Where Fellowship Begins...

I grew up in a generation that believed (and may still believe) that "fellowship" is a meal after church.  There, I've said it; we all know it, but I'm one of the few brave enough to say it.  No point masking the obvious, because until we get past this arcane definition of fellowship, we can never truly understand what it is that God intended for us to experience together as believers.

Simply put, the church of the New Testament (particularly in the book of Acts) was all about sharing the Christian life together.  Not only did they share all their possessions, but they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching...the book of Acts doesn't say that they devoted themselves to demanding that the apostles teach them.  They actually devoted themselves to discovering that teaching.  They longed for it, they sought it, and they found it: together.

At HCC, we're getting ready to launch our "Connect" group ministry.  The critical piece to this ministry is realizing that it's not "just another thing to be involved in," but the core element of the church. It is our collective desire to follow Christ by growing closer to Him and learning more about Him through His teachings...together.  We have no one to blame for our Spiritual immaturity but ourselves.  It is our responsibility to follow Christ and to engage in true fellowship with one another so that we can grow closer to our Savior.

In Philippians 1:3 Paul says to his fellow believers,  "Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God." (NLT) I envy Paul's obvious relational level with his fellow believers.  How are your relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you constantly thankful for the people with whom you share genuine, godly fellowship?  Do you share enough of your life with other Christians that you truly thank God every time you think of them?  Do you have relationships with that kind of deep Christian fellowship?  Maybe the better question is, "do we long to grow together enough that we can make that a reality?"