ. P69 "
39 " To speak about anything that relates to race and current events is being partisan and biased. I don’t think speaking about the value of Black life is partisan. I’m just tired of Black bodies lying dead in the streets. I don’t think speaking in lament of gun violence is a taking a partisan stance. I’m tired of turning on the news and seeing school shootings. I don’t think speaking about the criminal justice system is partisan. I’m just expressing frustration for the millions of Black families that are affected by this unjust system. My hope is that my white fans will consider the depth of their own privilege. They have in front of them an opportunity to use their influence to create more just, equitable systems and to prioritize voices of color. I hope they enter into our shared experiences with solidarity and humility. I also hope that they begin to do the hard work of discipling and learning to discuss issues in nuanced, thoughtful ways. I deeply feel the pain of my Black fans and people of color. They are under siege every day in a culture and a church that have proven hostile to their very existence. P93 "
40 " In most cases, the root of our problem as Christians is addiction to religion. "