The Difference Between Fellowship and Relational Fellowship

Fellowship and relational fellowship are close in meaning, but are at different levels of a relationship. When people get together with a common purpose it is called fellowship. Relational fellowship is when two people or a group of people within the fellowship have a relationship deeper and more relational with other, rather than just being part of the group.

In the Christian faith (I speak solely from a Christian point of view and I do not intentionally demean or call out any other person, religion or group. I am most familiar with being a Christian.) fellowship is with believers who want fellowship with one another, but also with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The one thing we have in common, is we are fellowshipping with each other in Christ. That is our fellowship.

1 John 1:7

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Hopefully that helps explain fellowship. Now let’s take a look at relational fellowship.

Relational fellowship goes deeper and beyond a normal once a week or once a month fellowship. Relational fellowship is someone cares more about someone, or someone within the group cares more about you and your wellbeing, than they feel about the purpose for which they came together in fellowship.

These are the people within the believers who fellowship together with Christ and they find things in common that bring them together (their spirits connect) allowing the fellowship to become more personal and more one on one; therefore it is a relational fellowship.

This article is meant to help explain the difference between fellowship and relational fellowship that I talked about in my last article on this site. Most of what I just shared with you comes from years of trying to figure out what’s what in a church setting. This article is not meant to demean, hurt or otherwise cause any negativity to any person, religion or group. Information contained herein is the sole responsibility of the author.

Wondering

Do you ever wonder why bad feelings happen with people whom you love and care about? We sometimes have thoughts that aren’t true or real, but they seem so real our mind races on with the intensity that it is the most important thing you have to think about, even though in reality those thoughts are just trouble waiting to happen.

So is this your mind, or is it another force moving you in a direction counter to your beliefs and values? If those thoughts move you counter to your beliefs and values, then you must consider the validity and source of those thoughts.

If you are being moved by something counter to what you believe, take a close look at the source of what is moving you. Is it a positive force enabling you to build relationships, or is is negative force trying to move you away from your beliefs and values?

Sources could be something as nebulous as the news; CNN, FOX, NBC, CBS or any other number of three letter identifiers, something you hear from another family member, or something you overheard at work. Be sure of the source before you move on your thoughts. Ask yourself if these thoughts are friend or foe.

For instance when you help someone and give them a “temporary” place to stay and they end up with you for a longer time than anticipated. You might start getting ancie. You might start wondering if your life will ever get back to normal

The person or people you are helping might think things are not so good and may even engage in retaliation or a power struggle, but are they the real problem or is there another force working to destroy or control your life, your moods and most of all, your relationships with others?

There’s a reason the Bible states church is so important; fellowship holds each other responsible. Satan wants to destroy fellowship so it will not flourish and he does a pretty good job of destroying relational fellowship.

For example, there’s a new person helping in the kitchen. They have a heart of gold and a heart to serve, BUT, they put the dishes in the wrong place, maybe on the wrong shelf. Who cares? Satan cares, because he knows that putting dishes in the wrong place, is a big issue for some people, so he tempts them to hurt the relational fellowship that was built upon fellowship principles.

This is an overview of the identification phase whereby we identify the actual cause or reason the negative feelings about someone or something. GB.

Coming soon

The difference between fellowship and relational fellowship and what it means to each of us

How to guard against relational fellowship attacks

God Knows

It sometimes feels crazy going through life without what the secular world calls “direction.” They may think or say “he doesn’t have any direction in their life,” or “he doesn’t know what he’s doing with his life.”

There are times in people’s lives where I can see that is a problem, but not so with Christians. They may seem not to have direction, but when they are truly listening to God’s voice (yes, He still talks to us today), and do not appear to have direction nor can they explain their guidance from a secular point of view, they are moving in a direction, toward God.

This may sound crazy to some, but not for those who Believe. Those who believe in the Word as coming from God and scribed by men. God tells us in Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

He leads us through His plans. His plans cannot compare to anything we could possibly think or conceive. It is up to us to follow His guidance. But doesn’t it seem strange to follow guidance you can’t see, or touch; to follow what most see as a whim? That is what is called Faith. To believe and follow something even though you have not seen it.

John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

God knows. He is a sovereign God and knows everything. He knows where you need to be, where you need to go and what you need to do. When you accept that what you are doing is for Him, your blessings will be as you have never before seen.

Take a chance; spend one hour doing nothing but what He tells you to do. If He tells you to read, read. If He tells you to read the Bible, read the Bible. If He tells you to meditate, meditate. If He tells you to clean your kitchen, clean your kitchen. Do this for Him and you will find his blessings are greater than anything we could imagine.

GB. M

It’s Not Hard Being a Christian, but It is Hard…..

As you already know, I have decided not to host Sunday service any longer at Martinwood Christian Church.  With all the crazy things going on in my life, I need time to decompress and figure out what God wants me to do.  So far it has been great.

The church has stepped up, and they are keeping Sunday doors open, and it is going good.  I met with the pastors and they are on board with stepping up and leading.  There are eight ordained pastors at our church and they are the best group of people.  They know when to step up and lead.  Or should I say they are allowing more of the Holy Spirit to work within them giving them courage to lead. 

Becoming God’s hands and feet are the greatest thing one could achieve.  He wants to do great things through people like you, but we must let Him. 

