“Imagine you are surrounded by a small company of friends who know you well. They understand that we all are at war, know that the purposes of God are to bring a man or a woman fully alive. They fight for you, and you for them. Imagine you could have a little fellowship of the heart. Would you want it if it were available?”
On a Sunday morning in October of 2002, I made a sacred vow: I would no longer walk alone as a Christian man. It was the culminating day of a life altering retreat and I was staring at the Sangre de Cristo (“blood of Christ”) range in Colorado (a pretty powerful context to make a sacred vow). I have had to revisit that experience many times in the dozen years that have followed.
Last night, I stood around the island in my kitchen with my wife and a couple of the men from our home fellowship. We were grouped there because the living and dining room of my house held 55 people on couches and an assortment of other chairs (every one we owned plus a few dozen more brought in for the occasion). We were having a general interest night around a possible church birthing from our little weekly gathering.
Tomorrow night, I will gather for a weekly meeting with my band of brothers. The six of us have walked together for a half dozen or so years, bringing a message of healing and freedom through a boot camp experience. We’re taking a trip together in August to Colorado to sharpen our swords and will conduct our next two boot camps in October of this year and February of the next.
Last week I was part of a series of meetings with some Kingdom-minded business men from New Mexico. We first met at Southwest Exteriors to discuss their business and ours. We then met with all our OFB stakeholders. Finally, we gathered with our SummitTrek team. The aggregations at the meetings changed slightly, but the key players were pretty much the same all the way through. We shared passion, desire, and experience, through narrative, of the journey we are all on to find our unique place in advancing the Kingdom. Most of them will be at our monthly SummitTrek meeting this Thursday as well.
Rather than a Venn diagram where multiple separate circles intersect to find a small common ground, we are much more like a series of concentric circles. We almost completely overlap and emanate out in perfect succession like the ripples from a rock thrown into calm water. All are separate in some ways, and yet powerfully the same.
In every corner of my life, I now see the fulfillment of that solemn vow. Walking alongside other men has changed everything. The backdrop of deep fellowships of the heart has made room for a deep excavation and uncovered the revelation of sonship. His great love for me and His intentions for my life, are far grander than I could have hoped or dreamed.
- Is your life full of people and activities that leave you feeling completely alone?
- Are your “friendships” really just “acquaintances”?
- What is the cost of your walking alone to those you love and lead?
- Deep fellowship is available. Are you willing to fight for it?