QUESTION:

"Where and how do church leaders have direct fellowship with 'ordinary' church members? How do they know how their teaching is being received, understood, perceived? We get so much information given 'down' to us from the pulpit, written word etc., but no pastor I know of wants to know how I feel about what they have said. I don't want power or to upset leadership or existing fellowship, I just want two-way communication, TRUE FELLOESHIP in which the obvious meaning of the word that implies equality in Christ is actually realised.

"I get upset when things are said in church and nobody wants to know how I feel. I may be right or I may be wrong in my reaction. If wrong I want to learn more, if right I can surely help others to learn from God just as I have.

"I go to a home group every week and that's good, but it doesn't address this specific need. For me, such sharing should be a natural part of most church activities, not just an add-on program.

"What are your thoughts on this?"

RESPONSES:

Don is absolutely correct in complaining that his church leaders don't allow him any form of feedback. Here in England, that is one of the main reasons I have moved from church to church - because throughout the denominations, from traditional to modern-day charismatic, the principle is : 'we've got the pulpit, so we get to pontificate and tell you what the truth is; your job is to sit in the congregation and take it'.

However, Pastors are not all-knowing, and occasionally they say the most indefensible things from the pulpit. Even if they do know what they're talking about, there is no mechanism for interested follow-up questions.

I sympathise with Don!

Ian

I have also wondered how feedback - questioning or otherwise - can be given on teaching given from "pulpit level". It takes a special preacher not to feel threatened by feedback, particularly if frequent, and especially if public.

In the interest of 'true fellowship', all parties must be considered, and while the balance may have leaned too far toward protecting the preacher over the years, it would be wrong to leave them vulnerable to open criticism. While Don may have a genuine desire to learn more and assist growth in his fellow believers, some may not have the maturity to discern between two-way communication and heckling!

Some preachers I know of have a group of 3 or 4 from varying ages and theological backgrounds to 'critique' their sermons on a weekly basis. While this doesn't provide the open forum Don is perhaps looking for, it does make for a good level of accountability for the preacher.

Of course, any areas of real concern a listener has should be discussed with the preacher, and then taken to the church leadership if no understanding is reached.

Perhaps Don could explore church communities that are not structured around one person doing the talking and everyone else listening. Here in New Zealand we have a number of such groups developing, so I'm sure larger countries will also.

Ros

I believe Don is onto something which should cause the church to sit up and listen.

I am a Pastor of a Pentecostal Assembly in South Africa - pastoring since 1974 - and I believe that we have somehow looked past the needs of modern Christians. They want to participate somehow in discussions of doctrines, etc. that concerns them. All preaching is not taken as 'gospel truth' anymore - intellectual people need answers to statements and doctrines exclaimed from the pulpit.

I am not a post-modernist preacher - I am firmly grounded in my faith - but I do believe that something is amiss in our churches. We are losing wonderful people with great potential.

I am doing a MASoc., my thesis will address the question, "Is the church still relevant in our day?" meaning: do we still address the needs of our Christians.

Please, if you will, let me have questions concerning "what you expect of a church " as I would like to include some of it into my uestionnaire, gathering information for my thesis.

Alfred

Don posed a very intriguing and stimulating question, one I have struggled with for many years. While it is not practical to make every service a time of two-way discussion, I believe there are times for these things and they need to be addressed. I have seen churches that range from both ends of the spectrum. That is to say, churches where the Pastor is hard pressed to finish what he is saying without being interrupted by someone wishing to express his or her opinion, to those where the Pastor in practically isolated from the congregation.

One such church I know of has an average Sunday morning attendance of approximately 1500 people and to see the Pastor requires an appointment set weeks in advance. Adding to the dilemma, the Pastor only sees people Thursday mornings, making it almost impossible to see him, even though it has been observed that some constituents in the church have ready access to him. On the other extreme, in the first case above, the Pastor is available to everyone, albeit a smaller church, which at times can be overwhelming.

In the first case of the isolated Pastor we see, not a shepherd, but a rancher. Allowing others to tend the flock as the shepherd tends the under shepherds. In practice this may look good, and can certainly add quickly to the numbers on the membership list, however, there appears to be something lacking.

