Quotes from Mark Perry

The church is about life-giving relationships that come together in gatherings. When we gather, we don't primarily assemble in the style of the synagogue: to learn, to receive, to evaluate, and to contemplate. Rather, we assemble in the style of the temple: to worship, to pray, to encounter God, and to bring our offering. We come as living stones, fitted together in the house of God as a collective dwelling place.

Too many Western believers still unconsciously view the church like a cruise ship, with a large, well-trained staff looking after every need. The church was never intended to be a cruise ship! It was always meant to be more like a fishing boat, with everyone working, everyone helping to catch and clean fish, and everyone enjoying the satisfaction of knowing that they gave their all. In such a crew, there is loyalty and friendship centered around a common mission.

The church is a hospital, to be sure. But that hospital is a MASH unit, not a gated retirement center!

The church is often compared to a football game: 65,000 people in desperate need of exercise, and 22 people in desperate need of rest! Spectator Christianity compartmentalizes our lives so church becomes a 2-hour slot rather than a lifestyle.

The church is meant to lead the world in hearing God's voice and shaping culture.

When the King and His kingdom are the focus, the church happens. When the church is the focus, the King and His kingdom get relegated to second place. Jesus' admonition to seek first the kingdom is central to what it means to build kingdom churches.

As we seek to build kingdom churches, our priestly functions must be in proper order—the first commandment must take first place, and the second commandment must be second.

We have continually emphasized the dimensions of Christianity that have to do with family, togetherness, belonging, and membership. Please don't misunderstand. These truths are vital, and I believe in their validity. But when they are presented out of balance, they can do great damage. And let's face it: they have been presented out of balance.

The hope that every believer could walk with and serve God on equal footing with every other believer and have no mediator but Christ didn't originate with our generation. Even Martin Luther, great reformationist that he was, didn't invent this reality, though it was part of his historic posting and protest of 95 theses nailed to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517.

Within that single fifteen-month period—perhaps the most creative in American literary history—Grant would not only write his Personal Memoirs, Twain would reach the peak of his career with the publication of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Those two books, perhaps the finest work of American nonfiction ever written and the greatest of all American novels, defined their legacy.

In kingdom churches, it is not good enough if the pastor and staff get to fulfill their destiny while everyone else watches and applauds. It is time for every believer in every church in the West to reach their full potential and to fulfill their destiny in Christ.

When the King and His kingdom are the focus, the church happens. When the church is the focus, the King and His kingdom get relegated to second place.

The strong winds of change are blowing, and it is nothing less than a kingdom revolution authored by God that is changing the way we perceive and 'do' church.

Everyone pays a price for unity. Everyone has to die to at least some aspect of their dreams and plans for true unity to take place. But wherever unity truly happens, it releases incredible multiplying power.

Wherever church government is mingled with ambition, we find leaders who value members primarily for how they contribute to the church's vision.

God's kingdom advances when we embrace each others' uniqueness rather than try to copy it.

Nature is the first and last revelation because it is the 'scripture' of the Eternal. The trace of His hand is found in every rippling field of grass or fluttering leaf or silent flower; to read them is to help recover our roots of immortality.

Healthy people who do not have a need to control anyone make the best leaders.

Humility is much more profound than honesty about our problems or looking at the ground when we speak. It's about dependency and childlike trust, and it doesn't contain a whiff of self-righteousness or defensiveness.

To be part of the company who help bring about a kingdom church revolution, our hearts must not only align with the priorities in God's heart; we must become those who build what God is building.

Never let your zeal for serving Him get ahead of your prayer for seeking Him.

Church leadership has often used its positional authority to control believers who have expressed a desire for more individual freedom within the church. Because we haven't known what to do with individuals who are strong in their expression and who have a high view of their individual authority in Christ, we have over-preached collective Christianity.

As churches and leaders in regions start to recognize our unique contributions, there will be less jealousy and competition. Instead, we will see more cooperation and recognition as we cheer each other on.