"The task of the Christian shepherd is to fatten the sheep for the kill. In Israel that meant for sacrifice in the Temple. By 'the kill' I mean, of course, consecration." (86)
"Ministers must do something to justify themselves.... if they devote themselves to running large organisations, or spend their time forever on a round of vain visiting, they feel that they are doing something. Whereas if they devote themselves to the study and ministry of the Word of God, they create all sorts of problems for themselves and jangle many of their people, until their fellowships are soon in a dither of change and challenge" (86).
"One of the most injurious practices in the church psychologically is the segregation of age groups and sexes.... The church of all places is meant to be a family.... all we do beyond the diets of worship and meetings for prayer and Bible Study, we do because we are failing in these" (89-90).
"God can use those with no more than turnips for heads and make them exude the sweetest and most nourishing spiritual juices to their people, so He can take the most frightened and frightening little bookworms - boring little creatures who bore into books all the week and bore their heads into manuscripts on Sundays so that they bore all the poor people who are bored enough to put up with them - and can make them both mighty and courageous" (93-4).
"What is wrong? Some [ministers] should not be in it. Some should, but they've got the wrong wife. Others have allowed the right wife to take a dominant place. Some are lazy.... Some are plain 'feart' as we say in Scotland; afraid of repercussions... if they are fully faithful, for they think that anything that upsets the congregational life, especially the good givers and attenders, must be wrong. I simply do not know how they square that with out Lord upsetting the tables in the temple" (95).
"If you are called of God, you are not your own, and you are certainly not your wife's nor your children's, nor even your congregation's. Keep close to God, there is no substitute for that" (97).
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