In the second case, the Pastor/Shepherd runs the risk of overworking himself, yet he truly is a shepherd. He does not set himself apart from the flock but rather walks among them. Like Jesus, this Pastor is not afraid he will dirty his hands on his sheep.

Peter put it this way in 1 Peter 5:2-3 "Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."

A Pastor/shepherd is not a "sheepherder", herding the flock toward the Kingdom, rather he is a Shepherd that leads the flock to the Kingdom. A Shepherd is one who is willing to lay down his life for the sheep; one who is willing to live with the sheep and share their sorrows and joys. A Shepherd, in the end, will look and smell like the sheep he tends.

Having said this, it would appear one of the best ways to handle the feedback problem would be to have a morning service where the Pastor brings the message with no interruptions, this is the public service. The evening service should be more relaxed and family issues addressed. Then a Wednesday evening service where the church body can freely express themselves. Larger churches may need more than one meeting.

I have felt the frustration of wanting to say something only to find no one willing to hear what was said, or at best only one or two people hearing my idea. A church body is a family and should, as closely as possible, resemble a family. Please note that even in the best of families there must be order in family discussions or nothing is gained. The larger the family, the more important rules of order become. Also remember that even in the best of families, there are often disagreements, but they do not cease to be a family. The conflicts are worked out, in the family by the family.

Ernest

Dr. Chadwick passed on a letter from a "Don" who wanted to know how he could "tell the Pastor how he feels." This is emblematic of why we have a wimpy, powerless "Christianity" in our nation these days. The job of the preacher of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ is not to be a 12-step, touchy-feely, co-facilitator who finds out "how people feel." He is to "preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season."

This Don should be more worried about, whether is life is conformed to the Word of God. He needs to read Hebrews 13:7-9, 17, then I Thessalonians 5:12-13. He needs to carefully study the Pastoral Epistles of First and Second Timothy and Titus and find that what he wants out of a Pastor is not what the Bible demands.

I could go on for much longer, but need to save it for tomorrow! I hope that preachers are seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance concerning what they preach tomorrow rather than that of the "Dons" of the world!

Peter

In reply to the question regarding fellowship amongst church attendees or others let me put my answer forth to you in this way.

There was once a man of the cloth who though being of great wisdom and teaching ability, found himself lacking in the graces of social enjoyment with his fellow man. Although he could hold his congregation almost spellbound with his sermons each Sunday he could not realize if they did learn anything of what he said. He would stand outside the church after each gathering and wish all well and say that he would see them again next week, but other than that, or perhaps a greeting when he was out somewhere, it was the extent of his involvement with the people.

Let me tell you a story.

Once there was a priest who after giving his life to the church and people entered into heaven where he was greeted by God. This priest asked God for one small favor, which was that he be allowed be shown heaven and hell. Since the priest had been so devoted to his work and did many things to glorify God he was granted his wish. First God said "I will show you hell," whereupon He opened a door - inside this room were a bunch of people seated around a large table. In the center of the table was a huge pot of a very savory stew and each person had a very long handled spoon with which to eat of the contents. The priest noted that the handles of the spoons were of such a length that none of them could eat no matter how hard they tried and none of the people were of joyous mood for they were all lean and starving and there was no happiness amongst themselves.

God and the priest withdrew from hell and next went to another room called heaven whereupon opening this door were overcome by the joyous sound coming from within. There was the same pot of stew upon the table and the same long handled spoons but in there all were of good cheer and all were well fed. The priest asked God why this was so and God told him, "Because they have learned to feed each other."

So it is with the word as it was with the stew that sat upon the table, we must learn to feed each other. No person should allow themselves to be distanced from the other due to their station in life nor should we ever forget that no matter what we may think we are never alone. We all need each other, we all need that little bit of a pat on the back for something that we have done and we certainly operate a lot better when we are understood and welcomed by others. Fellowship is a feeding of the people by the people, and can only exist if all of us share with each other our lives and our thoughts.

No other person will know what we think if we do not tell them how we feel. Tell the person in the pulpit or the home group what you need or would like to see. A bit of constructive dialog can go a long way to solve your problems and may also help the other person open their eyes to a certain need or fault they may not realize they have. Voice your opinions wherever you are and do not accept something just because "That’s the way it’s always been done."

