Episode #74 - Separation of Church & Saint

I was given a suggested artist to listen to today, but as soon as he started singing I recognized his voice as the lead singer of another band. Apparently this was his solo work, completely separate from his work with the band he started with. Lot's of mucisians do this, becauase there is more freedom as a solo artist & those lines are not blured between individual efforts & the bands mission. Well...the same goes for the church as a collective local body and the individuals who are a part of them. There needs to be a separation of church and saint, not bluring the lines of the mission of the church and what we have the freedoms to do as individuals. 

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Transcript

Welcome back to all of our listeners! I’m BJ Sipe, and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above podcast – where everyday ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths. I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in today, I am excited to share my life and my faith with you, and I sure hope that you’ll do the same with me along the way. 

I am absolutely exhausted as I am recording this podcast for today, because Ronnie Moffitt & James Weatherholt completely wore me out on the racquetball court today. Ronnie and I have been playing for about the past 6-7 months together at this point, and James was a new addition as of today. He and his family recently moved from the Lexington area to our area, and I’m just so grateful that God has brought us together and we have struck up our new friendship. When he learned that we tried to kill each other on the court every Wednesday, he asked if he could jump in on the action. So we played some cutthroat today – where it’s always 2 against 1 depending on who’s serve it is. We played three games and by the end of it I think all of us were feeling our age. I ran home to get cleaned up and get on with my day, and per usual I booted up my music program to enjoy some tunes on my way home. Sometimes at the top of my playlists I will have a suggested artists section that I will browse through briefly to see if there is anything good. The top artist that was recommended for me today was someone named Wilder Woods, which may very well be the most awesome & manly name I have ever heard in my life. I clicked on it and decided to play a song to see if I would enjoy it before moving on. As soon as he started singing, I stopped and said to myself, “Wait a minute, I know that voice – that’s Needtobreathe!” If you know the band I’m talking about, then you understand what I mean when I say that their lead singer has a voice that is unlike anyone else. It is so unique and distinguishable from other vocalists, there is no mistaking him for another artist. I googled him when I got home and sure enough, Wilder Woods is the frontman and co-founder of the band Needtobreathe who apparently also has been releasing his own personal music apart from the band. They are two separate efforts entirely with an entirely different feel and sound. While his work with Needtobreathe is very folksy and appeals to the lovers of the Indy genre, his solo work connects classic soul, R&B and modern pop inspirations. It is not uncommon for musicians that are a part of a band to have their own independent work, as many of the best-known bands in the world have had members do this. Justin Timberlake rose to stardom not just from his work with NSYNC, but also his own solo music releases. Paul McCartney found success even apart from the Beatles. And of course, who hasn’t heard of Phil Collins, whose individual albums have gained even greater success than that of Genesis, the band he was a part of for years. There are a lot of reasons that musicians do this – and one of the primary reasons is they have many things they want to do musically that just don’t have a place with the band they are a part of. The bands they start with are focused on specific genres and have built a particular following, and so their goal & mission is much more fine tuned and specific. As an individual musician, however, there is much more freedom to do the things that you enjoy and want to explore. Trying to merge the two together just doesn’t quite work, and often leads to some blurred lines that can cause conflict with a band & the solo artist. That’s why they need to be separate efforts, and when they each stay in their own lanes and stick to their mission, that is where they will find success. 

Well, just like there are distinctive line that are drawn between the work of the band and the work of an individual member of a band, there are distinctive lines that are drawn between the work of a church and the work of an individual member of the church. While this term is not used in Scripture, this principle is what I refer to as “separation of church and saint”. While the church is composed of individual members, each local body represents a collective group of people that come together for a designed, spiritual purpose. We don’t have time in this podcast to get into all the details, but what we are addressing is the concept of biblical authority. The church collectively has a specific mission, it is spiritual in nature and has been commanded to do many things. The church is called to be involved in the spreading of the gospel (evangelism, see 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8 & Philippians 4:15-16), in edification and worship (see Ephesians 4 & 5), as well as the work of benevolence (providing for the needs of its members, see 1 Corinthians 12:12-26). But what I want us to recognize is that everywhere you look in Scripture, the church’s mission is not to entertain, not to create a social gathering, and not even to educate on a secular level. The churches mission is spiritual in nature. Consider the description of the actions of the early church in Acts 2:42-47, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” This is a description of the mission and work of a church, which is different from that of an individual. As an individual, we have much more freedom to do different things in our lives. We can buy and sell things for profit; we can entertain and start up social clubs for people to get together and enjoy similar interests and hobbies, etc. And yet, what has happened in many churches across America is that the lines between the work & mission of a church and the work & mission of an individual have become blurred. Rather than having a spiritual mission, often churches have become a place to entertain, educate, and essentially a social club. While there is nothing inherently wrong with these things, they belong in the lives and efforts of the individual, and not as the mission of the church. In the New Testament you never read of the churches building a gymnasium, school, or things like this. They had one mission – and that mission was not collectively blurred with the work that one can do individually. Why is this so important? Because when these lines are blurred, we can end up cheapening or compromising the message of the gospel. Jesus is no longer enough, and people demand to be entertained. Rather than coming to feed on the word, people want fed with free meals. Rather than asking, “how can I serve as a part of this church,” instead you hear, “what programs does your church offer to serve me?” How twisted things can quickly become. We need a separation of church and saint. Let me conclude with some thoughts by Francis Chan in his book Letters To The Church: “I can’t help but see our own lameness in failing to see the beauty in God’s design for the Church. Heavenly beings are shocked by God’s Church, while many on earth yawn. The early church didn’t need the energetic music, great videos, attractive leaders, or elaborate lighting to be excited about being a part of God’s body. The pure gospel was enough to put them in a place of awe. Aren’t you at least a little embarrassed that you have needed the extra stuff? For decades church leaders like myself have lost sight of the powerful mystery inherent in the Church and have instead run to other methods to keep people interested. In all honesty, we have trained you to become addicted to lesser things. We have cheapened something sacred, and we must repent.” 

Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Fridays, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and video sessions. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from every day, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.