This is the third primary commitment of a missional-incarnational church’s infiltration of society. If the church is living an intriguing new lifestyle that is so marked by goodness that it makes the gospel attractive, then to truly be effective it follows that this lifestyle must be lived in close proximity to not-yet-Christians. Paul took this seriously in his mediation of the Corinthian factions that had split over the issue of eating food offered to idols (1 Cor. 10:27–11:1).

Christian leaders wonder how they might engage in reconciling conversations around injustice, social, and public concerns. They desire a humble, humanizing, and respectful approach that opens the door to reconciliation. Many are looking for a way that transcends human nature and allows the Holy Spirit to work.

If the Christian church is to be incarnational and missional, as we believe the New Testament anticipates, and if it’s to abandon an us-and-them mentality, it will need to rediscover the biblical mode of impacting the world around it. The traditional-attractional church thinks about evangelism as sending out church members to share their faith with others and to bring them into the church. But the New Testament writers saw it much more organically.

In this podcast, Pete Scazzaro expands on the third quality of a church culture that deeply changes lives: beneath-the-surface discipleship. In a church culture that deeply changes lives, no one assumes people are maturing on the basis of activities such as church attendance, small group involvement, and serving. Instead, they understand maturity is the fruit of the slow, hard work of following the crucified Jesus.

In part 2 of this series on six marks of a church culture that deeply changes lives, Pete explores integrity in leadership. When we have integrity in leadership, we do not pretend to be something on the outside that we are not on the inside. Pete looks at integrity as a continuum, examines what it means to guard the integrity of the ministry or family we lead, and finally offers a few pointers on practical ways to raise the level of your own integrity that will inevitably impact those you lead.

In this Podcast episode, Pete explores the first and most important characteristic of a church culture that deeply changes lives – a slowed down spirituality. This is a church culture where people refuse to allow a hurried world to set the pace for their lives but instead live by rhythms that are slower and more deliberate. They set aside time each day to immerse themselves in Scripture, silence, and solitude, which are foundational practices for their communion with Jesus.

So as an avid commentary reader and one who has made a daily habit of expanding my Biblical literacy, I wanted to write some advice to put you the path to well-informed biblical interpretation. My hope is that you will eventually come to stand on your own and not rely on the interpretive skills of others, even more so, I want you to be able to spot bad interpretation in a sermon, a small group, or in the media. Too often we say to ourselves “that doesn’t sound right,” but we simply don’t know why. Well, read these tips, grab a cup of coffee, and start interpreting.