William

I fellowship with a group of Christians who actually can ask questions during a sermon and even add input on a certain topic and sometimes challenge what's being said from the pulpit. At first I thought it was strange and rude for people to interrupt the Pastor but now I don't feel right seeing the church run just the opposite with no interaction - that can be dangerous.

Mark

In reply to the idea of dialogue in teaching and learning. We are a youth cell-church in the UK called Powerhouse. We do not use the term teaching, because that has a top-down connotation to it; it is something done to you. Instead, we always refer to 'learning' as this is something that we do together - in the cell groups with no more than 12 present. The learning is led identically in all the cells and tries to reflect that most people simply are not academically wired in their learning styles effectively to absorb, and retain information presented in a lecture/sermon style format. The interactivity that comes from seminar style learning feeds us and trains us to be co-workers in our learning, rather than passive consumers.

Two last thoughts. We hold true to two key principles in determining the direction that Powerhouse's learning is going. Firstly, we remind ourselves constantly that the young people with whom we work know only that which we are learning together at the time. Secondly, we all already know far more than we use. We strive to activate that which has been learned to translate it from 'head knowledge' into 'hands and feet knowledge'. We must, as teachers, be careful not to create a culture which perpetuates the hearing of the Word at the expense of being 'doers of the Word'. The brutal reality of a young person sitting next to you on the sofa grimacing at what you have just said is a reality we could not do without.

Sarah

Regarding your statement that no Pastor you know wants to know your thoughts and opinions related to his teaching, I would ask if you've ever taken the inititive to get together with him and discuss your feelings?

All Pastors I've been priviledged to serve with and sit under welcomed discussion and feed back. Ask to talk to him. I'm sure you'll be pleased with his response.

Your reference to fellowship means those in fellowship are like minded and are united in the things of Christ. You are correct to expect communication with your Pastor and he most likely will welcome it. If your reason to communicate is to critize or differ that is acceptable but must be done one on one respecting the 'Man of God".

Cdarida

"How do church leaders have direct fellowship with ordinary church members?"

It is important that a door of communication be kept open between the pulpit and the pew. To know if your preaching or teaching is being recieved and effective, you would have to seek out those in your church that are not intimated to speak the truth in love.

Paul said there were those who refreshed him in the Lord. They were able to encourage him in the Lord. It is very important for a Pastor to have feed-back from his congregation. But this must come from lay people that are spiritual, and desires only to help the man of God be more effective in his ministry.

Christine

I am in agreement with Don that it should be a common experience for members of a congregation to express their truthful appraisal to the Pastor. This could happen either through a regular evaluation form or via a "Rap" session. It does take a confident Godly leader to readily accept these ideas, and it would be necessary for the congregation to maintain a peaceful and gentle spirit in the evaluating process.

R.R.

I am a Pastor in a small town of approximately 6,000 population. My attendance is about 200-250. I am the only staff Pastor. I certainly would enjoy corresponding with Don about his concerns and desires. As a Pastor and a son of a Pastor I may be able to help answer some of Don's questions. I know that Pastors are concerned with how they are being received, perceived and understood. We are also concerned about whether we are effectively meeting the needs of the people we pastor.

However, there are several factors that Don may need to consider from a Pastor's perspective. The size of a congregation is only one of the factors that are important. When I first became Pastor of my present church it was one third of it's current size. The budget in five years multiplied five times. The result was that I no longer could play golf every Tuesday (fellowship) with the men of the congregation. I could no longer visit (fellowship) as long or as often. So I had to change my strategy from visiting one on one to visiting with the men of the church once a month in a men's fellowship meeting. In this setting some things are lost and some things are gained. As much as I would love to spend time with each member and personally hear their heart it is absolutely not possible.

Some things that may help are :

1. Set an appointment with your Pastor to express your heart to him.
2. Read the book "Shoulder to Shoulder" by Dan Reiland.
3. E-mail is a wonderful way to communicate. I receive them often from church members. Use this medium to share your perceptions and level of reception.
4. Obviously you see an important need. Pursue the solution and when you meet with your Pastor, present what you perceive as a need along with options for a solution.
5. Make yourself available to facilitate the solution. Anyone can point out a problem but not just anyone can offer a solution.

