Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Fellowship

Fellowship. We all need it. We all seek it. I have been privileged over the last day and a half to find some great fellowship with the pastor’s of the Newton Presbytery. Yesterday, I traveled down to Wharton for a half day of study with fellow pastors. I left there to attend my first COM meeting—more fellowship there! This morning I traveled down to Blairstown to attend a breakfast with 8 more new pastor-friends. The food was great, but the time of sharing was even greater. For too long I have been “working in a vacuum.” The ability to share joys and struggles with men and women who are going through the same joys and struggles has a strengthening affect on everyone involved.

I believe that fellowship is one of the key pieces for a congregation that wants to grow. How can we grow if we don’t know each other? How can we know each other if we don’t take the time and the effort to do so? Now I know we Presbyterians like to eat, but we need to make sure that as we have these times of fellowship that ALL people are invited into the circle. Just sharing food, without sharing each other is NOT fellowship! I once heard fellowship described as “all the fellows in the ship.” I take that picture a bit further and think that fellowship can be best pictured as everyone in those old warships with multiple oars. When we are all rowing together, great progress is made, but when some people are rowing against the rest (or stowing their oars and not rowing at all) progress is slow or nonexistent.

So what am I saying? It is time for all us to get our oars in the water and work together. When we do, watch out world! So how about you? Are you rowing, stowing or working against progress? It is time to work together under the guidance of our Holy Coxswain, Jesus Christ!

2 comments:

Amy Florence said...

I believe that is a name of God I have not heard before!

Rosella said...

No, I don't think I have heard that description before, but it is apt. He did say to get in the boat, and I guess that makes him the cox.I am glad you attended studies with your colleagues, it is essential to get out of your vacuum and socialize and study with others. My thoughts on the rowing and stowing is this. In our part of the country, we just row down muddy rivers, so someone can just stick their oar in the mud and turn the boat around. So, we think we can get by with rowing against or stowing. But we all know we don't get too far on that river. We need to get out on the ocean where you are in physical peril if you don't row together. And if I'm in that boat, I sure want Jesus for my cox.