WEBVTT 00:00:00.110 --> 00:00:02.529 Let's talk about a piece of church history you've 00:00:02.529 --> 00:00:05.570 probably never questioned. Pews. For most of 00:00:05.570 --> 00:00:08.050 us, when we picture church, we picture rows. 00:00:08.449 --> 00:00:11.849 Maybe they're old, heavy wooden pews with hymn 00:00:11.849 --> 00:00:14.949 book racks on the back. Maybe they're padded 00:00:14.949 --> 00:00:17.370 chairs clipped together so tightly that moving 00:00:17.370 --> 00:00:20.210 one requires a two -thirds majority vote from 00:00:20.210 --> 00:00:22.910 the deacon board. Or maybe they're those metal 00:00:22.910 --> 00:00:25.969 folding chairs that announce every small adjustment. 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:29.079 with a screech loud enough to completely derail 00:00:29.079 --> 00:00:32.799 any sermon. Whatever your church uses, the layout 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:36.100 probably feels completely natural. The pastor 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:38.859 stands at the front. The congregation sits in 00:00:38.859 --> 00:00:42.100 rows. Everybody faces forward. And because that 00:00:42.100 --> 00:00:45.299 arrangement is all many of us have ever known, 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:49.899 it can begin to feel almost biblical. As though 00:00:49.899 --> 00:00:52.880 somewhere in the New Testament, Paul wrote, When 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.000 the saints assemble, let them sit in straight 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:57.899 rows. facing the front with one center aisle 00:00:57.899 --> 00:01:00.619 for weddings, invitations, and people arriving 00:01:00.619 --> 00:01:03.979 12 minutes late. That verse, it ain't in there. 00:01:04.099 --> 00:01:07.540 The early church gathered in homes, courtyards, 00:01:07.620 --> 00:01:10.879 and whatever space was available. Even after 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:15.099 Christians began using dedicated buildings, permanent 00:01:15.099 --> 00:01:17.799 seating for the entire congregation developed 00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:21.000 gradually. Over time, benches and pews became 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:24.640 increasingly common. And honestly, if someone's 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:26.879 going to preach for an hour, letting people sit 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:30.819 down is a profound act of pastoral mercy. I love 00:01:30.819 --> 00:01:33.879 chairs. At this stage in my life, solid back 00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:36.060 support is one of the richest expressions of 00:01:36.060 --> 00:01:40.140 common grace. But here's the point. Pews became 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:44.420 common because they were useful. They were not 00:01:44.420 --> 00:01:48.140 handed down on Mount Sinai. Rows of chairs are 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:50.739 just a practical decision about how to arrange 00:01:50.739 --> 00:01:53.340 people inside a room. But when we sit in the 00:01:53.340 --> 00:01:55.980 same arrangement every week for decades, the 00:01:55.980 --> 00:01:58.459 layout starts preaching a quiet sermon of its 00:01:58.459 --> 00:02:02.239 own. The people at the front speak. The people 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:05.680 in the rows consume. Now, rows are not simple, 00:02:05.780 --> 00:02:08.080 and circles are not automatically spiritual. 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:10.860 Moving the chairs will not create New Testament 00:02:10.860 --> 00:02:13.900 community by itself. You can sit in a circle 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:16.740 and still avoid knowing anyone. The issue is 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:20.259 not the furniture. It is how easily a practical 00:02:20.259 --> 00:02:23.069 choice becomes... and unquestioned expectation. 00:02:23.770 --> 00:02:26.409 Then another church arranges the room differently, 00:02:26.530 --> 00:02:30.069 and something inside us immediately says, that 00:02:30.069 --> 00:02:33.770 does not really feel like church. That reaction 00:02:33.770 --> 00:02:37.110 is worth examining, because sometimes what we 00:02:37.110 --> 00:02:39.969 call biblical conviction is really just a habit 00:02:39.969 --> 00:02:43.750 we've watched on repeat for so long that we forgot 00:02:43.750 --> 00:02:48.270 it was ever a choice, and pews are only the beginning. 00:02:49.719 --> 00:02:52.180 Welcome to an extra shot of Grace in the Grind, 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:53.699 the part of the podcast where the mic probably 00:02:53.699 --> 00:02:55.180 should have been turned off, but we kept talking 00:02:55.180 --> 00:02:58.000 anyways. This is the bonus space for deeper theology, 00:02:58.340 --> 00:03:00.539 honest questions, fewer filters, and a level 00:03:00.539 --> 00:03:02.919 of caffeinated commentary I should probably apologize 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:05.960 for in advance. So grab your coffee, find a pew, 00:03:06.139 --> 00:03:08.240 a chair, a couch, or whatever seating arrangement 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:11.020 your conscience allows, and let's get into this. 00:03:12.740 --> 00:03:15.840 In the main episode, we asked whether our definition 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:18.780 of church matches what Jesus actually established. 