Don, I feel for you because your perception of Pastors has been twisted. Most Pastors I know (I might add that I have been around many Pastors in 45 years) don't talk "down" to their congregations and they are interested in how their flock feels. As wonderful as personal one on one contact would be, it is not possible in every case. We are a body and we function as a body. There are parts of my body that have never come into contact with other parts of my body. They are no less a vital part.

I welcome correspondence from Don and will respond as quickly as possible. I carry a very busy schedule but I would love to see Don's perception of Pastors improve as well as help find a solution to his very important concerns.

Eno

I pastor a church in Australia and I have made it a practice to make many in my congregation my lasting friends, especially those who are in leadership positions. This is a self initiated objective and we have tremendous fun and get on very well with each other, in fact very few people have ever left our church due to 'problems with the pastor'.

Over the many years in senior leadership I have never stood anyone aside, or had to seriously discipline them because of our level of fellowship and christian friendship.

Yes, I know of the old way, where ministers do not closely associate with their congregation, but it does not really work that way for us. The other way works for us.

I would encourage you to seek God for a way to 'get close to' your minister, it just may be the thing he is looking for. Maybe God is seeking to work something through you - as Philippians 2:13.

An older and wiser pastor once made this comment to me early in my pastoral life, 'most senior leaders suffer from inferiority', sadly, many do , and they build walls of protection for themselves. Pastors have the most exciting position in the Kingdom of God, but we are frail and have incredible challenges and the issue you raised is but one of them.

Mike

I have no direct answer to your question, but I recommend that you speak directly to God in prayer and ask him for support in opening up communication between you and your congregation's leadership. Inviting the Holy Spirit in to change hearts will most likely result in a change in your heart also. You should be prepared to let God remove the hurt and replace it with a desire to make your congregational communication function better.

After you have placed this matter before God, you could then ask your Pastor for some time to pray together (you and him in the same room with no one else present) for support in communicating you feelings to your congregation's leadership. If you fail to resolve the problem with your Pastor in the one-on-one, then take a mature Christian with you to discuss and pray about the issue with your Pastor.

Finally,

As I said, there is no easy way for me to put myself into your position - I do know that you need God's help to heal the hurt and that is why I suggested that you pray for a change of heart first. My guess is that you are not the only one hurting, but I also recommend that you not go around looking for dissatisfaction within the congregation as that may only harden your heart and after that it would harden the hearts of your leaders.

Gleason

My daughter invited me to attend the church she was going to. It was small(growing) they have home meetings and so-forth . But the best for me; the Pastor would have a class before church on Sunday. There in one hour he helped every one in a direction toward understanding the Word. He was so informal, so caring, so filled with the Holy Spirit. He was younger and lots of engery. Sad, but every Church does not have the same Pastor.

I will pray for you to find that opening where knowledge and understanding will flow. I know why we should attend every sunday - it's impossible to get it all in one sunday.

Juanita

I was deeply saddened to read the comments in Dr. Chadwicks Email Circular. As a minister myself in the Church of England I'm delighted when members of our fellowship talk to me about my sermons, not least because I know they were listening! But just because we're up there preaching doesn't mean that we know it all, none of us do this side of eternity.

We often use our mid-week fellowship to discuss the Sunday sermons and I learn so much from these discussions.

Pray about it Don, I will. Maybe your Pastor should be reminded of Mary's words in the Magnificat Luke 1:48 'For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant'.

We should all be humble in accepting and using God's gifts, and being equipped to be a Pastor is a gift from God.

