Some will call it "fathering" or "shepherding." It's the idea that everyone should be accountable to and submitting to a leader who provides wisdom, accountability and protection. While the idea's intention is good, it's not biblical the fruit of the practice is not good. Join Mike and Barb as they discuss why this relational framework is deceptively unhealthy and Scriptures throughout the biblical story that clue us in to a healthier way.

It's common for humans to operate in systems of authority and submission where people are in charge of other people. But when Jesus was confronted by such a system, he gave a surprising response that revealed a different system in the Kingdom of God. Join Mike and Barb as they discuss how authority and submission operate in a healthy church.

Largely in the church today, being a leader is about being a little god or a prince or an official. It's about being in a needed position permanently. But you see something different in the biblical story. Join Mike and Barb as they discuss the primary job of a leader in the first churches based on the example of Jesus and the first apostles.

There are many word used by the writers of the New Testament that have come to mean things different than what they originally meant. "Deacon" and "bishop" have come to mean positions in an organization rather than descriptions of the parts of a living organism. Join Mike and Barb as they discuss what the writers of the New Testament meant by these words and how it relates to being a healthy church.

1 Corinthians 12:28 says "And God has appointed in the church, first apostles..." So why are apostles first? There are two main ways to answer that question. Join Mike and Barb as they discuss this critical function in a church and how it contributes to a church being healthy.

It's common to hear people talking about how churches are the "Body of Christ." But what does that mean practically? What does it look like to actually function like that? Join Mike and Barb as they discuss how the image of the human body reveals how a church was designed to do life together, and how it's different than anything else in the world.

There are words used in English Bible translations when it comes to the topic of church leadership that are misleading at best, and completely destructive at worst. But as we start to dig into the words the original authors used and their meanings, we find a consistency throughout the biblical story that helps us see God's vision for influence in human relationships. Join Mike as he goes through 3 inconsistently translated Greek words on this topic to better understand a crucial part of the foundation of healthy church life.

You might have noticed something when it comes to Scriptures related to the topic of leadership - many of them seem to contradict each other. In one verse, Jesus says that his disciples don't "lord it over each other." But in another verse, the author of Hebrews writes "obey your leaders and submit to their authority." Join Mike and Barb as they begin discussions on the topic of church leadership and discover the solution to these contradictions by starting with what Jesus taught about human relationships.

Finding healthy church starts with understanding the nature and purpose of the Church. Join Mike and Barb as they break down the insights they uncovered in their study of this topic through the first 18 episodes of the podcast to get back to the basics and discover some of the first principles of the nature and purpose of the Church.

Isn't it ironic that the Church was more successful in a passionately pagan society where demands on converts were higher than in an at least nominally Christian society where demands are lower? Join us as we talk about the characteristics that made churches in the early centuries of the Jesus movement so effective at spreading Christianity throughout the Roman Empire and how that compares to today.