{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Dialog","title":"1.34 / How did the early church grow under persecution?","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2399,"description":"Around 250 AD, Emperor Decius ordered everyone in the Roman Empire to sacrifice to the Roman gods in front of a government official. Valerian ordered church leaders sentenced to death. Diocletian had churches burned and Scripture burned with them.\nAnd yet it still grew.\nMy co-host Nick Surface and I set out to talk about spiritual authority and started with the church itself.\nHow did early Christians respond to persecution?\nNot by fighting in the streets or overthrowing the emperor. They rescued abandoned babies, fed the poor and nursed the sick during the Plague of Cyprian, at the risk of their own lives.\nHas the church traded discipleship for crowds?\nBilly Graham partnered with local churches so new believers would be discipled. Many churches copied the crowd instead. Following Jesus is simple, but simple and easy aren't the same thing.\nShould every church run like a democracy?\nThat's the western delusion. Picking our leaders is a new gift, and not everything works that way.\nIf God establishes authority, who removes it?\nRomans 9 says God put Pharaoh in place. David still called Saul God's anointed.\nScriptures\nMatthew 28:19-20 · Luke 9:23 · Mark 6:6 · Matthew 8:5-10 · Romans 9:17-21 · 2 Samuel 1\nBooks\nWatchman Nee, Spiritual Authority\nJohn Bevere, Under Cover\nA Tale of Three Kings\nChapters\n0:00 Cold open and show intro\n0:52 Why we're starting on spiritual authority\n1:51 Are people following pastors instead of joining churches?\n3:19 Billy Graham and the churches that copied the crusade\n4:38 The key function of the church is discipleship\n5:47 Following Jesus isn't easy\n6:19 Seeker sensitive: simple isn't the same as easy\n7:23 Getting to pick your leaders is new\n8:53 Is choice the supreme virtue?\n11:48 Decius, Valerian and the persecution of Christians\n14:20 And yet it still grew\n16:23 Diocletian burns churches and Scripture\n17:47 What it cost to copy the New Testament\n20:00 How did the early Christians respond?\n22:35 The Roman Empire's safety net (Plague of...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/7YsfA4gq5VzjhvmKvDET1pQqT0OM6yxv1laklKclR7g/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS83ZWZh/MTRmZDEzOWRjZGQz/Y2M2NThkNzYwOTJj/ODA4MC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}