John Fawcett was a Baptist.
If you listen to critics of Baptists (and evangelicals), he should have had no idea about the role that community played in the Christian life. The emphasis on individual salvation, personal piety, and going to heaven when you die leaves little to no room for the church. And Fawcett was living in that dreaded 18th century, when such themes were at their highest.
But don’t tell that to Fawcett, whose hymn “Blest Be the Tie that Binds” is oriented toward the extolling the beauty of Christian community within the Church. Fawcett understood that beauty, and the sacrifice required to attain it. He turned down the 18th century equivalent of Saddleback or Mars Hill to remain with his tiny, bad-paying parish simply because of the strength of his ties there.
It’s the sort of legacy we should remember, and probably recover.
The words are taken from Google Books’ earliest copy of the hymn, which is from 1800.
Blest be the tie that binds, our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.
Notice, of course, that there is only one tie that binds. Though Fawcett doesn’t name the Spirit, his meaning is clear. Beneath the verses lies Paul’s words to the Phillipians: “If there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in [the] Spirit, intent on one purpose.”
Login to read more
Sign in or create a free account to access Subscriber-only content.
