A Real Crisis In The Church
True fellowship is lacking in the church. Growing in the body of Christ requires close connection, vulnerability, and the willingness to build together.
2 min read
After working with countless couples and individuals, there is a common thread among almost all of them - the lack of true fellowship.
What is fellowship? It’s not just a social hour where Christians get together to play church. The early church was devoted to fellowship (See Acts 2:42). The word fellowship in the Greek means a deep fellowship, participation, and communion with other members of the body of Christ.
Ask yourself: "What am I devoted to? Can I say I'm devoted to deep fellowship with other Christians?"
How can I have deep communion with another member of the body of Christ when I am not willing to be real, vulnerable, and let others into my life?
I know, that's risky. But don't you think living among other believers and yet feeling alone is risky as well? If that's you, it doesn't have to be that way. You weren't meant to do this alone.
So then, what is your next step? Start praying to get connected with followers of Jesus who want to dive deep into the things of God. At one point in our marriage, Andrea and I were praying for years to get connected to such people. Thank God, He has now brought us those people.
Next, it takes a risky step of putting yourself out there to be vulnerable and transparent. Think of one other follower of Jesus in your life who you can start sharing your life with - sharing sin and temptation struggles, sharing deep hurts God is still healing in you.
I'm not saying these things are easy. They are quite difficult. On the other hand, living your life feeling isolated can feel comfortable on the surface, but that is quite difficult as well.
Let's be His body that is deeply connected with other members of His body. What would a body be if the body parts were not connected to each other? Isn't it what makes the body whole the fact that all the members are connected? If one of my body parts hurts, doesn't that affect the rest of my body? Take a look at 1 Corinthians 12:12-26.
Let's step into what Jesus has for us. Let's grow into Him who is the head of the body and mature into Him.
-Mike and Andrea