Hugh Halter Quotes & Sayings

We have to remember that the ancient faith communities that set a course to change the history of the world did so without church programs, without paid staff, without Web sites, and without brochures, blogs, or buildings. They were lean! The point of going without all the stuff is simple but profound. When you don't have all the "stuff," you're left with a lot of time to spend with people. — Hugh Halter

The more we do "together," the less individualistic we'll be. The more we become "one" with Christ, the less consumer oriented we'll be. The more we do for "others," the less materialistic we'll be. — Hugh Halter

The second essential incarnational habit we hope to cultivate is simply listening. Listening is watching and sensitively responding to the unspoken and spoken needs of Sojourners in ways that demonstrate sincere interest. — Hugh Halter

Do you ever wonder why a battered wife stays with her husband? Why people continue to spend money they don't have even though they know they are deeply in debt? Why some keep jamming food in their mouths when they're already overweight? Why do people stay in bad relationships? Why are some people still racist? Why do people still drink and drive? You'd think the response to all these things would be obvious and cause them to scream, "Duh, of course I need to change this." Why do we keep doing church the same way even when we know it's in critical decline? Why do paid church leaders spend so much time preparing for a 90-minute service for Christians who have heard it all before? Why do we still call our message the good news when it clearly seems to be bad news or no news to Sojourners? Why do we think Pharisees are only found in the Bible? Why is returning to a simpler form of ancient church so hard to grasp? — Hugh Halter

We may not always feel it when building a deck for someone, shoveling snow, helping out financially, watching a neighbor's kids, opening our home, or giving gifts, but these habits and activities do create a well that people will eventually gravitate toward. — Hugh Halter

Christianity has lost its place at the center of American life. Christians must learn how to live the gospel as a distinct people who no longer occupy the center of society. We must learn to build relational bridges that win a hearing."7 — Hugh Halter

If you want a safe faith, you will never really know God because He doesn't hang out in the shallow end much. — Hugh Halter

In John 5:39, Jesus challenged the Jerusalem followers this way: "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." Translation? "You prioritize and trust in your own interpretations instead of coming to the real me. — Hugh Halter

The convictions we need to rally around should be about life giving, community transformation, holistic personal growth, sacrifice, beauty, blessing, and world renewal. Who wouldn't want to be a part of a people committed to something that brings personal meaning and makes the world a better place? — Hugh Halter

We love Jesus as a baby on Christmas, and Jesus risen from the grave on Easter, but somehow we miss Jesus the man, the teacher, the sage, the rebel, the subversive King, the local hero, the neighborhood friend. — Hugh Halter

Jesus shows us that there's never a change of mind unless there's a change of heart, and there will never be a change of heart without a conversation between trusted friends.

Halter, Hugh (2014-02-01). Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth (p. 167). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. — Hugh Halter

What makes the stories of our lives beautiful are not the people we've led to faith, or the churches we've grown, or the poor and hurting people we've renovated. What makes our stories matter are the day-by-day swan dives we take for the King of glory that may never look that glorious - but to God they are! — Hugh Halter

We buy into the saving work of Jesus big-time, but we dodge his words and his life as prototypical for the authentic Christian life. — Hugh Halter

This is a deeply sacrilegious book, and I expect that many will find it offensive. But I think that they will be offended in the right way; that is, the same way that Jesus offended people. Part of the mission of Jesus (and by extension his church) is to relieve us of the intolerable burden of our neo-pharisaic religion. I call it neo-pharisaic because it is just a new manifestation of a disease that has always plagued people of faith - religion! Religion is comprised of laying burdens on people's shoulders, hypocrisy and double standards, gracelessness toward "sinners," high-minded judgmentalism, straining at gnats and swallowing camels, externalization of faith in religious ritual, and not being pure in heart, among other things. — Hugh Halter

our "gathering" - or what people used to call "church" - is an aspect of what we do, but not the only thing. The gathering is where we . . . gather. That's it. It's a place that anyone can come to and not feel any pressure at any level. — Hugh Halter

Here is a truism. What you say about yourself matters very little, but what others say of you means the world. — Hugh Halter

Jesus's gospel is not about a cosmic religious apocalypse upon rebellious pagans. His gospel is about a new messianic kingdom where He rules in the spirit of His Father, a kingdom full of joy, grace, freedom, and release from all that ails humanity. — Hugh Halter

The incarnation is what those inside and outside the Christian faith are looking for, and if every Jesus follower truly "got it," it would fix every negative stereotype people have about Christians, Christianity, and the church. The incarnation of Jesus will give you proof that God understands how hard it is to be human, and it will help you see how to be human to the fullest. — Hugh Halter

Jesus is not saying, "Make sure you pray a prayer of repentance, start going to church, and wait for Me to come back." He is saying, "You can live a radically different life because there's a new world order that just broke in, so stop walking in the direction you're going, turn 180 degrees, and walk toward Me and life in the kingdom of God."

Halter, Hugh (2014-02-01). Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth (p. 53). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. — Hugh Halter

The gospel is not about trying to wedge a little Jesus into our crazy lives. The gospel is about letting God bring redemption and the way of his crazy kingdom into our frantically dysfunctional patterns of living. — Hugh Halter

I think the reason this was so important to Jesus was that He wanted people to know that God is relational - truly relational without any impure or selfish motives. He wanted His Father to be trusted, and therefore He needed men and women who represented this. The psychology of agendas is that they make relationships transactional, which means that people are used for a purpose. People become a means to someone else's end, and this erodes a person's belief that he or she is valued regardless of any production. — Hugh Halter

Church is God's people intentionally committing to die together so that others can find his kingdom. — Hugh Halter

In God's kingdom we are not just people He saves but fellow heirs of all that the King has. — Hugh Halter

And the day is coming fast when the gospel will again pass through the lives and ministries of normal people who have a full calling to ministry but also have a trade. — Hugh Halter

In other words, how "missional" you are is largely determined by the extent to which your people model the life, activities, and words of Jesus. — Hugh Halter