Denise

If Don ( or somebody else ) has a specific need, I think he or she must go to their Pastor personally and express what is their problem. Probably the Pastor ( who is also the shepherd of that church) can give a solution or at least they can pray together asking a blessing of our Heavenly Father. I think this is the Pastoral function of a priest in a church. With love from Jakarta - Indonesia,

Osa

We as leaders visit with and interview families and individuals as part of our stewardship on a regular basis. Depending on the purpose of the interview, we meet three to four times a year where we share feelings and concerns, knowledge, experiences and testimony in a one-on-one "fellowshipping" setting. This is independent of Sunday School and worship services. At least two or three other leaders visit with those in our "congregation" on a regular basis, usually twice a year. Those who are in positions of leadership are regularly available and actively inviting members of our group to participate in both public and private discussions. We actively work to help each other have spiritual experiences, for we know that our Father in Heaven loves us and wants us to lift one another, to succor those in need of succor, as it were.

Eric G.

Let me begin by saying I am not an 'official' church leader, but leadership roles have found there way into my life in many ways: worship leading, home group leadership, music team leader, short term mission trip leader. I've set this out to say that both sides of the coin have been realized in my life and there is to me, little difference in how I relate to both sides (sides is probably not a good word, I'll use "Roles" instead).

Feedback is vital to any organization and most leaders desire to hear it, however as you've expressed, the "how do we do it" is the challenge to all of us. This becomes more complex in a large church where the Pastor may be in a position that leaves him little time for one-on-one fellowship.

You might begin a dialog by composing a letter to your Pastor expressing a desire to get to know him better. Keep it simple and honest (no laundry lists). Take him to breakfast or lunch and tell him what's been happening in your life. If what he is preaching is truth and what you are living is real, the result of his efforts combined with your obedience will be fruit (good works, etc.) and spiritual maturity. However, his "role" is different from yours and mine.

I do not personally believe that a Pastor can keep in close contact with every single member of his church on a regular basis, that's not his role. His role, as stated in Eph. 4 is to "equip" us to do the work of the ministry, not necessarily to be our buddy. But at the same time, church leadership is doing itself a great disservice to separate or distance itself from the congregation. I hope your church has somewhat regular fellowship times in which you can converse with leadership (dinners, etc.) as these can be very helpful too. Your voice should be heard Don, but remember, God has entrusted the leadership of your church to someone else, you have chosen (by attending) to trust this person, his decisions and what he preaches are his responsibility to God alone, not yours and mine.

If church leadership was swayed by every single bit of feedback from the people, it would be in a constant state of tension. The questions you have posed are difficult indeed, and what the passage in 1 John 1 says doesn't adequately answer them in whole, but it does in part give us a key to fellowship; that being "walking in the light". Our fellowship is in part fulfilled by the fact that we (believers) are living in the "same Light", or realizing the same lifestyle together. We have had the same "revelation" of the Son of God. I would offer 1 Cor. 12 & Rom 12 as good reading in regards to our relationship with one another and the roles we play in the body. Your Lord and Master knows your heart Don, he will guide you through these waters, I on the other hand may not have answered your question specifically but in part. You are not alone in your concern, I will pray God opens up the windows of heaven and rains down his grace on your situation. He has set the members of the body where it pleases him (1 Cor. 12:18).

Larry

What a wonderful sermon and question.

It is true that we must “be” together, but that means more than just being co-located for a period of time. I find that “fellowship” at church tends to revolve around food and one-way communication most of the time. However, true fellowship with my brethren occurs when I work with them, preferably in service to someone that cannot perform the task at hand themselves. And it also occurs when we can talk freely with one another about the simple things of the day and sometimes the deep things of our hearts. This usually cannot occur in large groups. It almost always requires some degree of effort and un-masking by every participant.

Taylor

I realize that that is a very significant need for people in the pew. We try to meet that need in two ways:

1) We try to visit with people who come to church and get their feedback there - and they sometimes share it with my wife or our children who then report it to me.

2) The very best way is to visit with the people wherever you see them or at their own homes and ask for suggestions or questions that they might have.

Hope this was helpful. Possibly a newer way will be via the internet when enough of your congregation is open to it. For our particular congregation - that will take some time yet.

Darrell

A few years ago, I wrote what I thought would be a good church model (Dr. Chadwick was my Youth Leader years ago). I too, find little (not none) value in simply gathering without the opportunity to ask the "preacher" just what he meant by some of his comments. My style of worship would be:

Mutual participation in the meetings by all is to be the rule, not the exception: Everyone is to participate for the building up of the body as a whole (I Cor. 12). The only definitive statement of a first-century church meeting is I Cor. 14:26; where it indicates that everyone has something to contribute, and that the result was edification of the body. Sermons or dissertations by one man while all others silently listen were absent from the New Testament Church meetings. The objective of the church meeting in the New Testament is mutual edification.

