Christy’s Reviews > The Other Half of Church: Christian Community, Brain Science, and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation > Status Update

“A church without hesed no longer shines the light of Jesus, no matter how much ministry it may be doing. It may have perfect doctrine, but as one commentator writes, ‘without love the congregation ceases to be a church.’”

… love, the primary mover of character, is absent. Without hesed, we little transformation.”

“Its easy to believe that if our Christian communities have solid biblical teaching and doctrine (truth) and we are encouraged to apple the teaching to our lives (good choices), the Holy Spirit will enable us to understand the truth and make good choices. We expect this will lead to transformation. The formula looks reasonable to modern eyes but it has a fatal flaw - it is missing the most important variable… >

“We do not directly choose to be more joyful any more than we can choose to have lower blood pressure. The joy and blood pressure systems in the brain are not subject to direct choice. Joy levels are regulated indirectly through relationships.”

“Gratitude is the first step to building joy into our lives and helps us experience a more consistent attachment with God.”

“Ignoring right-brain relational development creates Christians whole believe in Gods love but have difficulty experiencing it in daily life, especially during distress.”