Luther and Calvin

I've been thinking a lot about the role of church and state. How should they interface...or should they at all?
Learning about Luther and Calvin gives some insight into the importance of both realms engaging with one another. Luther's teaching was a reaction against Catholicism, declaring the priesthood of ALL believers. This was one of the impetuses to foster individualism in church and society - which at the time, was viewed as a positive move, but today is very questionable.
There are benefits to recognizing our individual value and role in God's Kingdom, but we cannot lose sight of the importance of the church, which is the body of Christ...we are called to be in community with one another, and not to be an island. Our professor said something along the lines of: As long as we think of church as a time and place, we will have the sacred and spiritual compartmentalized in our lives.
We discussed the cultural passivity many demonstrate regarding paid leadership in the church. When someone gets paid, others view their work as their job and don't see a need to play a role. I believe this is the exception rather than the rule, but it does have an impact. We also talked about how church buildings can become distractions rather than assets to support the work of the church. I think this was true in my home church, where the emphasis became social activities more so than ministry opportunities; and upkeep on the building was a constant concern.
The measure of growth in a church cannot be simply number of attenders...while that can be some indicator, there should be different kinds of fruit produced - such as hospitality in opening your home to others, serving the poor, organizing Bible studies, etc.
The constant theme in this class has been to rethink what it means to be church. John Calvin said that the "Marks of a church are a sermon rightly preached and sacraments rightly given." It is not some all-inclusive box that contains pews, hymnals, a pulpit, projector, etc. Those things are not inherently bad. We just need to be open to let God be God...and what a creative God we serve!