Gary

My response to this person, is that there is good and bad that can come from having such an open relationship with the church leaders and/or Pastor. This person seems to want to discuss something in the sermons that they feel they need to respond to.

From my experience in our church, we have an unusual openness with our Pastor, because he is the leader of one of the home groups, which also meets in his home. ( I question whether this is the best setup.) In our home group we not only have an opportunity to share our thoughts and questions, but we also receive more personal struggles, and weaknesses from our Pastor. Also, it is hard for many of us to call him Pastor, because so many are used to calling him by his first name. I have always questioned how "real" should a Pastor be before his congregation, if it means others will see him more as a person, and less of a spiritual authority over them.

The good that comes from this is being open and accountable to each other. However, that doesn't necessarily mean we have any say in the way the church is run or what is taught. We have opportunity to express our thoughts, but rarely do the Pastor and the leadership take others into account in their planning. In fact, they are often so concerned about being in control of everything that often the Holy Spirit is stifled.

But back to the issue, there should be some dialogue, if not with the Pastor, with a go-between or layman. A home fellowship seems like the ideal place to vent concerns, ideas or issues in a safe, open environment. But the caution that I see is that too much openness or feedback can discourage a Pastor or take away from the authority he has. For our own benefit we should regard our Pastor in high esteem and pray for him. If we are constantly criticizing him it causes not only hurt, but causes us to be weakened in our walk with God. If there really is an issue, we should pray about it beforehand, and always be in prayer for our Pastor, and God will let us know if it truly is a matter to bring up. And in humility, we can share our concern in love, and possibly in more of a subtle way, such as through a layperson.

Those are just my thoughts. I feel it is difficult in areas where the Bible is not specific, and the area of how a church is to be organized seems to be a difficult one. This is a particular struggle of mine, and it seems to be more prominent in churches that are more contemporary, or non-denominational, because we don't have the benefit of tradition and past experience.

Eric D.

P.S. Thank you Dr. Chadwick for your website. There really is a need out there for this type of ministry to churches. I have really been blessed by the articles. I only recently became aware of it. I want to share some of the articles with our church, because I think it would be helpful, but still need to pray about it more.

Hi Don,

As a minister, I think that it is wonderful that you would like to let the Pastor or any minister or teacher know what you think, or for that matter, what anyone thinks about the teaching that is coming from the leadership. I think what most leaders feel when you or anyone comes to them is that they are about to critisize (which does go on a lot, if they think that the person is talking about them).

Open communication about the sermon or teaching, on how it has helped or maybe hindered is good, and I encourage it.

Michael

Fellowship: companionship, company. Community of interest, activity, feeling or experience. A company of equals or friends.

A fellow: an equal in rank, power or character. One of a pair.

These are the meanings of fellowship and fellow to the world…but I have often wondered if these are what the body of Christ believe, according to the Bible.

In my short experience in the Lord’s path as a true Christian, I have really come to question, "Is there is such a thing as fellowship in the church?" After 17 years of accepting Christ in my heart but not walking the path I experienced a revival where the Word of the Lord truly became a fountain of living water. I started to believe and live by the Word. All loved by one true God, a community of friends, sharing their experiences and challenges. Friends in which one can trust, friends we can share with, people that will be there for us in the times of need, the ones that cheer, “Don’t give up! Keep on going!”, a new type of family. Instead I found busy people with no time to help their fellow brothers and sisters, claiming everyone should know by now that everyone has to swim by their own in this river of life, without each other’s help.

I often wonder if Jesus ever treated His disciples like that? Or even the ones who came to Him to ask for help? I have read the Scriptures - I may be not as deep as the grand leaders of the church, but I can tell this: Jesus only had a profound love inside, even in the times He needed to be strong with the hard headed ones.

