Healthy Church

August 2026

The Church Jesus Had in Mind

August 16, 2026Ken Werlein

Pastor Ken Werlein kicks off the new Healthy Church sermon series in 1 Corinthians 12, addressing the question head-on that many people carry but rarely say out loud: I love God, but I'm done with the church. Ken reminds us that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to one of the messiest, most dysfunctional churches in history—and still called them the Body of Christ. From that image, Ken builds three convictions: you need the Body, the Body needs you, and it's time to get into circulation. Nobody was ever hurt more by the church than Jesus—and nobody loves it more. His challenge to close: don't spend your life protecting your point. Get some crayon on the wall.

Breaking Bad Habits

August 23, 2026Michael McDowell

Michael McDowell takes us into 1 Corinthians 1, where Paul goes after the underlying habits making the church sick before he ever addresses the conflict. The first is assuming life is always supposed to go up and to the right—but Paul holds up a cross and says this is the source of health. The second is "my way or the highway"—the self-centeredness that poisons marriages, workplaces, and churches alike. A healthy church isn't one that avoids the downward path of the cross. It's one that walks toward it—and finds resurrection power on the other side.

Dealing with Conflict

August 30, 2026Michael McDowell

Michael McDowell takes us into 1 Corinthians 6, where Paul confronts one of the messiest realities of church life: conflict. Paul gives us three movements for handling it well. First, keep it in the circle—the moment conflict escapes to people who aren't part of it, it becomes gossip, and gossip corrodes trust faster than almost anything else. Second, actually deal with it—ignoring conflict isn't a solution, it's just a delayed explosion. Go to the person, bring in a wise voice if needed, and be willing to accept that you might be the problem. Third, be willing to surrender so Jesus can win—which isn't fair, but neither was the cross. Never underestimate the power of a cross-shaped life to change what nothing else can.
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