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.

It takes knowledge and practice plus time for a group of people to be built together in agape love. The letters to churches in the New Testament give us a clear picture of this being the case. But when a church starts to naturally and consistently display certain characteristics of healthy families, you know progress is being made. Join Barb and Mike as they work through four of them together.

Jesus said some pretty radical things about being his disciple; specifically that making the choice would divide families and re-prioritize our loyalty. Join us as we talk about how Jesus felt about where the Church belongs in his followers' lives and the dilemma this creates.

Do you think primary loyalty belongs to a spouse (if married) or siblings? In the modern Western world, it's romantic love that generally wins. But in the ancient Mediterranean world, this wasn't true. Join us as we talk about why it's important to keep in mind what the first Christians meant when they used family language in their communications and the implications for what it means to interact as brothers and sisters in Christ.

The world's identity comes from what you do, where you live, what you have, and what other people think of you. This is a unique approach of the modern Western world. In this episode, we'll talk about the consequences of this approach and what biblical authors meant when they said one's identity is in Christ.

People are seemingly unable to commit to or stay in close-knit shared-life Christian community. A main reason for this is a cultural mindset members of churches have adopted that contributes to this. In this episode, Mike and Barb discuss this mindset, common examples of it, and why it matters so much that it be dealt with if we are to find healthy church.

There's a deceptive philosophy about church structure floating around the Christian world that is ultra-unhealthy. In this episode, Mike shares a story about encountering this philosophy in real life and sets the record straight about the true structure of God's household.

Living things have to have structure to be able to function. A healthy church is a living thing because it operates by the Life of Christ. Therefore, it develops structure as it grows. But that structure will never be like the world's mechanical structure, which is great for relationships built on power and control. Healthy churches seek organic order where relationships develop according to the DNA of the Life of Christ inside of the people involved.

Church growth isn't necessarily the growth of God's Kingdom. If a church's source is God's life, it will grow and reproduce the Kingdom of God on earth. In this episode, Mike and Barb discuss the pattern found in the biblical story of church growth that is also the growth of the presence of God's Kingdom on earth.