--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most churches don't have the resources…" description: "\"Most churches don't have the resources for these tricks and inducements but are still bound to the imagination that church happens on a Sunday in a bui..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/alan-hirsch-8667_bounds_most-churches-don-t-have-the-resources-f_1956473.png" --- # Most churches don't have the resources for these tricks… ![“Most churches don't have the resources for these tricks and inducements but are still bound to the imagination that church happens on a Sunday in a building.” quote by Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/alan-hirsch-8667_bounds_most-churches-don-t-have-the-resources-f_1956473.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/alan-hirsch-8667_bounds_most-churches-don-t-have-the-resources-f_1956473.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/alan-hirsch-8667_bounds_most-churches-don-t-have-the-resources-f_1956473.png) > “Most churches don't have the resources for these tricks and inducements but are still bound to the imagination that church happens on a Sunday in a building.” [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Church rituals often cling to traditional settings, limiting creative outreach despite limited resources. **In simple terms:** Churches are stuck in old formats. Key Takeaway Explore new ways to engage community. Themes religion tradition innovation Mood thoughtful hopeful Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - church planning - community events - online worship - outreach programs Key Concepts community building spiritual practice resource constraints Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives could make worship more accessible? - How can limited resources inspire creativity? A Different Perspective Changing tradition can meet resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Church Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church-happens-3206250/) [Churches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/churches/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-church-2609413/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resources/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Sunday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunday/) [Sunday Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunday-building-3206251/) [Tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tricks/) ## Related quotes > [The epicenter of creativity and imagination should be the Church, reflecting the character and glory of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-mcmanus/the-epicenter-of-creativity-and-imagination-should-be-the-church/) [Erwin McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-mcmanus/) > [I actually think one of most profoundly and deep pastoral moments between a pastor and his church is what happens between them before God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/i-actually-think-one-of-most-profoundly-and-deep-pastoral-moments/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [You plant the gospel. You don't plant churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/you-plant-the-gospel-you-don-t-plant-churches/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [“Go to church to learn about forgiveness; come back to become a forgiver! Go to church and learn about kindness; come back to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/go-to-church-to-learn-about-forgiveness-come-back-to-become-a/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Many new churches, I regret to say, can be described from the design point of view only as holy terrors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-boyd/many-new-churches-i-regret-to-say-can-be-described-from-the-design/) [Robin Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-boyd/) > [people say churches are half empty, they're not, they're too big](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-lock/people-say-churches-are-half-empty-they-re-not-they-re-too-big/) [Sean Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-lock/) > [“Gukora icyaha uri wenyine biroroha ariko kuramya Imana wenyine biragora”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-paul-gitwaza/gukora-icyaha-uri-wenyine-biroroha-ariko-kuramya-imana-wenyine/) [Dr Paul Gitwaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-paul-gitwaza/) > [It takes more than a great church to reach a city, it takes a great movement of churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/it-takes-more-than-a-great-church-to-reach-a-city-it-takes-a-great/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [By comparison with a night-club, churches are positively gay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/by-comparison-with-a-night-club-churches-are-positively-gay/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Prior to the Civil War, most libraries were either privately owned or housed in universities or churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/prior-to-the-civil-war-most-libraries-were-either-privately-owned-or/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/i-am-writing-to-all-the-churches-to-let-it-be-known-that-i-will/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [I support gay unions. I think the government should get out of the marriage business completely - leave marriages to the churches. And grant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-johnson/i-support-gay-unions-i-think-the-government-should-get-out-of-the/) [Gary Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-johnson/) > [Churches have given us great treasures such as music and architecture. Whether that pays for the harm they have done is another matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/churches-have-given-us-great-treasures-such-as-music-and-architecture/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Those churches have closed down or have been merged with a church that has a more positive vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hybels/those-churches-have-closed-down-or-have-been-merged-with-a-church/) [Bill Hybels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hybels/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Alan Hirsch > [If we are going to make the change from community to communitas, and not just end up with an unsustainable adrenaline-junkie culture, we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/if-we-are-going-to-make-the-change-from-community-to-communitas-and/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [Because we believe that somewhere in the nest of paradigms contained in the phrase "missional church" lies nothing less that the future viability of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/because-we-believe-that-somewhere-in-the-nest-of-paradigms-contained/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [A retreatist spirituality is not a spirituality that can, or will, transform the world in Jesus's name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/a-retreatist-spirituality-is-not-a-spirituality-that-can-or-will/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [Go among the people. Don't assume you know what church looks like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/go-among-the-people-don-t-assume-you-know-what-church-looks-like/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [“I