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.360 Today, we need to push that question one step 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:25.319 further. How do practical decisions eventually 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:28.699 start feeling like biblical requirements? It 00:03:28.699 --> 00:03:31.500 happens with music styles, dress expectations, 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:34.099 service times, building designs. Someone makes 00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:36.900 a practical choice because it works in a particular 00:03:36.900 --> 00:03:40.060 time and place. That choice gets repeated. The 00:03:40.060 --> 00:03:42.960 next generation inherits it. Eventually, everybody 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:46.099 forgets why it started. They only know that this 00:03:46.099 --> 00:03:49.000 is the way faithful churches do things. Changing 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:51.340 the custom suddenly feels like changing the faith. 00:03:52.139 --> 00:03:54.960 Christian theology has often used a category 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:59.340 called anaphora. That word refers to matters 00:03:59.340 --> 00:04:02.020 scripture neither directly commands nor forbids. 00:04:02.580 --> 00:04:05.460 These are areas where believers and churches 00:04:05.460 --> 00:04:08.280 must use Christian liberty, biblical wisdom, 00:04:08.419 --> 00:04:11.240 and love for one another. But Christian liberty 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:14.120 does not mean carelessness. And it definitely 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:17.720 does not mean every choice is equally wise. To 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:20.060 think clearly about these things, we need four 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:24.579 categories. Commanded, modeled, permitted, and 00:04:24.579 --> 00:04:27.540 familiar. Commanded deals with divine authority. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:31.759 Modeled asks what apostolic patterns should shape 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:34.920 us. Permitted deals with Christian liberty and 00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:38.420 wisdom. Familiar asks whether we are acting from 00:04:38.420 --> 00:04:42.899 biblical conviction or inherited habit. When 00:04:42.899 --> 00:04:46.319 we blur those lines, our preference becomes convictions. 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:49.819 Our customs become doctrines, and ordinary differences 00:04:49.819 --> 00:04:53.540 become reasons to divide. What is commanded? 00:04:54.100 --> 00:04:57.420 These are non -negotiables. Believers are called 00:04:57.420 --> 00:05:01.079 to gather. The word is to be read, taught, and 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:05.060 preached. The church is to pray, sing, baptize, 00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:09.459 and practice the Lord's Supper. We are to exercise 00:05:09.459 --> 00:05:12.680 discipline, use spiritual gifts, encourage one 00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:15.920 another, and bear one another's burdens. These 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:18.540 belong to the church because Christ, through 00:05:18.540 --> 00:05:21.319 his apostles, instructed the church to practice 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:24.300 them. A congregation may carry out those commands 00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:26.560 differently depending on its size, language, 00:05:26.819 --> 00:05:30.360 culture, and circumstances, but it does not have 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:33.759 the authority to dismiss what Christ has required. 00:05:34.259 --> 00:05:37.199 This is where our convictions must be strong. 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:41.360 If scripture commands something, we cannot set 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:44.220 it aside because it's inconvenient. We cannot 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:47.079 replace it. because something else is more popular. 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:50.259 We cannot ignore it because culture finds it 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:53.279 uncomfortable. At that point, the question is 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:56.920 not, what do we prefer? The question is, are 00:05:56.920 --> 00:06:01.759 we obeying Christ? What is modeled? Other practices 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:04.660 are modeled throughout the New Testament. We 00:06:04.660 --> 00:06:07.439 see believers meeting in homes. We see churches 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:10.699 sharing meals. We see local congregations led 00:06:10.699 --> 00:06:14.139 by plurality of elders. We see public teaching, 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:18.120 prayer, generosity, testimony, discussion, and 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:21.399 meaningful participation from the body. Those 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:24.620 examples matter. A biblical model is not automatically 00:06:24.620 --> 00:06:28.180 a universal command in precisely the same form. 00:06:28.459 --> 00:06:31.240 But repeated New