--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...I don't think my church's teachings…" description: "\"...I don't think my church's teachings were incorrect, just incomplete.\" — Francis Chan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/francis-chan-548_church_i-don-t-think-my-church-s-teachings-were_2080612.png" --- # ...I don't think my church's teachings were incorrect… ![“...I don't think my church's teachings were incorrect, just incomplete.” quote by Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/francis-chan-548_church_i-don-t-think-my-church-s-teachings-were_2080612.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/francis-chan-548_church_i-don-t-think-my-church-s-teachings-were_2080612.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/francis-chan-548_church_i-don-t-think-my-church-s-teachings-were_2080612.png) > “...I don't think my church's teachings were incorrect, just incomplete.” [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests his church's doctrine lacks completeness, not falsehood. **In simple terms:** Church teachings are incomplete, not wrong. Key Takeaway Seek fuller understanding. Themes faith theology growth Mood reflective thoughtful Type spiritual inspirational When to use this quote - personal study - group discussion - seeking mentors Key Concepts Doctrine interpretation spiritual maturity Questions to Reflect On - What aspects feel missing? - How can you fill the gaps? A Different Perspective May overlook practical application of teachings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Theory without practice is just as incomplete as practice without theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assata-shakur/theory-without-practice-is-just-as-incomplete-as-practice-without/) [Assata Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assata-shakur/) > [“Whatever religious tradition you call your own, you will probably find religious diversity even within it. We can believe we mean the same things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-tyger/whatever-religious-tradition-you-call-your-own-you-will-probably-find/) George Tyger > [The problem is that you can't impose the church's teachings on all Americans as a matter of law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-problem-is-that-you-can-t-impose-the-church-s-teachings-on-all/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [“Slavery was abolished in 1355 because of church teachings stating that all men are equal in the eyes of God.§”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-johansson-robinowitz/slavery-was-abolished-in-1355-because-of-church-teachings-stating/) [Christina Johansson Robinowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-johansson-robinowitz/) > [If we all gave all our goods to the poor, the church would fall apart. If we all hated our father and mother, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/if-we-all-gave-all-our-goods-to-the-poor-the-church-would-fall-apart/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“The Lord needs men and women who can talk with confidence about what they believe. Men and women who aren't afraid to wrestle with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-dew/the-lord-needs-men-and-women-who-can-talk-with-confidence-about-what/) [Sheri Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-dew/) > [I think the church needs – I think this is the world we are living in and we need to affirm people wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bell/i-think-the-church-needs-i-think-this-is-the-world-we-are-living-in/) [Rob Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bell/) > [I think that the church in America today is so obsessed with being practical, relevant, helpful, successful, and perhaps well-liked that it nearly mirrors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-horton/i-think-that-the-church-in-america-today-is-so-obsessed-with-being/) [Michael Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-horton/) > [I think the church needs to be much more countercultural than that and invite people into slowing down, into a "Be-still-and-know-that-I-am-God" mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/i-think-the-church-needs-to-be-much-more-countercultural-than-that/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [We must cease to think of the church as a gathering of institutions and organizations, and we must get back to the notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-must-cease-to-think-of-the-church-as-a-gathering-of-institutions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The church is not a social club, which votes certain people in and excludes others, based on the way they look, dress, or sound.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-allen-dunn/the-church-is-not-a-social-club-which-votes-certain-people-in-and/) [Randall Allen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-allen-dunn/) > [I think of the church often. Not because religion was closing in on me, but because for a long time my ass was sore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-think-of-the-church-often-not-because-religion-was-closing-in-on-me/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [It is better to think of church in the ale-house than to think of the ale-house in church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-is-better-to-think-of-church-in-the-ale-house-than-to-think-of-the/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [They are hypocrites, they think the Church is a cage to keep God in, so he will stay locked up there and not go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/they-are-hypocrites-they-think-the-church-is-a-cage-to-keep-god-in-so/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Really I feel less keen about the Army every day. I think the Church would suit me better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/really-i-feel-less-keen-about-the-army-every-day-i-think-the-church/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## More by Francis Chan > [If you want to see the big stuff that God has, you've got to take some risk and trust only in the Gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/if-you-want-to-see-the-big-stuff-that-god-has-you-ve-got-to-take-some/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving. WE can't sideline His more difficult attributes to make room for the palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/god-is-compassionate-and-just-loving-and-holy-wrathful-and-forgiving/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [“In the midst of our failed attempts at loving Jesus, His grace covers us. Each of us has lukewarm elements and practices in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/in-the-midst-of-our-failed-attempts-at-loving-jesus-his-grace-covers/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Jesus' call to commitment is clear: He wants all or nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/jesus-call-to-commitment-is-clear-he-wants-all-or-nothing/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Yes, it is God who works in you. And, yes, there is work for you to do. Yes, the Spirit empowers you to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/yes-it-is-god-who-works-in-you-and-yes-there-is-work-for-you-to-do/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/the-point-of-your-life-is-to-point-to-him-whatever-you-are-doing-god/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/lukewarm-people-love-others-but-do-not-seek-to-love-others-as-much-as/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [“Life is comfortable when you separate yourself from people who are different from you. That epitomizes what my life was like: characterized by comfort.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/life-is-comfortable-when-you-separate-yourself-from-people-who-are/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Christ can come back at any time so the one thing you want to have in your life is a focused prayer time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/christ-can-come-back-at-any-time-so-the-one-thing-you-want-to-have-in/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [“Awe Factor” video at www.crazylovebook.com to get a taste of the awe factor of our God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/awe-factor-video-at-www-crazylovebook-com-to-get-a-taste-of-the-awe/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [“What I want you to do right now is to go online and look at the “Awe Factor” video at www.crazylovebook.com to get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/what-i-want-you-to-do-right-now-is-to-go-online-and-look-at-the-awe/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Multi-tasking is keeping me from whole-hearted worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/multi-tasking-is-keeping-me-from-whole-hearted-worship/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [The stress that some of us feel - it's a lack of faith, it really is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/the-stress-that-some-of-us-feel-it-s-a-lack-of-faith-it-really-is/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [We have become dangerously comfortable- believers ooze with wealth and let their addictions to comfort and security numb the radical urgency of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/we-have-become-dangerously-comfortable-believers-ooze-with-wealth-and/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [Not being able to understand God is frustrating, but it is ridiculous for us to think we have the right to limit God to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/not-being-able-to-understand-god-is-frustrating-but-it-is-ridiculous/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) [Explore all 479 Francis Chan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) ## More Church quotes > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [God is not calling us to go to church; he is calling us to be his church, the hope of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/god-is-not-calling-us-to-go-to-church-he-is-calling-us-to-be-his/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) [Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...I don't think my church's teachings were incorrect, just incomplete.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Chan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/i-don-t-think-my-church-s-teachings-were-incorrect-just-incomplete/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Church" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/i-don-t-think-my-church-s-teachings-were-incorrect-just-incomplete/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/francis-chan-548_church_i-don-t-think-my-church-s-teachings-were_2080612.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/francis-chan-548_church_i-don-t-think-my-church-s-teachings-were_2080612.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/francis-chan-548_church_i-don-t-think-my-church-s-teachings-were_2080612.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...I don't think my church's teachings were incorrect, just incomplete.” — Francis Chan", "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": "Francis Chan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...I don't think my church's teachings...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/i-don-t-think-my-church-s-teachings-were-incorrect-just-incomplete/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/i-don-t-think-my-church-s-teachings-were-incorrect-just-incomplete/#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 } } ] } ```