Quotes from Seth Barnes

Jesus was the original radical. He announced the arrival of a kingdom that would stand common sense on its head. Early on, after his disciples saw him heal the sick and rout the enemy, Jesus turned his boys loose on the countryside. They'd seen enough. Now it was time to do what Jesus had done: heal the sick, raise the dead, and declare the kingdom. (The whole great adventure is chronicled in Luke 9 and 10).

Look at anybody you admire — from Mother Teresa to Nelson Mandela — and you'll find that their life was filled with great pain. You'll also see that they met the deep challenge of that pain with love. In so doing, they found the call that defined their lives.

When we heed the truth about our greatness in him — when we first hear his whispering voice — the Gift of Restlessness stirs in our souls. We sense God calling us to something more, and it resonates inside of us. The Gift of Restlessness is just a manifestation of our deepest purpose. When we start to step into that greatness and walk in our calling, we find what we sought. Or maybe it finds us. In other words, obedience defeats restlessness.

Similarly, some of us have substituted a "relationship" with a book for a relationship with God. God can talk to us any way he wants. After all, he's God! he chose many different ways to speak to people in Scripture, and he may choose different ways with us as well. He does not tell us in Scripture that he has limited himself and will only speak to us through the Bible.

The World Race is an eleven-month program that initiates young adults into a lifestyle of following Jesus by living as the early disciples did for a year.

Ephesians 2:10, Paul says that God has stored up good works for us to do. If we are to do those good works, we must learn to pay attention to what we see and hear the Father doing; we must learn how to depend on him. We need to plug into another power source if we are to come close to doing what Jesus did.

The Curse of Restlessness that can lead from one trip to the next, one job to the next, or one relationship to the next, can be transformed by a sense of contentment. An abiding peace can grow — a peace that comes from living your calling in the world.

All kingdom journeys have an end, as do all journeys in life. Ultimately, we will have to ask ourselves if we are satisfied with how we've lived. Did we invest our life the way we or God wanted? Did we live well?

When we avoid risk or compromise, God doesn't live through us to the extent that he'd like. He wants us to depend on him and his resources. To accomplish God-sized dreams, we must jump into situations where we have to depend on him.