Why we speak...

I came across these two quotes in Shane Claiborne's book, "The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical" and was quite struck by them.

Sometimes we speak to change the world; other times we speak to keep the world from changing us. (p.123)

Our programs revolve around the needs and gifts in our community and are always changing. They never define us, for we set out not to start programs but simply to be good neighbors. (p. 125)

(By the way, if you can pick this book up, I reccommend it. Claiborne simply tells stories, make suggestions, talks about the community he's involved in, and what he believes following Christ should actually look like. My friends Andy and Marty were raving about it after reading only a chapter or two each, so I picked it up and haven't regretted it.)