Send us Fan Mail

Episode 19 - What happens when you’ve followed Matthew 18 to the letter, talked to your pastor one-on-one, brought in two or three witnesses, and nothing changes? In part two of our conversation on denominations, Pastor Dan Cole, a Church of the Nazarene pastor and former district superintendent, joins us to talk about church accountability, when it’s time to “shake the dust off your feet,” and why a church with no real leadership structure can leave people with nowhere to turn.

From there, the conversation moves to one of the biggest questions in the modern church: why do we let the name over the door divide us? Pastor Dan shares how he went from “bleeding Nazarene” as a 21-year-old pastor to living by his mentor’s words: I’m a Nazarene, but I’m a Christian first. We talk about church competition, cute church names that hide their denominations, and the “restaurant with no food” problem, where churches gather every week but no one is getting saved, baptized, or discipled. We also get into why discipleship falls to the back burner as churches grow, and why good leaders have to set down their ego and delegate.

And yes, there’s plenty of laughter along the way, including “the OG still has it,” the dancing DS, and a grazing table that almost became a trough.

With roughly 45,000 to 49,000 Christian denominations worldwide, our conclusion is simple: Jesus comes first. Love God, love your neighbor.

Resources & References Mentioned

• Matthew 18:15–17 — Jesus’ steps for confronting sin and bringing it to the church
• Matthew 25:31–46 — Caring for “the least of these,” the heart behind our mercy mandate
• Matthew 28:19–20 — The Great Commission: go and make disciples
• Matthew 22:37–39 — The Great Commandment: love God, love your neighbor
• John 17:20–23 — Jesus’ prayer for unity among believers
• John 21:15–17 — “Feed my sheep”
• James 1:27 — Caring for orphans and widows
• Center for the Study of Global Christianity (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) — source of the 45,000–49,000 global denominations estimate

Thanks for listening to The Conviction Exchange.

Follow us on Instagram or on Facebook