Fellowship. I have heard the word too many times, but experience it just a few. King David said not to trust in men for they can deceive us, and he was right. I guess that’s why he cried out in pain when it was a friend who had deceived him and not an enemy, one he had shared with in the house of God - a fellow Christian. The Bible is full of stories that guide us to the right path. Some show us pure and true Christians, others show us how some Christians can drift their ways when they forget to be humble and honest to the one true God.

I think that many Christians have drifted, truly believing they are serving God while forgetting or forsaking their fellow brothers and sisters. They think that the only way to serve is to focus on the non-believers, which is good but the truly and hardest part of any ministry its to make people persevere, the ones that already believe, the ones we have already reached. I have seen people walk away from the Lord’s path because they were not taken care of, they were not loved enough to be shown that the most important thing is to persevere. I strongly believe that it’s the reason for so many sects that mislead people. We must be doing something wrong. We do have to preach, reach the non believers, fill up heaven’s barns with the soul crops that are ready. But we also have to place the wine in new vases, the old ones crack and the wine will be wasted.

You want to know what fellowship is to me? The best example in the world I could find was the movie “Saving Private Ryan”. There camaraderie was shown in perfection. People asked themselves why waste so many good soldiers for one? Why leave the 99 for one stubborn and reckless sheep? CARE, DUTY, AGREEMENT, COMPANIONSHIP, LOVE. In this movie soldiers lost their lives to save one soldier. WHY? Because one family had already lost all their sons and this one was the only one alive. They fought the toughest fight there. But they all made the choice to risk it all to make one family happy. Yes, they argued, yes they got angry, yes they asked why, but DUTY called them to give their lives so one other may live. Wasn’t that Jesus example? He did die for us, He did go through pain, He was scared and he asked to be relief of that. But he went through with it. He was obedient to His father; aren’t we supposed to be obedient too, by fallowing His Word? He loved every disciple to the end; aren’t we supposed to do the same? He guided them and cheered them up; are we doing this?

What type of fellowship has the church created? Is it the same the Pharisees had, where a few leaders, only knowers of the Scripture know everything and no one else can know anything better or teach differently? Aren’t we supposed to learn from each other? Aren’t we a compliment? Are we the type of church that instead of loving people scare them away with their immediate doom? Are we the type we said we love each other and trust in one God, but we go stabbing our own in the back for our own interests of greed and power? I hope not!

I hope plenty will rise and stand in truth trying to bring the body of Christ together without wanting to have it all for themselves, and then show the world what a true Christian is. A person that serves the little as if serving the great. A community that feels, thinks, and acts towards the same objective, Jesus Christ. A group of true friends that will help each other when in need, and won’t leave the wounded in the ground to die. Equal rank, equal power, equal character, because we all are children of the same God, so we do to others as we would have done to ourselves, and we would love God with all in us.

It is rare to find someone who will actually listen to what others think or believe. Must of the time the “controversialists” are kept in a drawer, hidden from the rest as bad black sheep in the family of God, forgetting that the Father always greets the lost with open arms when they look towards him in obedience, repentance, humility, just as a child will do.

To end I must say that we Christians will have to start taking the responsibility of truly following God and not extracting excuses from the Bible to cover our mistakes. Let us accept our mistakes, try to fix things and walk the right way. Let us be humble enough to admit that we in fact don’t know everything and that we can learn from others. Let us not become in Pharisees!

Thank you for the chance to speak. I do know that I have plenty to learn but I do appreciate the thought of wanting to know what others think.

Ana

I totally agree. It is good to know how the word is effecting peoples lives and if this message was sent to Paster and Preachers maybe it would take an effct and benefit many. On the other hand, if the word is from God it's all good, because someone somewhere is recieving something from it.

Naomi

In response to your question I think it's absolutely legitimate that you would like to respond to what is preached and taught in church.

Our members are given an opportunity to do this on Sunday at our 7 PM services. It's very informal and the people who are there are those who really want to get an understanding of things that are said. You can imagine the chaos that would be on Sunday when you have members and nonmembers listening to the message.

We also give people an opportunity to express themselves during Bible Study. That's fellowship. Goes further than just coming and eating and people talking among themselves.

Hope this gives you reason to continue to find opportunities to have your thoughts heard and dealt with.

Servant of The Most High God,

Constance