Why the Church Still Matters: Righteousness, Responsibility, and Reimagining Community (Sermon on the Mount Series)

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 19 October 2020

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How the “deeper righteousness” of the kingdom defies religious performance, upends cultural norms, and reveals a radical vision for the Church’s role today.

Mike Erre and Tim Stafford return to their series on the Sermon on the Mount, offering a deep-dive reflection into Matthew 5 and setting the stage for chapter 6. Reframing righteousness as something more than performative piety, this episode highlights how Jesus redefines power, purity, and politics in his upside-down kingdom. Along the way, Mike opens up about a significant personal transition—his unexpected return to pastoring—and what it reveals about healing, trust, and embodying authenticity in church life.

Key Takeaways:
• The Kingdom as a Political Reality – Jesus lays out not a doctrine for personal beliefs, but a reordering of community life in light of God’s rule.
• Righteousness Beyond Legalism – From anger to lust, retaliation to loving enemies, Jesus expands righteousness to address the heart, not just actions.
• Reclaiming the Role of the Church – A moving exploration of why church still matters and how it can become a transformative community, not a performance space.
• Hypocrisy & Virtue Signaling – How Jesus anticipates modern-day grandstanding with his critique of public righteousness done “to be seen.”
• Wrestling With Church Hurt – A heartfelt listener question opens up a raw conversation on church dysfunction, spiritual leadership, and what shepherding should actually look like.
• Mike’s Personal Update – Mike shares his decision to rejoin church leadership—why he’s doing it now, what he’s learned along the way, and what gives him hope.

Resources Mentioned:
• Matthew 5 & 6 – Sermon on the Mount reflections
• Genesis 1–2, 12 – Roots of vocation and God’s mission
• Tim Gombis on Ecclesiological Engagement – Faith Improvised Podcast
• Patreon support – patreon.com/voxology

Join us as we navigate what it looks like to be “trustworthy” kingdom people in a world addicted to appearance. If you’re wrestling with anger, church disillusionment, or the role of performance in faith, this episode brings clarity and challenge.

Subscribe, leave a review, and follow us on social to stay part of the conversation.

As always, we encourage and welcome discussion as we pursue this journey together. Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected] or connect on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV

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Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Support the Voxology community on Patreon

Listen to the Voxology Spotify channel: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford
Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.

Our Merch Store! ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Vox podcast.
0:22.7	I'm your lovely host, Tim, and you're not so lovely host, Mike.
0:28.5	We are glad that you are here today.
0:30.9	Thanks for tuning in.
0:32.9	And we're doing, we've got big news.
0:35.6	Let me just say that.
0:36.3	We're doing well, but we got big news.
0:39.0	Team Erie has an addition that has made an impression on our family, but also on the internet.
0:49.7	Team Erie got a puppy, which I swore I would never do in the history of, I literally,
0:55.9	I remember telling my sweet wife, we can have kids or pets, you can pick.
1:01.1	I'm good with either.
1:03.0	And then 17 years in.
1:05.5	17 years.
1:07.4	No, we picked up Arlo.
1:10.1	Arlo, evidently, is something called a cavapoo, which is long for
1:15.1	Ewak. Yes, oh my goodness, he's just a furry little Ewok about the size of my shoe. And we got him for
1:22.4	Hannah, and Hannah is just heads over heels, you know, for Arlo.
1:32.9	But Arlo is a 16 week old puppy and we're learning what that means.
1:41.0	And we've also learned something about our social media accounts this week because I posted a picture of Arlo.
1:47.6	And Tim, what did you say? What happened? It's just the we, you posted the picture of Arlo and Tim what did what did you say what happened the it's just the we you posted the picture of Arlo the day after or or the same day that we released this week's podcast
1:54.3	episode which we also post on social media and Arlo destroyed the podcast episode.
2:01.2	People were far more interested in the puppy than...
	...

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