At one of my meetings someone said it is hard to be a Christian.  That statement bothered me.  It bothered me from many different directions so I took time to investigate the idea of it being hard to be a Christian.  As my wife and I are talking I said:

It’s not hard being a Christian

It’s hard letting go of the world:

It’s hard letting go of the world we’ve become so accustomed to following and living in.

It’s hard letting go of anger, hurt, and “those” types of memories.  It’s hard to let go of politics or religion as the world sees it.  It’s hard not following the masses, especially when not doing what they do considers you an outcast.  We all want to belong. 

We long to be part of something, but sometimes we must let go of what we have, to become something bigger, better, and that brings you closer to God.

It’s not hard being a Christian

It’s hard letting go of the world

GB.  M

Two Week Notice

The two week notice is in and we’re off and running.  As you may already know, my two week notice was to a congregation of about 50 people.  Yup, I’m a pastor. 

The difference is we own the church building, lock, stock and barrel as they say.  We’ve become overwhelmed with caregiving responsibilities, personal responsibilities and retirement age issues.  Our biggest challenge is taking care of my mother and father, who are 85 and 90 respectively.

Our mission is to Love God – Build Relationships – Change Lives.  Part of this mission is to maintain the current events at the church, yet not host Sunday service.

I’ve found as a pastor, your next Sunday’s sermon starts as soon as you walk out of the church on the Sunday after you’ve preached.  The next sermon seems to be a haunting, nagging feeling pastors must deal with as the week goes on.  What to say.  How to say it.  Who are we talking to, and so on. 

I admire pastors who have all this under control, but right now my wife and I are totally overwhelmed, so we are taking a break from Sunday service. We will continue hosting support and fellowship events; Ladies Group twice each month, Circle of Hope support group, Pastor’s Lunch and the Mens’ Group.

That will be the extent of our involvement with the church for now.  We don’t want to close the church; we need to step back from the Sunday goings on.  Additionally, I’ve ordained six men and two women to be pastors, and we’ve grown several people to be church leaders.  This way the congregation can decide if Sunday service continues.

When I gave my notice, people in the church stepped up to take over pastoring and running the church which made me feel wonderful.  I can’t wait to see how the church will flourish in the coming months without me at the helm.  God is so good!  ALL the time.  He will ultimately decide what happens with the church.  Your comments are greatly appreciated. GB    

No Worries, No Cares…Today

This morning I woke up next to a lake in Missouri.  No worries, no cares, just sitting on the southern deck watching the fish jump.  As the sun starts warming this July summer day I had to retreat to the air conditioning while still sitting facing the water surrounding our small cabin on the lake. 

Is this retirement?  It surely feels good.  No worries, other than how soon to return to civilization, which is only a few hours away.  For me retirement is not having to rush to the next thing and having and having time to watch the fish, or the next flock of birds fly over without saying “gotta get ready to go.” 

There are so many things God puts in front of us that I feel we are in such a hurry or so preoccupied that we miss His beauty.  His beauty is all around us and He tries to show His beauty as other things fight for our attention.  Some of those things make us upset and keep us from His glory. 

Sure, there are compelling reasons to be upset and not like something that is going on the world, but we cannot let it get into our bubble; the space where our thoughts and emotions lie. That is your space and something you can control. 

When the Time is Right

In my last post I talked about “When Do We Know”. When DO we know its time to move out, move on, go toward something different by walking away from what you are currently doing.

One way is to test the waters you will be going into. Put a toe in or spend a bit of time researching your passion and looking into what it is you are thinking about doing.

It’s not always about the money. If it was meant to be, the money will be there. First look at your passion. What is your passion in life? What makes you get up in the morning and what do you look forward to in life?

Are you doing it? Are you following your passion, or following the money? There is one more element. The spiritual element. The element you can’t see or touch, but you can feel. It is a feeling you get inside when you think about what you want to do. God will guide you toward your destiny, when you let Him. You have to be ready to act. He will give you the tools you need to get to your divine destiny, but it takes courage; something God told many people in the Bible to have. God said “be bold and courageous.”

If something continues to nag at you, especially a life change, that could be God trying to move you. His blessings are numerous when you walk in His will and His ways. You may never know when the time is right, but He knows. When we put our care in His hands, we will receive things we’ve never thought possible. GB.

When Do You Know?

When do you know it’s time to move on from your current position, when to make a change in life and move from your current life to what awaits you? That’s a question I find that many push against as they look closer at their own life. Its a push because that’s what it feels like, pushing. Pushing because something isn’t moving or something is pushing against you.

There comes a time when you have to yield, or do you? When looking at yourself you have to wonder “is it time?” I’ve found when people step forward and start judging your last movement and the vision you have for your next movement, you need to look closer and take serious consideration to your circumstances.

This is what I have been looking at for quite some time; when is enough, enough? How do you decide it’s time to go? What are you thoughts about when enough is enough and it’s time to go?

Your comments are greatly appreciated.

More Post Briefcase Actions

I can tell God is on the move.  Especially with the case of the briefcase.  As usual, about midweek God gave me the topic. It fits with my reaction to the recent situation.  Sunday’s topic was “The Art of Forgiveness.”  We have to be careful not to confuse the act of forgiveness with the art of forgiveness.  I discuss the difference in my video.  The basis for my thoughts is below, in written and in video form.

Click Here to read

The Art of Forgiveness.pdf

Click Here to watch

The Art of Forgiveness (video)