Testament patterns should make 00:06:31.240 --> 00:06:34.000 us slow down before dismissing them as merely 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:37.720 cultural. We should ask what theological principle 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:42.319 the pattern reveals. But we should also ask whether 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:46.139 the repeated form itself may be part of how that 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:50.019 principle is meant to be practiced. For example, 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:54.360 the early church often met in homes. That does 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:57.019 not necessarily mean every faithful congregation 00:06:57.019 --> 00:07:00.120 must sell its building and divide into house 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:02.560 churches by next Tuesday. Please do not list 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:05.699 your church building online because of one podcast 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:08.699 episode. But the repeated pattern should challenge 00:07:08.699 --> 00:07:11.060 the assumption that the church depends on owning 00:07:11.060 --> 00:07:13.800 property. It should make us take hospitality, 00:07:14.139 --> 00:07:17.560 close relationships, shared meals, and life together 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:21.439 seriously. The same is true of plurality in leadership. 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:24.879 The principle is not simply, leaders are helpful. 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:28.639 The repeated pattern of multiple qualified elders 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:31.500 serving a local body should carry real weight. 00:07:31.860 --> 00:07:34.720 A biblical model may leave room in its exact 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:37.040 cultural expression while still carrying theological 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:40.360 significance in both its principle and its form. 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:44.060 That means we should not flatten every description 00:07:44.060 --> 00:07:47.519 into a command. But we should not wave repeated 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:50.779 apostolic patterns away simply because they disrupt 00:07:50.779 --> 00:07:55.420 what feels normal. What's permitted? This is 00:07:55.420 --> 00:07:58.439 the realm of Christian liberty. A church may 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:01.600 own a building. They may rent a school. They 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:04.980 may meet in a home or a storefront. It may use 00:08:04.980 --> 00:08:07.740 microphones, screens, hymnals, live streams, 00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:12.470 or printed bulletins. There's no list of inspired, 00:08:12.689 --> 00:08:16.829 acceptable microphone brands, no apostolic instruction 00:08:16.829 --> 00:08:19.410 concerning projector brightness, and no verse 00:08:19.410 --> 00:08:21.209 requiring the worship leader to own at least 00:08:21.209 --> 00:08:24.629 one pair of suspiciously tight jeans. But permitted 00:08:24.629 --> 00:08:29.430 does not mean mindless. Tools must still be governed 00:08:29.430 --> 00:08:32.450 by biblical wisdom and the edification of the 00:08:32.450 --> 00:08:36.370 body. A live stream can help the homebound, but 00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:38.730 it can also unintentionally encourage healthy 00:08:38.730 --> 00:08:41.940 people. to treat embodied fellowship as permanently 00:08:41.940 --> 00:08:46.220 optional. A building can support ministry. It 00:08:46.220 --> 00:08:49.279 can also consume resources, attention, and energy 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:52.539 that might be needed elsewhere. Technology can 00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:55.240 help people hear and participate. It can also 00:08:55.240 --> 00:08:57.860 become a distraction or performance -driven. 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:01.639 So Christian liberty still asks, is this wise? 00:09:01.940 --> 00:09:06.240 Is this loving? Does it build up the body? Does 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:08.519 it serve the purpose Christ gave the church? 00:09:10.059 --> 00:09:13.840 What is simply familiar? This is the category 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:16.840 that often is hardest to recognize. A practice 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:20.220 may not be commanded. It may not be clearly modeled. 00:09:20.299 --> 00:09:23.919 It may simply be what we have always done. That 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:26.639 does not make it wrong. Familiar traditions can 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:29.559 carry beautiful meaning. There is real power 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:33.059 in singing a hymn your grandparents sang. Rhythm 00:09:33.059 --> 00:09:36.220 can give a local body stability. Customs can 00:09:36.220 --> 00:09:39.210 preserve memory and connect generations. The 00:09:39.210 --> 00:09:41.629 danger begins when we stop calling those practices 00:09:41.629 --> 00:09:44.710 traditions and start treating them like tests 00:09:44.710 --> 00:09:48.350 of orthodoxy. Things like faithful pastors must 00:09:48.350 --> 00:09:50.789 preach for this amount of time. Faithful churches 00:09:50.789 --> 00:09:53.669 must sing this kind of music. Faithful congregations 00:09:53.669 --> 00:09:57.110 must follow this exact sequence. And faithful 00:09:57.110 --> 00:10:01.090 Christians must dress this way. At that point, 00:10:01.149 --> 00:10:04.549 familiarity is governing our judgment. And sometimes 00:10:04.549 --> 00:10:07.110 we defend a familiar practice with more passion. 00:10:07.629 --> 00:10:11.470 then we obey an actual command. We will fight 00:10:11.470 --> 00:10:14.769 over music while ignoring patients. We'll divide 00:10:14.769 --> 00:10:17.549 over furniture while neglecting hospitality. 00:10:18.210 --> 00:10:22.230 We will become outraged over service order while 00:10:22.230 --> 00:10:24.990 gossip, bitterness, pride, and unforgiveness 00:10:24.990 --> 00:10:28.470 sit comfortably in the same pew every Sunday. 00:10:29.210 --> 00:10:33.590 If disrupting a custom bothers us more than disobeying 00:10:33.590 --> 00:10:36.669 a clear command to love one another, Our authority 00:10:36.669 --> 00:10:41.909 structure is broken. Let's apply this to something 00:10:41.909 --> 00:10:45.009 nearly every congregation has, whether it's printed 00:10:45.009 --> 00:10:49.250 or not, an order of service. Most services follow 00:10:49.250 --> 00:10:51.769 some kind of predictable sequence. Two songs, 00:10:51.990 --> 00:10:55.269 a welcome. Two more songs, a prayer. Announcements, 00:10:55.269 --> 00:10:58.070 which depending on the church, can continue until 00:10:58.070 --> 00:11:01.990 morale improves. The sermon, an invitation, a 00:11:01.990 --> 00:11:06.009 closing prayer. 1 Corinthians 14 says the gathering 00:11:06.009 --> 00:11:10.289 should be conducted decently and in order. So 00:11:10.289 --> 00:11:13.029 planning a service is wise, but scripture does 00:11:13.029 --> 00:11:16.710 not prescribe one universal liturgy. It does 00:11:16.710 --> 00:11:19.529 not give us one mandatory sequence for every 00:11:19.529 --> 00:11:22.870 congregation in every place and time. What scripture 00:11:22.870 --> 00:11:26.450 does give us are governing priorities. The gathering 00:11:26.450 --> 00:11:29.950 should be intelligible. It should build up the 00:11:29.950 --> 00:11:33.580 body. It should be orderly. The word should be 00:11:33.580 --> 00:11:37.139 central. The saints should pray. Believers should 00:11:37.139 --> 00:11:41.179 sing. The ordinances should be practiced. Spiritual 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:44.960 gifts should serve the body. Everything should 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:49.179 be done in truth, love, holiness, and mutual 00:11:49.179 --> 00:11:53.600 edification. So not every order is equally wise. 00:11:54.059 --> 00:11:57.460 But no single order is universally prescribed. 00:11:57.940 --> 00:12:01.159 The order of service can be incredibly thoughtful. 00:12:01.690 --> 00:12:04.990 without being sacred. Yet the moment you change 00:12:04.990 --> 00:12:08.169 the routine, move the sermon earlier, or adjust 00:12:08.169 --> 00:12:11.629 the frequency of communion, the room gets tense. 00:12:12.309 --> 00:12:15.710 Usually, that discomfort is not a holy response 00:12:15.710 --> 00:12:18.649 to biblical violation. It's a human reaction 00:12:18.649 --> 00:12:22.610 to disrupted familiarity. And those are not the 00:12:22.610 --> 00:12:28.210 same thing. Every format shapes us. If a service 00:12:28.210 --> 00:12:30.730 leaves no room for the body to participate, pray, 00:12:31.309 --> 00:12:34.190 or exercise gifts, it can quietly train people 00:12:34.190 --> 00:12:37.309 to remain passive. Now, participation does not 00:12:37.309 --> 00:12:39.990 mean every person must speak publicly every Sunday. 00:12:40.450 --> 00:12:42.990 Opening the floor for completely spontaneous 00:12:42.990 --> 00:12:46.309 testimonies can occasionally lead to 20 minutes 00:12:46.309 --> 00:12:50.549 of highly regrettable oversharing. Participation 00:12:50.549 --> 00:12:55.029 can include singing, praying, listening attentively, 00:12:55.190 --> 00:12:58.190 giving, taking communion, encouraging others, 00:12:58.370 --> 00:13:01.289 and using our gifts throughout the life of the 00:13:01.289 --> 00:13:04.590 church. The gathering should equip and express 00:13:04.590 --> 00:13:07.690 the life of a body. It should not reduce most 00:13:07.690 --> 00:13:11.450 believers to religious spectators. But the answer 00:13:11.450 --> 00:13:14.570 is not to burn down every structure. There are 00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:18.309 two ditches here. The traditionalist ditch assumes 00:13:18.309 --> 00:13:21.730 that because a structure helped form your faith, 00:13:21.909 --> 00:13:24.870 every faithful Christian must practice it exactly 00:13:24.870 --> 00:13:28.559 the same way forever. The innovator ditch assumes 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:31.179 that because a structure is old, it must be dead, 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:34.460 and that a new or informal idea is automatically 00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:37.960 a spiritual upgrade. No format protects us from 00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:41.519 sin. A house church can become an insulated, 00:13:41.580 --> 00:13:44.580 legalistic echo chamber. A large congregation 00:13:44.580 --> 00:13:48.340 can be deeply faithful and relational. Liturgy 00:13:48.340 --> 00:13:51.480 can become empty repetition. But a contemporary 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:54.700 production can easily become a performance where 00:13:54.970 --> 00:13:58.429 Excellence quietly replaces edification. We are 00:13:58.429 --> 00:14:00.710 trying to bring every practice underneath the 00:14:00.710 --> 00:14:03.190 authority of Scripture. The traditional believer 00:14:03.190 --> 00:14:06.330 must admit, my preference is not necessarily 00:14:06.330 --> 00:14:09.429 a command. The innovative believer must admit, 00:14:09.649 --> 00:14:12.230 my new idea is not necessarily an improvement. 00:14:13.049 --> 00:14:16.009 So this week, choose one or two parts of your 00:14:16.009 --> 00:14:18.909 church's normal routine. The music style, the 00:14:18.909 --> 00:14:21.429 room layout, the order of service, the frequency 00:14:21.429 --> 00:14:24.779 of communion, the role of the pastor. The role 00:14:24.779 --> 00:14:27.279 of the congregation. Run each practice through 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:31.720 four words. Commanded, modeled, permitted, familiar. 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:36.559 Do not use this exercise to build a case against 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:39.879 your leadership. Start with your own heart. Ask 00:14:39.879 --> 00:14:42.600 yourself, where have I confused personal comfort 00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:45.779 with biblical faithfulness? Where have I judged 00:14:45.779 --> 00:14:47.840 another believer for doing something scripture 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:51.340 leaves open? Where have I defended a preference 00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:54.220 more passionately? then I have obeyed a command. 00:14:55.539 --> 00:14:59.399 Where have I resisted something biblical because 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:03.659 it did not feel familiar? Discomfort is not always 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:07.879 a threat. Sometimes it is the exact tool God 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:11.159 uses to expose an assumption that was never rooted 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:16.299 in his word. Quick reminder, if you want to support 00:15:16.299 --> 00:15:18.000 Grace on the Grind, grab a bag of coffee from 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:21.059 Arrow and Roots Coffee Company. You get good 00:15:21.059 --> 00:15:24.500 coffee. We get real support. That's it. Link 00:15:24.500 --> 00:15:27.279 is in the show notes. So pews are not the problem, 00:15:27.340 --> 00:15:31.399 by the way. And chairs are not salvation. Changing 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:33.500 the sequence of Sunday morning will not instantly 00:15:33.500 --> 00:15:36.460 manufacture a healthy church. Keeping it the 00:15:36.460 --> 00:15:38.960 same does not make a congregation unfaithful. 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:42.200 The goal is not constant chaotic change. The 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:45.460 goal is clarity. Scripture commands what Christ 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:48.960 requires. It models patterns we must take seriously. 00:15:49.450 --> 00:15:51.789 It permits a wide variety of faithful applications 00:15:51.789 --> 00:15:55.490 within the bounds of wisdom, and it exposes the 00:15:55.490 --> 00:15:58.450 customs we have treated as authoritative simply 00:15:58.450 --> 00:16:02.409 because they are familiar. Humility refuses to 00:16:02.409 --> 00:16:06.889 turn preference into laws. Love refuses to divide 00:16:06.889 --> 00:16:10.970 over what Christ has left open. And true faithfulness 00:16:10.970 --> 00:16:14.309 keeps examining whether our practices are actually 00:16:14.309 --> 00:16:17.309 serving the people Jesus is building. The next 00:16:17.309 --> 00:16:20.659 time you take your seat, Look around. The format 00:16:20.659 --> 00:16:24.200 may be wise. The tradition may be beautiful. 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:28.919 But none of those things is the foundation. Christ 00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:33.120 is. And his word, not our familiarity, holds 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:36.340 the final authority. Thank you for joining me 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:38.159 for this extra shot of Grace on the Grind. If 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:40.539 this conversation has helped you think more clearly 00:16:40.539 --> 00:16:43.080 about the difference between scripture and familiarity, 00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:46.039 share it with someone who would wrestle with 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:49.279 that question honestly and graciously. Like the 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:52.259 episode, subscribe or follow the podcast, and 00:16:52.259 --> 00:16:55.240 leave a review wherever you listen. Before you 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:58.340 criticize your church's furniture, order of service, 00:16:58.500 --> 00:17:01.559 or traditions, begin with the harder question. 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:05.000 What has scripture actually said, and what have 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:08.859 I simply assumed? Until next time, keep the coffee 00:17:08.859 --> 00:17:10.359 strong and your faith stronger.