Individual faith vs community-as-cushion; church as organism, not corporation
Reflecting on the faithful farmer who needed no community to obey, the hosts argue the church is a body of individuals: like a red blood cell that does its job whether or not the arm is attached, each believer needs a direct relationship with God that community amplifies rather than replaces. A co-host cites the movie Stigmata's line that 'the church is in you' against church-as-institution. They critique the corporate church model — hiring pastors to cover for the community's lack of relationships — and the cookie-cutter franchise expectation that every church have a pastor, dynamic worship leader, children's minister, and energetic youth minister.
More on Community
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Do accountability partners actually work?
- Do accountability partners actually do anything?
Mike raises his accountability-partners question: the standard dude-circle advice to get a buddy to hold you accountable for Bible reading, porn, church attendance, and drinking.
From No. 598 · Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with Strangers
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Dear LFTP 2: the neighbors' piling newspapers
- Dear LFTP: at what point can we pick up our out-of-town neighbors' piling newspapers and recycle them?
Mike reads the second letter: new neighbors have been out of town for weeks and their newspapers are piling up — at what point may the writer recycle them?
From No. 595 · Trust But Verify
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Local pastors, mutual refinement, and the 'pods' joke
- What word comes after "community"?
The best pastor for you is the person in your life who can look you in the eyeballs; walk into every room expecting the other person might refine you — that only works locally.
From No. 590 · Theodore Franco
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Dear LFTP: Martha, John, and Jerry
- How should a woman in love with her ex's brother tell friends, family, and his parents?
A host reads the first Dear LFTP letter: Martha dated John for two years, then he kept living with her six months after the breakup; John is an emotionally and verbally abusive alcoholic who burned every bridge.
From No. 584 · When Vanek Was Here | Cambodia Testimony, Church Mission, Josiah Queen