Episode Transcript
[00:00:15] Speaker A: Hey, everybody. Welcome to Word and Flesh, a podcast from Riverview Baptist Church. And this is our first ever episode. So thanks for tuning in. Our goal for this episode is that this is the least listened to episode of Word and Flesh in all the episodes that the Lord has in store for us.
Because we hope that that means that more folks start listening. If you didn't catch that. So my name is Nathan Bechtold. I'm an elder at Riverview Baptist Church, and I am joined for this first and probably most of our episodes by a couple of our other elders, Michael Bean and Ryan Anderson. What's up, guys?
[00:00:48] Speaker B: Glad to be here.
[00:00:49] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. So this episode, the goal was simply to answer the bottom burning question that everyone listening right now has, which is, why are you doing this? Why did I really need another Christian podcast in my podcast subscriptions? Now I say that we actually did talk and we will not name names to at least one elder who said, this will be the first podcast I've ever listened to.
[00:01:13] Speaker B: We did. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:01:14] Speaker A: Which I love. I love. This is like, this is gonna be the first one for em.
[00:01:17] Speaker B: That's right. Yeah. No, and it's a great question. It's a fair question.
And ultimately, I think the reason that we wanted to do another Christian podcast specifically at Riverview is to engage the people of Riverview beyond Sunday morning.
It's so easy, I think, for us to buy into kind of the secular sacred divide. And what I do on Sundays is church stuff. What I do during the week is something else. And so we wanted to engage our people faithfully and actually, I think, answer questions that oftentimes we're asking. But we can't share in the pulpit on Sunday because we want to leave that specifically to the word of God. We want to deal with that very carefully and clearly. So, you know, I think just the idea. Francis Schaeffer once said it, you know, for the Christian, nothing is non spiritual and to tackle tough topics for our people as we go through the week.
[00:02:11] Speaker A: Yeah. In fact, we bandied about a lot of names, and we'll get to the why behind the name of this podcast in a moment. But one of the names, I don't remember if we actually suggested this one or not, but was something like beyond the pulpit or something like that. The idea was simply that the pulpit is a sacred place where the pastor delivers God's word to the people.
But there's a lot of. Actually a lot of times it's like, man, there was a really big thing in there that I wish I could say More about, or there was more time to say more about, or almost that a different format actually serves better to kind of unpack. And so that was a lot of what we were going at.
[00:02:47] Speaker B: Yeah, I totally agree with that. And I think Ryan's got some thoughts as well.
[00:02:50] Speaker A: Yeah, go, dude.
[00:02:51] Speaker C: Yeah. I think that the real answer is our people are already listening to podcasts, at least most of them. And so why not, as the pastors and elders of our church, help the people that we know and we love and we care?
Because there's a real danger in allowing people to speak into the wisdom areas of life and the areas where the sacred does need to in break the secular.
But those people don't love you. They don't know you. They don't shepherd your souls week in and week out.
And so we felt the need to provide a medium from people who love and care. Our sheep at Riverview, our people at Riverview, but also just to kind of piggyback off what Michael was saying, you know, we do want to have a certain amount of pulpit discipline on Sunday mornings, as you both have said.
You know, we've been accused of not addressing some things that maybe we. We would have liked to address, but
[00:03:45] Speaker A: that's just not the place.
[00:03:46] Speaker C: It's not the place.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:03:47] Speaker C: And. And this is a better, more informal place. Let's drink a cup of coffee or water and let's talk about hard things, and let's. Let's seek wisdom from God's word together.
[00:03:58] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and I would just add to that. You know, the other thing is, I mean, there. There is a very real time constraint on Sunday mornings. We have to be careful about what we bring to the pulpit, even just on a practical level, because we've got a certain amount of time. We've got to finish it in terms of.
And then the last thing, for me personally, I do want us to kind of clearly push back a little against the idea of using social media or AI to pastor me that, hey, I can go and get answers to tough questions, and I don't have to face anyone. I don't have to look them in the eye. I don't have to really have any accountability. I can really find the answers I want.
