December 10, 2025
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Theme
Living Out God’s Design for the Church: Authority, Gender, Sacraments, Worship, and Spiritual Gifts in a Broken World.
Episode Summary
In part two of their doctrine of the church conversation, Pastors Josh and Rich tackle some of the most practical and often controversial questions in ecclesiology. They begin with the question of whether women should serve as pastors, clarifying that at Bethany the biblical office of pastor/elder/overseer is reserved for qualified men, while strongly affirming the vital, indispensable ministry of gifted women in the life of the church. They warn against the ways good doctrines—like complementarianism—can be twisted either into male superiority and suppression of women or into a rejection of God’s good design, and they call leaders to keep returning to Scripture as their “lamp” instead of reacting to cultural distortions.
From there, they walk through baptism and the Lord’s Supper as visible signs of invisible grace: baptism as a public identification with Christ and His people following Spirit baptism, and communion as a shared table of grace meant to unify the body around Christ’s death, not divide it over preferences and traditions. They address current tensions over liturgy, forms of worship, and the regulative vs. normative principle, arguing that worship must be in “spirit and truth”—rooted in God’s Word and animated by God’s Spirit, not by mere tradition or emotionalism. Finally, they emphasize spiritual gifts as “manifestations of the Spirit for the common good,” urging leaders and members alike to ask, “How can I strengthen Christ’s church?” rather than “Where can I showcase my gifts?” The episode closes with a hopeful reminder that the church—even with its present flaws—is Christ’s precious bride, destined for glory.
Key Takeaways
- The office of pastor/elder/overseer is reserved for qualified men according to Scripture, but this does not diminish the value or gifting of women; both men and women are essential to the church’s health and mission.
- Every good doctrine can be twisted—including complementarianism—either to justify pride and control or to reject God’s design. Leaders must keep returning to Scripture as their true light.
- Baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality: Spirit baptism into Christ and His body, publicly expressed through water baptism by those who can confess their faith and desire to follow Jesus.
- Communion is meant to unify, not divide; it calls us to remember Christ’s death, examine our love for our brothers and sisters, and guard against preferences and traditions becoming absolutes that harm the body.
- To worship in spirit and truth means holding together doctrinal faithfulness and spiritual vitality—orthodoxy and life—so that worship is truly God-centered, not driven by personal preference or form alone.
- Spiritual gifts are manifestations of the Spirit for the common good; the right question is, “How can I strengthen this church?” not “How can I get a platform for my gift?”
Key Quotes
- “Every good doctrine has been twisted… Satan loves to twist, and then in response to a twisting, we end up doing the same thing only in a different direction. It’s always twisting away from the glory of God.”
- “Water baptism is an external indication or sign or testimony of this invisible and internal miracle that God has wrought.”
- “Communion is a table of grace… It’s his table. It’s his grace flowing to the recipients, and it is designed to be a unifying act of worship.”
- “To worship in spirit and in truth means there’s an orthodoxy that comes from God himself and a vitality or life that comes from God himself.”
- “To each one of us is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good… It’s not ultimately for me to feel better about myself, but so I can participate in the strengthening of Jesus’s church.”
- “Whatever is flawed today, that’s not our future… The church is a diamond that one day will only be expressed in glory.”
