Addison Bevere on saints, culture, and the power of unlearning.

2020-03-16

What if saints are more than historical figures with halos? What if discovering your identity as one of Christ’s saints could change everything? I never imagined I’d be interviewing the SON of one of my good friends for the podcast but today we are joined by the amazing Addison Bevere- the grown son of John and Lisa and now COO of Messenger International. Addison bucks our definition of the word “Christian” and gives us a much better and Biblical replacement- “Saints”. We explore why saints are rule breakers and world shakers but ...

What if saints are more than historical figures with halos? What if discovering your identity as one of Christ’s saints could change everything?

I never imagined I’d be interviewing the SON of one of my good friends for the podcast but today we are joined by the amazing Addison Bevere- the grown son of John and Lisa and now COO of Messenger International. Addison bucks our definition of the word “Christian” and gives us a much better and Biblical replacement- “Saints”.

We explore why saints are rule breakers and world shakers but also why being a saint is the only true path to “the good life”. Addison taught me so much during this conversation and had me taking vigorous notes. You don’t want to miss this episode!

In this episode we discuss:

1. Saints are more than just halos and stained glass windows.

2. How God is like Sam I am from Green Eggs and Ham

3. The difference between conservation and salvation

Favorite quotes:

1. The term Christian is something that’s become a culture term. It’s lost its sense of meaning. It’s been wrapped in stereotypes and stigmas.

2. There are a lot of people that grew up in “Christianity” who are disillusioned with the faith, who are no longer following Jesus. They’re looking for meaning, looking for purpose, looking for community outside of the context of the church.

3. The gospel is plenty robust for the needs of this world but I think in our attempt to be systemic, we’ve systematically removed the wonder and power of the gospel message.

4. If we look at the New Testament the word christianos, Christians in Greek, is only used three times but the word saints is used over sixty times.

5. So much of this journey in Christ is unlearning. It’s letting go of assumptions of ourselves, about other people, about what is possible. It’s about finding eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to perceive and understand.

6. Saints are people who see the beauty of God’s kingdom. The beauty of his redemptive promises in their everyday lives.

7. We’ve taken this identifier saint and we relegated to a post-mortem distinction. We’ve made it about what has been. We’ve made it about halos on people’s heads and stain glass windows and things that are out of touch with our everyday lives. But the thing about a saint is that saints are profoundly present

In this episode I answer these questions:

1. What is your go-to coping mechanisms when you feel overwhelmed? (37:46)

2. Do your non-Christian family members question what you’re doing with your life and if so how do you answer? (41:49)

3. How do you balance being a wife and mom while a new business? (44:33)

Links to great things we discussed:

1. Addison Bevere

2. Saints: Becoming more than Christians

3. Into the Unknown

4. The Mandalorian

5. The Return of the Prodigal Son

6. Sound Machine

7. Parasite