I don't think that is faithful Christian living, but I know that it's a temptation that many of us face.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: Man, that is actually really good. Because that's not to say that it's inherently bad to get good information from something you've read, right? Yeah, of course. And we're going to Save this for another episode. But sure, I'll use a chat AI to fact check something or to try to figure out where do I get more information about this thing or whatever. But. But that is not the summation of what Christian life, Christian growth should be inherently sort of fundamentally, we are embodied souls. Right. And so just sort of, again, you could think of sort of the reductio version of this is like, well, why don't, as Christians, we just sit in front of screens scrolling information to make us the best possible versions of Christians. And that way you don't interact with anybody. You could never sin against anybody. Right. You know, just don't have to interact with human beings at all anymore. So I think what you're getting at is really important, namely that it's good for us to be hearing from and then interacting with the people that God has put us in community with.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:05:48] Speaker C: I'll just add there. I also spend a lot of time with our younger generations, and they're begging for pastors to speak into the deeper, complex issues that they're facing.
And I think as pastors, we want to do that. We want to address issues like authority. And you'll hear more about that. But the generations, especially younger, are begging for wisdom on, yeah, how do I engage with sports, gambling, how do I deal with misguided cultural rules? What is the authority of the church? They are asking these questions, so let's help them answer them with people who love them embodied. Because it's not like they can call their YouTube scroll guy, they can call their pastor, hey, you said this.
Can we talk about that? Let's grab a lunch.
[00:06:37] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, that's good. And I actually, I love that about this endeavor, too, that from the beginning we've said, hey, you know, I mean, I'd love. If other folks want to listen to this that are outside of Riverview, fine. You know, it's out there for folks. But this really is built for our people because we want to just love and teach and shepherd our people well. And I think that's vision. And then we talked a lot about, then as we were talking about this, the term thick culture. That's a term that came up some. And the idea of creating a stronger sense of who we are, what we believe, not always necessarily saying that every single thing that we're gonna say in here is like, and if you don't believe this, not sure about your eternal state. Right.
But that we say, listen, this is who we are at Riverview. This is what we believe, and this is what we teach and the extension of how what we teach applies into people's lives. And that term thick culture basically means that, like having a thick culture of Riverview so that people understand what we believe, what we don't believe. And frankly, if somebody goes, wow, that is just not who I am at all. Well, it's good to know that at least, right?
[00:07:42] Speaker B: No, I agree with that 100%. And honestly, I think that's a good segue to why we're naming it Word and Flesh.
The podcast. You know, we want it to be an intersection of biblical truth, real life questions, and some wisdom issues so that it's. There's certain things we're going to say that are non negotiable. Like if you disagree with us on these things, yeah, you're probably not going to be a good fit at Riverview. But there will be some other things where we're going to talk through that are really wisdom issues that maybe even the three of us may disagree on.
And again, that's a part of Christian living. That is a part of Word and flesh.
[00:08:20] Speaker A: Bob, I'm hearing you say that people within the church have disagreed on various topics throughout history. Oh, man, I just want to hear you say that one more time every once in a while.
[00:08:29] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, I'll add to that. You know, I, unlike you two at this table, I basically grew up in the digital age. No offense.
[00:08:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I felt that.
[00:08:38] Speaker C: Yeah, no offense. I grew up in the digital age. And as I've arrived in adulthood and marriage and family, I have this deep longing for rootedness, for being a part of something that I know is lasting that isn't just a flash in the pan.
And I think that is part of our heart in this, because living as embodied creatures, pursuing what it means to be human, having conversations face to face in breaking the. The sacred into the secular world, all of that is how do we live rooted, steadfast, stable, purposeful lives in a world gone crazy? Francis Schaefer's question, how then should we live in moments like this?
And I think we're going to do our best to help the followers of Jesus at Riverview and whoever else decides to listen to pursue rooted lives where the word breaks in to every area, not just three hours on a Sunday morning and maybe an hour on Wednesday.
[00:09:38] Speaker B: Right, Good.
[00:09:39] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: And I would just add, you know, if I were to kind of put a verse around, why, I think, you know, again, it's almost cliche at certain moments, but. 1 Corinthians 10:31. So whether you eat or Drink or whatever you do do. All to the glory of God.
Do we really believe that? Is there a way to enjoy a baseball game to the glory of God?
Is there a way?
[00:10:00] Speaker A: Depends on the team.
[00:10:01] Speaker C: Yeah. Not the Cardinals.
