This weekend Brennan Manning came and spoke at a church near my home. I had read The Ragamuffin Gospel years ago and was deeply impacted by it, so this was an opportunity not to be missed.

Wow! What an experience. Manning's frail appearance belies his powerful stage presence and booming speaking voice. The auditorium held probably 2000-3000 people and he could easily have spoken without a microphone. But the power of his message was not in the delivery... it was in the content. His basic theme? God loves you just as you are, not as you should be.

I was also impressed by the scholarship that seemed evident in his speaking. He spoke without notes and quoted Pascal, St. Francis, an multiple Scripture references with ease. I am always challenged toward more memorization when I hear speakers do this. Clearly he had internalized the message he was there to deliver.

The two statements he made that I will chew on all week are these (and I apologize for needing to paraphrase - I can't remember them exactly):

"God moved heaven and earth to draw you in to worship Him today, and all He asks in return is that you be astonished that He bothered at all."

"God did not endure being spat upon, flogged, beaten, tortured, and nailed to a cross just to make all of you nicer and more moral people."

Think on that this week, my friends. I know I will be.