have come to believe that the major threat to the viability of our faith is that of consumerism. This”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/i-have-come-to-believe-that-the-major-threat-to-the-viability-of-our/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [Christianity is an adventure of the spirit or it is not Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/christianity-is-an-adventure-of-the-spirit-or-it-is-not-christianity/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [The fact is that if Jesus's future kingdom is secure, those who trust in its coming will enact it now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/the-fact-is-that-if-jesus-s-future-kingdom-is-secure-those-who-trust/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [Those of us with too much invested in the way things are will never embrace the revolutionary cause required for wholesale change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/those-of-us-with-too-much-invested-in-the-way-things-are-will-never/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [“All apostolic ministry in some sense involves this return to the founding message as well as purpose. The missional task that follows is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/all-apostolic-ministry-in-some-sense-involves-this-return-to-the/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [Every Christian is a sent one. There is no such thing as an unsent Christian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/every-christian-is-a-sent-one-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-unsent/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [Heroes are important not only because they symbolize what we believe to be important, but because they also convey universal truths about personal self-discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/heroes-are-important-not-only-because-they-symbolize-what-we-believe/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [There's no such thing as an unsent Christian. You have already been SENT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/there-s-no-such-thing-as-an-unsent-christian-you-have-already-been/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [It's not so much that the church has a mission, it's that the mission of God has a church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/it-s-not-so-much-that-the-church-has-a-mission-it-s-that-the-mission/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [Being the church that Jesus intended means that we must participate in God’s eternal purposes for his world. Renewal means more than reinventing ourselves;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/being-the-church-that-jesus-intended-means-that-we-must-participate/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [“How did we ever get to believe that faithfulness involved simply retaining past forms and thinking? With the Creator God as our Father, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/how-did-we-ever-get-to-believe-that-faithfulness-involved-simply/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) [Explore all 79 Alan Hirsch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) ## More Bounds quotes > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. We repeat, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/importunity-is-a-condition-of-prayer-we-are-to-press-the-matter-not/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [We have committed ourselves to pursue joint policies, but then national governments say, "We aren't bound by that." That is a dramatic situation, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/we-have-committed-ourselves-to-pursue-joint-policies-but-then/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Christian obligation cannot be made to accord with a law of expediency. The Christian's maxims are, Do right because you are bound to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-landey-patton/christian-obligation-cannot-be-made-to-accord-with-a-law-of/) [Francis Landey Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-landey-patton/) > [Such as the chain of causes we call Fate, such is the chain of wishes: one links on to another; the whole man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/such-as-the-chain-of-causes-we-call-fate-such-is-the-chain-of-wishes/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > ['You spin in the sky, the world spins under you, and you step from land to land, while we . . .' She turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/you-spin-in-the-sky-the-world-spins-under-you-and-you-step-from-land/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [An order given in battle, an instruction issued by the master of a sailing ship, a cry for help, are as powerful in modifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/an-order-given-in-battle-an-instruction-issued-by-the-master-of-a/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [It is only when our life proceeds within bounds and in an accepted, disciplined way, that the mind can be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinoba-bhave/it-is-only-when-our-life-proceeds-within-bounds-and-in-an-accepted/) [Vinoba Bhave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinoba-bhave/) > [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. In wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/yes-thou-art-ever-present-power-divine-not-circumscribed-by-time-nor/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Once we are bound together to our brothers by a common good that is outside us, then we can breathe. Experience teaches us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/once-we-are-bound-together-to-our-brothers-by-a-common-good-that-is/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 1,649 Bounds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most churches don't have the resources for these tricks and inducements but are still bound to the imagination that church happens on a Sunday in a building.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Hirsch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/most-churches-don-t-have-the-resources-for-these-tricks-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bounds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/most-churches-don-t-have-the-resources-for-these-tricks-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/alan-hirsch-8667_bounds_most-churches-don-t-have-the-resources-f_1956473.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/alan-hirsch-8667_bounds_most-churches-don-t-have-the-resources-f_1956473.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/alan-hirsch-8667_bounds_most-churches-don-t-have-the-resources-f_1956473.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most churches don't have the resources for these tricks and inducements but are still bound to the…” — Alan Hirsch", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Hirsch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Most churches don't have the resources...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/most-churches-don-t-have-the-resources-for-these-tricks-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/most-churches-don-t-have-the-resources-for-these-tricks-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```