One Right Church

"It is what it is." "You should have known this would happen." "You're the one who made the decision." These are all things Mark heard about leaving the Followers of Christ. In this episode, we discuss how the choice to leave is not a choice to reject family members. Rather, the pressure that comes from the church to shun their friends and family is like Sophie's Choice . Listen and see if you agr...

This has been on our minds again. It never really leaves. In this encore episode, we discuss the doctrine of rejection. Followers of Christ, like other groups, practice shunning or rejection because it was taught from the beginning. We look at the teaching and biblical ideas behind that practice.

Cole Crone had his life mapped out for him. It just wasn't the life that he wanted. If he played the part, the future was very predictable. He dreamed of a different part. That dream led him out of the One Right Church and into college. We think you'll enjoy hearing about his unconventional path as much as we did. Cole has a podcast of his own called Clear Path Christianity . You'll want to hear w...

Every One Right Church thinks they are the One Right Church. (Of course!) That means they have split from other churches, or others have separated from them. Eventually, you end up with One Right Church...or several. In this episode, we discuss what is worth dividing over. Are all issues equal? How do you decide what is worth separating over? We use a simple triage rule. There are things to die fo...

What is faith and how do I know if I have it? How do you know if you have enough? Trust, Faith, Belief. That is the topic of this episode. Let us know if this prompts any thoughts or questions!

In our 100th episode, we revisit recurring themes and ongoing challenges from the first 100 episodes. We will always return to a few things: Salvation is by grace apart from our works. You can be sure of your salvation because it comes to you by the merit of Christ, not your own merit. It is as good as Christ, not as good as your works. God is not like us. He is perfect and doesn't grade on a curv...

This encore episode is one of our favorites. Mark’s wife, Cindy, joins us to share part of her story. Years after having nothing to do with her dad, she experiences a glorious reconciliation with him. Reconciliation and forgiveness are always possible. There is always hope that relationships can be healed!

We received historical documents from the Followers of Christ Church, including notes from the 1937 Conference. We talked about this in the last episode. One of the lines in those documents called the church "The Ark of Safety." If you are in the Ark, that is the church, you are saved. In this episode, we discuss how believing you are in the ark gives a false sense of security. We talk about the r...

We were given some notes from the 1937 conference of the Followers of Christ. It outlines some of the topics the delegation will discuss. What they talked about set the tone for the next 90 years! The general principle is that whether we like it or not, people follow in our footsteps. The footsteps left in 1937 lead in a direction. The root grows fruit. Here is a picture of the agenda.

This is the third in a mini-series about marks of a church. These characteristics of a church should mark the One Right Church. The true church should share traits in common with other churches that have historically followed Jesus. Throughout this series, we've tried to highlight a few of them. Today the focus is on church discipline, discipleship, and elder leadership. We hope you find this epis...

Certain things mark a true church and distinguish it from something else. This is important. It will help you know if you are truly in the one right church. In this episode, we take a quick look at evangelism, ordinances, and church membership. I hope this helps you understand what a church should be doing.

What kinds of things are marks of a true church? This should be a matter of first importance if you think you are in the one right church. In the next three episodes, we will examine the agreed-upon marks of a church. This time we take a quick look at preaching, theology, the gospel, and conversion. I hope this helps you understand what a church is for.

The character of the One Right Church should be evident from the Bible. The New Testament contains pictures of the church that show us its relationships and flavor. Each picture displays a slightly different facet of the beautiful church. The single distinctive feature of the One Right Church is its relationship to Jesus. The picture may be of a bride and a bridegroom, or a shepherd and his sheep,...

The origin story of the One Right Church is an important matter. How the church starts will shape what it becomes. That is the topic of this episode. How the church got started in the book of Acts tells us what kind of institution it is. We hope this discussion of the beginning of the church will help you distinguish between the One Right Church and the real church of Jesus Christ.

It should go without saying that if you are the One Right Church, you should know what the purpose of the church is. Why does the church exist? What is it trying to do? We take up these questions in this episode.

Does God still speak? Or, more specifically, does he say new things? In this episode, we talk about how God reveals Himself. It is common for churches that consider themselves the one right church to seek new or additional revelation through a called or appointed man. How can you trust that God is speaking? We hope our discussion helps you discern the voice of God.

In this episode, we talk about Lamentations 2:14. It says, "Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but have seen for you oracles that are false and misleading." It surprised us when it suggested that your iniquities must be exposed to restore your fortunes. Mark realized his iniquities were never talked about when...

It has been said that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. One characteristic of the One Right Church is that a secondary issue becomes primary. The church begins to focus on something that isn't the main thing. Then, either peer pressure or a dominant leader enforces the importance of the secondary thing. The primary thing disappears when the secondary becomes too important. I...

We all have traditions, habits, attitudes, or anything really that can keep us in the dark. Those things are beyond examination. In this episode, we relay a story Mark heard about someone who felt his religious identity didn't need to be examined. That is, until his daughter challenged him to read the Bible for himself. Uncomfortably at first, but then happily, he found his opinions changing. Our...

The name of our podcast is The One Right Church. But what is it? What makes a church the one right church? We thought it would be worthwhile to discuss a list of characteristics that, I hope, will help you know if you are in a situation that might fall into the category of the "One Right Church."

Charismatic Leadership can be a gift or a curse to a church. The Biblical requirement is humility and a servant attitude, recognizing that the church belongs to Jesus. It is dangerous when the leader approaches the church as something that serves him. Some of the negative effects have to do with how followers react to them. Followers can be attracted to charismatic leadership because it offers cer...

In this episode, we talk about the hard things. What do you do when you are afflicted? Why would God let bad things happen to you? And, to the point, is how you handle the pain in your life really helping you? We hope this episode on affliction is helpful to you. More than that, we hope the fact that your life isn't easy will help you know Jesus. He suffered, too. He chose his hard things for your...

Do you have a counterfeit God? If you did, I'll bet you'd want to know. In this episode, we talk about Tim Keller's book, Counterfeit Gods , which Mark recently read. Our hearts are idol factories. We look for something that will promise a better life, and we place our hope in it beyond what it can deliver. Counterfeit Gods cannot be resisted by sheer willpower. They must be replaced by something...

Prayer is a mystery and a privilege. Prayer is to being a Christian as conversation is to marriage. In this episode, we discuss what makes prayer effective and why we should pray. Christian prayer is distinguished by having Christ Jesus as a great high priest. It isn't just that Christ makes prayer Christian; he makes it successful. We hope this will help you pray more and better.

Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son provides valuable insight into the dynamics of shame and honor in our relationship with God. The son dishonors the father, then falls into dishonor of his own. His repentance is rooted in his understanding of his own shame. The father restores the son to a place of honor instead of the shame he deserves. We hope this conversation about shame and the Prodigal Son...