Big lie 5: church isn't important, and what counts as church?
- Does hanging out with friends at a kid's ballgame count as church?
The fifth lie — that church is optional if you have a personal relationship with God — sparks the episode's longest discussion. Ben (speaker-1) asks Dan (speaker-3, addressed as 'Dan' at seg-00370) directly: if people commune, pray, and share struggles at a kid's ballgame, is that church? Dan answers that church is the community on mission, not a Sunday event; Ben adds that the early church still gathered intentionally with teaching, preaching, and the Lord's Supper (Paul correcting Corinth). They warn that declining attendance without compensating scripture, prayer, and worship is producing biblical illiteracy, and that parents trade kids' formation for the ballgame at a cost.
More on Church
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Church, emotions, and the self-focus of affluence
- How do you help people in an affluent, self-focused culture see that they need Jesus?
Ben revives a question from two or three shows back: are church services and worship tunes postured toward certain personality types — predominantly emotions and dealing with emotions?
From No. 603 · Found Out
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Leadership training for church leaders: get a business manager
- Do people who lead churches need leadership training?
Mike's real question: to what extent do people need leadership training to lead churches? Ben gives two distinct answers.
From No. 602 · Relationship Counseling
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The New Testament case for human shaping
- What does the New Testament actually say about spiritual authority and submission?
Ben walks the New Testament texts: Hebrews 13:17 ('obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls') presumes a soul-watching laborer, not a rule-maker;…
From No. 600 · Rage The Elephant
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Confetti and lasers: what should God's people be known for?
- Do we want to be known as the confetti and lasers people?
- What should God's people be known for?
Ben redirects to the docket's denomination question: when someone hears Silas's church described as 'the confetti and lasers people,' should that sting?
From No. 598 · Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with Strangers