We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. (1 John 1:3-4 NIV)

Dear Fellowship of the Burning Heart:

Koinonia – fellowship – is the wonderful privilege of every believer. We have fellowship with each other and fellowship with God. This is not just about communication, nor is it just about sharing a meal. This fellowship is an active sharing in the life that John has just mentioned in the previous verses. Its breadth and depth of meaning can be seen in the ways it is translated in various contexts. Besides fellowship, it is translated communion (1 Corinthians 10:16 twice and 2 Corinthians 13:14 twice), communicate (Hebrews 13:16), communication (Philemon 1:6), contribution (Romans 15:26), and distribution (2 Corinthians 9:13). It simply means “to have in common,” and at the heart of the word is the concept of “sharing.”

God has brought us together into a real communion or fellowship (often called the body of Christ) for a reason. We need the active participation (koinonia) of Christ in our lives, if we are to live in victory over sin. But we also need the encouragement and help of fellow Christians, if we are to continue in victory over sin. What I have noticed in my observations of the human condition is that we often withdraw from others at precisely the very moment we need them the most. What is it that drives us away from people or compels us to drive them away when we need their encouragement and help the most. Of course, I have been guilty of this very thing myself, even forcing away from me the people closest to me and the ones who care for me the most. This can be a disastrous reaction.

Where did we get the idea that the Christian life and our Christian faith is a personal matter that does not involve or relate to others. The Bible makes it clear that we are to live in and enjoy fellowship with other believers and with God. I was taught when I first entered the ministry that I, as pastor, needed to keep my distance from my congregation. I could not afford to be too familiar with them. I have taken an about-face on this particular advice, realizing that I, as a Christian, need fellowship as much as any other member of the body of Christ. Joy cannot be complete without this sharing in the Christian life.

Now, since I have opened the door here, I want to share what happened Sunday as I was preaching to others. I first must confess that I have been struggling with the challenge that God has laid on my heart concerning my future level of involvement in ministry. I have been vacillating between leaving pastoral ministry/finding secular employment and recommitting to/pursuing fulltime ministry again. As I was preaching from 1 Kings 18 about Ahab the Corrupted, Obadiah the Conflicted and Elijah the Committed, I realized that God was speaking to me about my conflict within. I was not exercising complete faith and was not acting with complete commitment. It is the challenge of ministry that the preacher who addresses others with a message has to allow that message to speak to him as well. And if you must know about that sermon, you’ll just have to check the website later this week. Weeping like a baby (or Theresa ), I responded to that message Sunday morning with a new commitment to serve Christ and a calm assurance that, as he provided for Elijah, he would provide for me.

I’m sharing this, so that those who know me can hold me accountable should I revert to vacillating again.