S8E269 - Transformation Culture or Growth Culture? Artwork

The Eikon Podcast

Please consider supporting this podcast by going to: https://www.patreon.com/eikonpodcastJoin Michael Burns (biblical teacher, author, and speaker), Jason Alexander (pastor, speaker), and Gianna Hearn (journalist, host of "The Weekly G" video news magazine of the NBA G-League) for a fun, lively, and relevant examination of biblical texts, emphasizing their historical and cultural context with an eye on applying those principles into the mess of modern life. To submit questions, or suggestions, or give feedback contact us at eikonpodcast@gmail.com. If you're a new listener. Welcome and thank you. We recommend that you start listening to season 4, episode 93. After you're caught up to the present, we suggest that you then go back and explore the first 3 seasons when the podcast was still called "All Things to All People with Michael Burns."

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The Eikon Podcast

S8E269 - Transformation Culture or Growth Culture?

July 13, 2026 • Michael Burns

0:00 | 1:04:12

In this episode, we explore the early church's approach to growth, community, and discipleship through the insights of Alan Kreider's book, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church, emphasizing patience, transformation, and embodied witness over metrics and rapid expansion.

00:00 Introduction to Construction Ideas

08:59 Exploring the Early Church's Approach

18:22 Patience and Transformation in Church Growth

21:44 The Dangers of Achieved Identity

23:52 Embodied Witness of the Early Church

26:42 Transformation Over Performance

28:25 The Role of Metrics in Church Growth

34:16 Suspicion of Metrics and Growth Culture

47:02 Training for Transformation Before Baptism

58:00 Ongoing Formation After Baptism