106: Scot McKnight & Laura Barringer | Church Culture: Goodness vs. Abuse of Power

Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer join me to discuss the abuse of power in the church, creating a goodness culture, and how the western business model has negatively impacted the church. Topics they wrote about in their book A Church Called Tov.

Questions Scot, Laura and I Discussed:

1. (3:39) Your family attended and served at Willow Creek Church for a number of years.  What were some strengths and weaknesses you observed while attending?
2. (7:33) The two of you have written A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing. Laura, will you share a bit of the back story that led you to write this book?
3. (15:47) "We form church cultures, but we are simultaneously formed by the cultures we've helped form." In relation to the church, Scot unpack that a bit for us.
4. (18:56) What are a few early warning signs of a toxic church culture?
5. (22:57) Something I have witnessed personally is the mis-application of Matthew 18, which you write about in Chapter 3 of the book.  How is Matt. 18 mis-applied in abuse culture and how is it to be appropriately applied?
6. (30:17) What is Tov? And how is it more than a works based goodness?
7. (34:28)  The portion that particularly struck me was how the western business model has taken root in churches. The focus has become achievement and accomplishment rather than holiness and Christlikeness. Unpack that a bit for our listeners.
8. (42:13) As we close, what would you say is a good first step to take if you are a member of a church and are experiencing that feeling of "ugh...I think this may be happening in my church"?

Quotes to Remember:

"When people are confronted with their sins that are shocking, and will destroy their ministry they do certain patterns."

"Good characters produce good cultures, and bad toxic characters produce toxic cultures."

"If I see loyalty, constant building up, bragging about the church, and the pastor, and the musicians, I'm going to be suspicious, because they're holding people up at a level that is going to detract from Christ."

"Goodness is a fruit of the Spirit. It is also a term used a lot in Judaism. But it is a term that makes Christians scared."

"If you are connected to Jesus, you are connected to someone who is all together tov (good), and if you spend time in the presence of someone who's all together tov, you'll be tov-er."

"We would go to these training sessions led by Bill Hybels, and he called it Fill. He wanted your section to fill. It was all about inviting people in and making sure that the seats had bodies in them."

SHOW NOTES cont.

Related Episodes:

• 94: Mary DeMuth | Hope After Sexual Abuse
• 97: Hannah Anderson | Goodness and The Lost Art of Discernment
• 101: Paula LeJeune | When God's Love and Adversity Collide

Connect with Scot McKnight on Twitter and at Jesus Creed

Connect with Laura Barringer on Twitter

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