Church Is Messy: Church in the Wild - 1 Corinthians 13
In this episode of Church Is Messy, Rick and Svea revisit 1 Corinthians 13 following Svea’s weekend sermon—looking beyond its reputation as a wedding passage to what Paul was actually addressing in a deeply dysfunctional church. What emerges is a clear picture of spiritual maturity shaped by love.
Svea shares how her understanding of the passage grew as she studied it, alongside a six-stage framework of spiritual growth—discovering, learning, doing, contemplating, becoming, and loving—and the experience many encounter as “the wall,” where faith can feel uncertain or stalled. Rather than signaling failure, this season may be an invitation to deeper, more lasting transformation.
The conversation also names a tension many feel: much of church culture emphasizes learning and doing, while the deeper, more inward work of formation often goes unexplored. Through practical examples like patience, Rick and Svea show the movement from something we try to practice to something that becomes part of who we are as we follow Jesus.
Topics discussed in this episode:
Svea shares how her understanding of the passage grew as she studied it, alongside a six-stage framework of spiritual growth—discovering, learning, doing, contemplating, becoming, and loving—and the experience many encounter as “the wall,” where faith can feel uncertain or stalled. Rather than signaling failure, this season may be an invitation to deeper, more lasting transformation.
The conversation also names a tension many feel: much of church culture emphasizes learning and doing, while the deeper, more inward work of formation often goes unexplored. Through practical examples like patience, Rick and Svea show the movement from something we try to practice to something that becomes part of who we are as we follow Jesus.
Topics discussed in this episode:
- 00:00 — Intro
- 01:07 — Introducing the sermon on 1 Corinthians 13.
- 01:14 — Svea's initial reaction to preaching the Love Chapter.
- 02:36 — The true context of 1 Cor. 13: love as a recipe for a dysfunctional church, not a wedding poem.
- 06:11 — What was left on the cutting room floor (tongues, knowledge ceasing, preview of Rick's next sermon).
- 08:10 — Paul's character: the tension between his perceived harshness and writing the most beautiful words about love.
- 10:41 — The opening sermon illustration: love that is imperfect but genuine vs. flawless but loveless.
- 12:53 — Introduction to the Spiritual Growth Framework.
- 12:57 — Stages 1–3: Discovering, Learning, and Doing.
- 17:41 — The Wall: what it is, what causes it, and why it's not a punishment.
- 23:41 — Stage 4: Contemplating (and why the church has an allergy to it).
- 25:16 — Stage 5: Becoming (motivation shifting from obligation to identity).
- 27:30 — Stage 6: Loving (virtue becoming instinctive, not intentional).
- 29:56 — Practical walkthrough of all six stages using patience as the example.
