Travis welcomes Michel Hendricks to the show! In the past few decades, so much of church and the Christian life has been about simply gaining information that leads us to believe and hopefully do the right things. However, as time has gone on, many Christ-followers have felt that there is more. Could there be something that we are missing? As the pandemic revealed, we are built for connection to God first and then with others second. In fact, our brains are divinely wired for both, and yet many within the church have neglected this important part of our makeup. However, in recent years there has been a relational reformation-a hunger to recover the connection with people the way God intended and we now have the brain science to show us what the Bible has been talking about for millennia.

Travis and Michel discuss his book, The Other Half of Church, which he co-authored with our previous guest Jim Wilder. The book has become the go-to text for this relational reformation and rightly so because they have hit on something that many within the church have been saying and feeling for years: there is more and the Bible tells us all about it!

Listen in as they talk about how God has wired our brains for relationships and joy and how we can return to this relational joy the way that God intended!

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Takeaways:

• The foundational essence of joy in our lives serves as a vital prerequisite for effective discipleship, much like a gas tank is essential for a vehicle's operation.
• Experiencing joy is not merely a fleeting emotion; it is intrinsically connected to our growth and maturation in character, especially within a Christian context.
• In order to foster a thriving community of faith, we must prioritize relational elements such as joy and hesed, which cultivate an environment conducive to spiritual development.
• Our group identity plays a significant role in shaping our behavior and character, emphasizing the importance of belonging and attachment within our spiritual journeys.