Fellowship with other believers is really important to help us get delivered, set free, healed and walking strong.
Our interactions and relationships with other in these setting is important so that mutual edification, encouragement, learning an training can take place.
RELATIONSHIPS
Healthy relationships are essential.
Having relationships that are transparent and trustworthy is key to the fabric of these groups, so egotistical behaviour like slander, gossips, innuendo and indiscreet talking are damaging, as much as being silent and not contributing can also be damaging to the group.
UNITY
Paul talks about being of “one mind” and being “like-minded” alot.
Being like-minded is also important. This helps us stay in unity. Unity is the combination of good relationships, like-mindedness and mutual agreement.
This doesn’t mean we automatically agree with everything that is said or done, but does mean we are respectful and have the right to discuss anything and reach agreement on all matters.
DISCOVERING WHERE GOD WANTS US PLANTED
In searching for and finding your “home” in the Kingdom can be helped by working throuogh these next three(3) important questions.
If you can answer them sufficiently well, then these questions will help navigate you to a safe and comfortable fellowship “home”.
3 Big questions help us find and connect with our Jesus Disciples…
QUESTION 1: What is your Source of Truth ?
For us its the Bible and only the bible. If you are looking for a group that has a different source of truth (like history, philosophy, biographies, Google, Youtube, denominational documents, etc) then our group is NOT the group for you. Keep looking. But if your source of truth is the Bible then then this question lands you with us.
QUESTION 2: Who is your Coach/Mentor ?
We all need training and mentoring. The fact is that this paradigm will never end. As a baby Christian we need a mentor or coach or trainer… and as we grow we may change coaches, but we still need one.
Even when we are mature, and moving into realms of leadership, deliverance, conflict resolution and tricky doctrinal debates, cool heads prevail. We need to be people of peace when we embrace difficult conversations. From a leadership style we don’t “Lord it Over” people, but it would be irresponsible of us to allow false doctrines, bad manners and bad behaviour to go unchallenged. If you can’t take any criticism or correction in the loving spirit it’s given, then your Christian walk will be a very self-centred one.
God disciplines those he loves and calls them sons. We all have blind spots (including the leaders) and we need to be honest with each other to move forward into maturity.
If you are not being disciplined, you are not going to mature. This is why having a trusted mentor or a trusted trainer is critical at any stage of our walk.
Paul writes this clearly in Hebrews 12:5-11 “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives.7 If ye endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not?8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.11 Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
Paul had Barnabas. Timothy had Paul. The twelve disciples had Jesus and they called him “Rabbi” or “Teacher”.
In our group, you will need to identify a person whom you trust, whom you are willing to listen to, whom you are willing and able to take instruction and correction from, to improve your life and your faith walk. This naturally can take some time to get to know everyone. My advice is to look at the “fruit” in peoples lives… stable, happy, able to teach, knowledgeable on the Bible and righteousness, patient, kind and also willing to coach you. Follow the fruit.
Coaching does not happen by magic. It’s intentional. So you will need to have a conversation with several people and then discuss, ask and agree with a person to coach you.
This is how the Kingdom works. We all need to be trained so that we in turn can train others. If we are not teachable, we will never be able to teach properly, and remain barren.
We are ALL called to teach (Matthew 28) and some in the Body have a Gift of Teaching to be able to accelerate everyone else in the body to the task of teaching.
So find your trainer/coach/mentor. If that person is in our group, then you might be staying with us for a while !!
QUESTION 3: Where is your Like-minded Community ?
It’s so important to walk with “like-minded” people in whatever you do. Paul wrote about this concept to be in Unity, Be of One Mind and be Like-minded… and he repeated this topic a lot in the New Testament. Romans 12:16, Romans 15:6, 2 Corinthians 13:11, Philippians 1:27, Philippians 2:2 and Peter says the same thing in 1 Peter 3:8.
We are a bit different. We read and embrace the Bible, and pull it apart line by line, precept by precept. We have done our best to throw out all the vain main-made traditions that hinder the rapid development of Spirit-led disciples, and those traditions that nullify the Word of God. The Religious Spirit will not survive in any of our groups. We are chasing the Church that Paul describes in the NT. We are not perfect, and we have not arrived… but we are valiantly giving it a go, and God has given us grace to establish this in Australia, and share and empower others in what we have learned.
Some people are looking for precisely this.
When you come to our group (or any other network group), you need to ask yourself “Can I be united with these people ?”, sort of like adopting an entire family (and being adopted). It’s a big decision and a very important decision that will help you grow in your Kingdom journey. It takes time, it takes some engagement, some discovery and some conversation. Ask lots of questions. Listen carefully. Can this group help you mature and move to the next level in your walk ??
Church is not a business, it’s not hierarchical and it’s not transactional. Church is relational. Church is not a noun, its a verb. When problems arise, and they always do, our relationships are strong enough to discuss and resolve issues as they arise. The people of God forgive each other and love each other, and get healed, and built strong, trusted life-long Kingdom relationships, then go make more disciples.
James says in 5:15 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
If our group is what you are looking for, then maybe God’s calling you to stick with us.
God wants you planted in a healthy like-minded community.
Is our group for you ? Talk to us, an find out…
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