with intention

i read this today in from an essay called Let the Church Be the Church by John Howard Yoder:


"New Testament moral thought begins by facing the fact that we live in a world that most of the time does not listen to all that christians have to say and some of the time will listen to nothing. Recognition of this minority posture calls not for social cynicism or for withdrawal but for a profound intellectual reorientation. Going far beyond the mere statistical awareness that not as many people will show up on sunday morning as used to, this reorientation will move on to the recognition that probably many of those who do attend are not yet committed to orienting their lives around a profound conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord."