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In this encore episode, we discuss understanding the Bible. What are you looking for? How do you know if you are getting the correct interpretation? You can figure out what the Bible means by what it says. You can read the Bible and understand it.

Trusting in God's Word is one thing. Knowing what God meant so that you can trust it is another. Everyone does it at some level, but One Right Churches tend to use the Bible for proof texts. A proof text means you take an isolated text and use it to prove something, usually that you are right. When you proof-text, you typically try to understand the meaning of a word without the context that gives it meaning. For instance, "run" could apply to jogging, a nylon, a baseball game, a nose, a car, a refrigerator, or simply being in a hurry (gotta run). How do you know what "run" means? You have to look at the context. Context helps you decide within the semantic range of a word, which is the preferred meaning. Besides ignoring context, it is easy to jump to application too quickly. You make the jump by aking your experience and assuming that is what the text is talking about. What the text means to you is always derived from what the text meant to the original readers. If the writer of the scripture didn't have your situation in view, you probably need to be humble about your interpretation. And, the context will help you hone in on the intended meaning. This episode encourages you to trade your proof text for context!

One final hurdle to leaving the One Right Church has to do with what is next. Where do I go from here? We strongly recommend finding another faith community. Don't try to go it alone! But finding the right church is easier said than done. The fear of the unknown, as well as many of the things you have been told for years, can paralyze you and keep you from moving on. In this episode, we talk about what finding a good church might look like, along with some of the internal struggles that come with this next step. We hope this helps you find freedom.

The hardest thing about leaving the one right church will be the conversation with family. Mark knows the dread and has had this conversation from both sides. In this episode, we hope to help you have this talk. It won't be easy. We can't make it any more successful. But maybe we can help relieve some anxiety and offer ways to reframe the conversation.

As much as we made a case for leaving the One Right Church in the last episode, we recognize it isn't easy to leave. Today we talk about some of the challenges related to leaving. Everyone anticipates that they will face the loss of status and identity, they'll have to start over, they may lose their job or family and friends. Leaving isn't easy, but Jesus is worth it.

Today we begin a short series on leaving the One Right Church. Why might someone think about leaving? Is there a good enough reason to unsettle everything you know? Leaving the One Right Church is no small thing. We feel for you. Today we start with reaons you might consider leaving. In future weeks, we'll address some of the hard things you can anticipate.

In this episode, we respond to a reader question about unity. What creates unity? What does it look like when it is manufactured but not real? Why does God care about unity? We hope this helps you commit to real unity and be dissatisfied with false unity.

The pressure from the church hits men and women differently, yet both feel it. In this episode, we talk through how men and women both experience pressure to conform, to fulfill role expectations, and to treat other family members in certain ways. Our hope is that each person would be free to think for themselves, to ask the questions they want answered, to experience peace in their marriage, and ultimately to be free from pressure.

"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 agree.

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 what he has to say!

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 for, divide for, debate for, and decide for. We hope this helps you give the right issues the right importance.

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 curve. Making secondary things primary is a continual temptation. Separation from family always hurts and feels unnecessary. We are happy to have reached this 100th milestone, and we hope it has been helpful.

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 recent tragic death of a young man. More than anything, we want to urge you to find Jesus to be the Ark of your Safety, not any church. Only Jesus saves.

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.