PHIL ROBERTSON, elder for the White’s Ferry Road Church of Christ in West Monroe, La., on his family’s starring role in the A&E reality series “Duck Dynasty.”


“I have no interest in a miracle. After 32 years in a body with no arms, why on earth would I want to start over with a new body part? Quite frankly, I don’t understand what you people do with arms.”

CHET McDONIEL, inspirational speaker and member of The Hills Church of Christ in North Richland Hills, Texas, joking during the Spiritual Growth Workshop in Orlando, Fla.


“This is why I come.”

BOBBY LAWSON, minister for the Park Forest Church of Christ in Matteson, Ill., rushing to comfort an illegal immigrant’s weeping mother at a federal deportation center west of Chicago.


“Winterfest is a like a shower after a really long, hard day. You feel refreshed and cleansed, and it gives you a renewed energy.”

CANA MOORE, 18, member of the Patchogue Church of Christ in New York, on the annual youth gathering in Gatlinburg, Tenn.


“I think these kids really get the message of Christ — I want you to be salt and light — and they’re not satisfied with letting the lights hang in a church building and letting the salt sit in a shaker. They want to be out making a difference.”

CHUCK MORRIS,youth minister for the Crosswinds Church of Christ in Three Way, Tenn., on the young people who attended GO! Camp at Freed-Hardeman University.


“Christianity is no longer the default religion of Americans, even though a majority of Americans still identify as Christians. There will be increasing skepticism — and in some cases hostility — toward people of faith and Christians in particular. But I think, then, our response to that is, ‘Do we see those challenges as barriers or as opportunities for the Gospel to go forward?’”

DAVID KINNAMAN, president of the Barna Group, a market research firm specializing in the religious beliefs and behavior of Americans.


“A lot of people have grown up and decided not to keep the Christian faith, but you have to separate yourself. It’s like being in the NBA. Not everybody can play in the NBA. You have to discipline yourself so that you can sustain and that you can make it. The same thing goes for Christianity.”

NORRIS COLE,Church of Christ member and guard for the NBA champion Miami Heat.


“We’ll give you a homecooked meal and everything else. Just look for me. I’ll be there.”

BRENDA CARTER, member of the Fidelity Church of Christ in Houston, volunteering during a citywide campaign and inviting a stranger to visit the church.


“The trafficking of girls is one of the great evils in the world, and I believe strongly that Christians are the ones that should be fighting this evil.”

LINDA EGLE, founder of Eternal Threads and member of the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas, on the efforts of Christians fighting human trafficking in Nepal.


“It surprises a lot of people that Janice and I are friends, and I don’t know who it bothers more, the Republicans or the Democrats.”

REP. TED POE, R-Texas, on his cordial relationship with Rep. Janice Hahn, D-Calif., a fellow alumnus of Abilene Christian University.


“We used to say, ‘We are Christians only but not the only Christians.’ What happened to that?”

COLIN SHERFIELD, 21, on a lack of “brand loyalty” among young members of Churches of Christ.


“I believe that this is simply the beginning of something much greater to come. I don’t know what it is. We don’t know what the Lord has in store. But at least it’s a beginning.”

FRED GRAY, civil rights attorney and church elder, on Lipscomb University honoring him 45 years after he filed a lawsuit over the closing of the Nashville Christian Institute, a school that trained hundreds of future black church leaders.


“My permanent prayer always has been and always will be for peace and stability. That is what we are instructed to do as Christians. Our No. 1 priority always should be peace, which is probably the furthest thing right now from the region.”

KHALIL JASHAN, member of the Fairfax Church of Christ in Virginia and former president of the National Association of Arab-Americans, on his prayers for North Africa and the Middle East.


“There are people who roll their eyes when you mention your faith or gospel songs. I have had label people tell me not to talk about Jesus so much when I’m in New York and L.A. I tell them, ‘My faith has gotten me to where I am, and I’m not going to hide it.”

LAURA ROGERS, member of the North Carolina Church of Christ in Killen, Ala., who sings with her sister Lidya in the duo Secret Sisters.


“My fear is that we won’t have a common meeting place, and we will grow further apart. With the culture today of people not traveling around to other congregations to fellowship, not having Western as a center will just add to the segregation we are experiencing.”

LAWANDA JACOBS SCHNEIDER, Canadian church member, mourning the closing of financially beleaguered Western Christian College and High School in Regina, Saskatchewan.


“Sure, folks are friendly and gregarious — to the people they know. But the poor Joe Schmo that wanders in not knowing anyone is usually only minimally engaged by the congregation despite our fancy ‘welcome centers’ or coffee bars.”

JOHN SCOTT, Texas minister, on his concerns about how most churches treat visitors.


“The more I came around this place, the more I got to know God. It’s by the grace of God and these people that I’m still here and still alcohol- and drug-free.”

DEBBY MILLAR,on the River City Ministry, which serves the poor and homeless in North Little Rock, Ark.


“I’m to the point where I don’t see the dump or notice the smell. I see the people.”

MATT FITZGERALD, a missionary who serves meals to people who scavenge for recyclable material at a dump in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.


“I would like the church to be like cereal with dehydrated bananas. You add spiritual milk and it expands — bursting with flavor.”

PEDRO MORALES, newly appointed elder of the Sabanilla Church of Christ in Costa Rica.


“I think there was healing in the accident. I think time heals wounds. There was a lot of bitterness that was gone after the wreck. When you’re staring death in the face, you sort of put things in perspective.”

BROOKE MEYER NAPIER, daughter of former Lipscomb University basketball coach Don Meyer, on how a horrific accident that required the amputation of his left leg below the knee changed him.


“This is the kind of day the devil despises. There must be 25 countries represented here. Truly, this is the United Nations Church of Christ.”

JEFF ABRAMS, minister for the Tuscumbia Church of Christ in Alabama, speaking at a multicultural worship assembly in London during the 2012 Olympics.