Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
A Tribute to Brennan Manning

A Tribute to Brennan Manning

Last updated on: May 9, 2013 at 11:56 am by Susan Cottrell

A Tribute to Brennan Manning 2013-05-09T11:56:19-05:00 Susan Cottrell

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow side I learn who I am and what God’s grace means.” Brennan Manning

What I know about Brennan Manning is he knew (experienced, lived, trusted) the love of God. He lived in his position as God’s beloved child. And Brennan gave that gift to many, many people in his books and talks. Brennan died only recently, but his work showing us God’s uncontainable love lives on.

Brennan didn’t always grasp for himself the love of God. He spent some time in the gutter as an alcoholic. He tells that one time he saw an attractive young blonde, holding her little boy’s hand. The boy approached Brennan and said, “Mommy, look at him.” The woman pulled her son away. “Don’t look at that filth. All that is is pure filth,” and she kicked Brennan and broke two of his ribs.

During his gutter time, Brennan says, a friend flew down every two weeks just to sit with him in the gutter and to take him to breakfast. “He didn’t try to change me,” he said, “he just loved me.”

If Jesus had not pulled Brennan Manning out of the gutter — and if Brennan had not allowed Jesus to pull him out of the gutter — we would not have the enormous blessing of Brennan’s legacy of Christ’s love in his books and teachings.

But even more important is this: Jesus loved him and accepted Brennan and had compassion on him every bit as much when he was in the gutter as when he was teaching people about Jesus.

If you’ve never been in a gutter, how do you know Jesus loves you in the gutter? If you haven’t experienced desperate desolation in your life, how do you know the compassion of Jesus you experience there? We try to get people to get their lives together, and that’s all well and good. But how do we know what they will find only in their desperate place? At the end of his journey, the prodigal son knew his father far more intimately than did his brother, who’d been faithful all along.

Life can be hard, and we cannot anticipate all its twists and turns. God is not as concerned about the twists and turns as about our knowing Him in intimate relationship.

“The Word we study has to be the Word we pray. My personal experience of the relentless tenderness of God came not from exegetes, theologians, and spiritual writers, but from sitting still in the presence of the living Word and beseeching Him to help me understand with my head and heart His written Word. Sheer scholarship alone cannot reveal to us the gospel of grace. We must never allow the authority of books, institutions, or leaders to replace the authority of *knowing Jesus Christ personally and directly. When the religious views of others interpose between us and the primary experience of Jesus as the Christ, we become unconvicted and unpersuasive travel agents handing out brochures to places we have never visited.” Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out*

against homosexuality

bible and homosexuality

bible homosexuality

Brennan Manning

Brennan Manning tribute

Christian gay marriage

God's unconditional love

homosexuality

homosexuality a sin

homosexuality and sin

homosexuality sin bible

is homosexuality sin

Raggamuffin Gospel

sin of homosexuality

Tribute to Brennan Manning

what is homosexuality

Previous Post

May 8, 2013

Born Selfish

Next Post

May 14, 2013 Who Ya Gonna Call? Sinbusters!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Church & Religion Dear Susan Family Support Gay Weddings & Marriage GCN Conference Jesus Blog LGBTQ Support Parenting Personal Stories Suicide The Real Jesus Theology Transgender Uncategorized X Archived Posts

Select a Month August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 June 2022 December 2021 May 2021 February 2021 November 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 May 2019 March 2019 January 2019 November 2018 March 2018 January 2018 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Where was Paul headed when he encountered the risen Christ?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Rome Antioch Jerusalem Damascus

Support this
Column