The Fellowship of the Burning Heart
In J. J. R. Tolkien’s trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, the fellowship of the ring was the name given to an odd group of seeming misfits on a quest that would both define their lives and bind them together in a journey of incredible challenges toward the ultimate goal of saving their world.
The fellowship of the burning heart should become such a band. A ragtag band we might seem, but the shared goal of knowing God supremely, intimately, and personally binds us together and thrusts us against the obstacles and challenges before us to press on in the pursuit, knowing that life and death issues are at stake, both for us and those around us. As the members of the fellowship of the ring learned that they needed each other to accomplish their task and achieve their goal, so those in the fellowship of the burning heart recognize their need for each other as well.
Hebrews puts it this way: And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (10:24-25 NIV)
Those in our fellowship recognize that knowing God goes well beyond possessing certain factual information about Him. We know that information is important, but the crucial element is how that information is allowed to penetrate our thinking, attitudes and actions and to thrust us into the very presence of the living God, where we encounter Him and experience a relationship with Him that is life-changing.
John Wesley had such an experience at Aldersgate. He said of that experience that he felt his heart strangely warmed. He too was a member of the fellowship of the burning heart, and that experience filled him with a confidence in the faith that proved unshakeable, a passion that burned hot with zealous holiness, and a boldness that shook a nation and a world in crisis. His accomplices, such as George Whitefield, his brother, Charles, and others, stood with him to encourage and spur him on.
A DAY is approaching indeed. The Bible refers to it as a day of wrath, the day of His appearing, the day of judgment, the day of the LORD, the day of God’s wrath, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, the day of redemption, and the day of evil. NOW is the day of salvation. It is imperative that we stand together “as we see the Day approaching”, knowing that “our redemption draweth nigh.”
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6 NIV)
REVDANS 
I remember when, as a “semi” adult :), I first felt that burning within. March 25th, 1979, just after a service in a church with about 20 in the congregation. After an intense week of spiritual struggle, I finally gave in to the notion that Jesus was more than Savior, He was Lord, and just accepting Him without truly seeking Him, was not going to “get it”. It felt as if someone reached right into my chest, grabbed my heart, and turned it around. If anyone has ever felt something similar, you know that the true start of your life begins at that moment.
Mark, I too, remember such a time. It was at a camp in LA in 1975. I was a rising junior in college and was struggling to make sense of my life, my future, my purpose. I had been struggling with the possibility of entering the ministry but had been fighting the very thought of such a commitment. One service at that youth camp near the end of the week became a pivotal moment for me. God dealt with me in such a way that His presence was undeniable, His desire clear, His call unmistakeable. I felt that the curtain had been removed and I was totally in His presence, lost in time and space, unaware of anything else. The glow of that experience has resulted in 38 years of ministry and a desire to follow Him with all my heart.