[00:10:02] Speaker A: No, not the Cardinals. You're going to alienate all the listeners.
[00:10:05] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:10:05] Speaker B: I was going to say you're not helping us out, but yeah. Is there a way to think about even the way that I spend my money or the way that I consume food or social media or the list goes literally on and on?
I believe the biblical answer to that is absolutely.
And because of that, then as your pastors, we want to try to faithfully help you parse that out. What does that look like? How can I think about some of these things?
Yeah, that's a big goal for me in all this.
[00:10:37] Speaker C: Yeah. I'll just say I think that Michael and I talk often about when do we say something versus when do we not? And I think every pastor, if they're being wise with shepherding their church, is asking that question.
But I think the intent of this podcast is, well, we at least need to say something. We at least need to add something to the conversation for our people because they are wondering again, what are my pastors thinking about this?
[00:11:02] Speaker A: And the answer to that question is, I'm going to just say is more important than what does random YouTuber say about this? I'm not saying don't listen to a YouTube video about a topic, but it is so critical to know, like, what are the pastors of the church I'm part of say to this?
[00:11:22] Speaker C: That's the most fundamental question on that.
[00:11:24] Speaker A: Right, Right.
So that's good. Do you have another scripture you wanted to read? You got the Bible open?
[00:11:29] Speaker B: Yeah, I've got the Bible open. I've got another one. Again, just the first Corinthians, 10:31 theme is one that is repeated. And so, you know, Colossians 3:17, whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. So, again, just the idea that this is a theme throughout the Scriptures, every facet of life is meant to be devoted to God. And so, again, how do we think about that at Riverview Baptist Church?
We want to help you with that. And, you know, in all, I think, humility, we also will say, we are just men.
We're not always able to give you the exact direct, hey, in every situation, this is the way and the only way. That's not our goal, but our goal is to at least Encourage you to think.
Yeah, Is the way that I'm leading my home. Glorifying to God is the way that I discipline my children. Glorifying to God is the things that I say and do at work. Honestly. Glorifying to God.
Yeah, we want to encourage that.
[00:12:35] Speaker C: We could talk about this for a long time.
[00:12:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:38] Speaker C: But I would just say that I think one of the ways that that culture has trained us is that they forced us to ask all the wrong questions or they busy our brains and our accounts so much with things that in the end they matter a little bit, but not as much as this.
And so we're hopeful that this 15, 20, 25 minutes would be a time. Okay, I'm going to think I'm just going to take some time. I'm going to think, I'm going to ask questions that culture is not telling me to ask that I'm honestly too busy to think about.
But I'm going to let my pastors help me think about some things. I was thinking about Romans 12. I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. All of life is spiritual worship and embodiment. We are incarnational people who live in the world.
[00:13:29] Speaker A: Good, good. Okay. I think that's a good setup for like the why and the where we're going.
And we have some topics already kind of laid out that we're going to dive into. And then, you know, over time, I think we'll see kind of where this goes, where the Lord leads us in these things. And I think the hope eventually is too that in certain cases, maybe if we're like later this spring, there's a series on biblical manhood, womanhood, you know, the family.
And the goal would be that some of the things we discuss here would dovetail with some of those things on Sunday morning. We just mean for this to be a time that enriches and like you said, it's a time to stop and just be thoughtful for a little bit. Be Christians who are thought thoughtful and think well about these things and again, are rooted in God's word and how we answer them. So a quick shout out to our producer, our illustrious producer, who is tucked away in our well paid producer, Ethan demarce. Amen. I don't think that you could see his sleeve in this episode here, but it's always possible. If you ever do, just know Ethan is back there working it. So thanks to Ethan, who is a Riverview member and also helps us out in the media team in the back many Sundays.
Anyways, thanks to Ethan for that and thank you for tuning in to this first episode. We hope that it's encouraging. Always welcome feedback. So if you have something, you're like, man, I would love to hear you guys address this thing. Come on. We'd love to hear that. So until the next episode, I'm going to just gonna. I don't know what my sign off actually is gonna be yet, but I'm trying one out. I'm just gonna steal it straight from Aslan in the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia, the last battle for further up and further in Friends. And we'll see you soon.
[00:15:31] Speaker C: Sa.
Holy.
Mag.
Ra.
