The radio show also helps clarify some of those subtle things that often get overlooked at times.
Dr Harley really quite often says things to a caller or someone with an email question directly that at first does not seem to fit the conventional wisdom. He seems pretty willing to make adjustments to advice based on certain circumstances.
That does not however contradict his overall program. The basic concepts stand no matter what the circumstances. Specific things are addressed in the MB program that apply to Marriage. Nuances of application to a marriage might vary greatly.
If a couple is struggling with a piece of the program it might be due to multiple reasons or one single reason. Dr Harley is really good at identifying those reasons and coming up with a plan to address the issues at hand.
What makes the MB thing work is the Love Bank model based on one premise alone; that is, when we are married, what we do affects our spouse either to enhance the relationship or to its detriment. What is so fascinating if you think about, it is that Dr Harley built his model based on observation and his clinical work. Others have since begun to look at romantic love and other emotions and where and how they happen in the brain. This new research supports Dr Harley's model without any data being ignored or modification of the model to make the data fit.
BTW, Markos, it's called Natural Church Development and the newest book is called Color Your World with Natural Church Development. I read the original book 4 or 5 years ago but we just got around to looking seriously at the way it works this year. We just got back the results of the surveys that our congregants took a month ago with statistical reports to show us where we are weakest so we can address those things. Sort of like doing the ENQ and LBQ to find out what is required to move in the right direction.
BCB, let me know if there is anything I can do to help you sell the idea to church leadership.