I’m a loner, I don’t mind saying that. I have a tendency to want to do things on my own and by myself, without the help and interference of others. I’ve always had that mindset, even after putting faith in Christ; but, a lot more recently, I have come to the understanding that even in my “loner” state, I’ve always had others around me whom I fellowshipped and shared with, so I was truly never alone. In the body of Christ, fellowship is one of those things that we need to have a lot more of, and that’s what we’re going to be looking at today.

For a while now, I’ve been listening to Excelsius’ album titled In Conjunction, and the whole idea is to put forth the purpose of Joined At the Hip (JATH) Ministries, which is that we need to be joined together as the Body of Christ and build one another up. Malcolm (Excelsius) and I have been joined at the hip for some years now, going back to when I was in college and he was just another emcee on mp3.com; since that time, we have been an encouragement to one another and keep the other focused on Christ and the Word of God. By no means are we a David & Jonathan (mainly because of our physical distance from one another), but it’s a close bond that we have. Needless to say, that bond that we have leads to something special: fellowship.

Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near (ESV).” In essence, that’s what fellowship is all about; it is about stirring up our brothers and sisters in the faith to do good works, but we can only do that when we get together and spend time with one another. I’ve heard lots of people say that they don’t need to go to church because they have the Holy Spirit and can study the Word for themselves; this is true, but it’s not the only reason why church is important. Next to getting sound biblical teaching from the pulpit, the most important thing that we can get from going to church is the fellowship with other believers. It’s a blessed thing to be able to spend time with like minded believers who can help push you towards good works and holiness. I love all of my brothers and sisters in the faith who have pushed me in the faith, and it has all come from my fellowship with them, even through Internet fellowship (instant messaging and message boards). Our fellowship has forced me to dig into the Word more and find a more accurate theology than what I had held to. It also helped me to know that I have family who has gone through similar things as me, which gives me the courage and strength to know that I can make it through by faith.

As a former athlete, I think of the analogy of a team. In a sport like basketball or football, the team can only be as good as the individuals who work together to make that team. If you just bring together a group of people off the street to make a team, and expect them to play without practicing, there’s a pretty good chance that they will lose, especially if they’re playing against a team who has been together a while. Why is that? A good team consists of teammates who practice together often, and even when they are not practicing or playing together, they spend time getting to know each other off the court. When I played basketball in high school, our team was inseparable; you could always find us on the wall together just chopping it up because we were all of a like mind. We wanted to get to know each other and build each other up because it breeds trust which translates to success on the basketball court. We wouldn’t have been as good of a team if we didn’t like each other, practice together, trust each other, and know the strengths of each teammate. The same thing needs to happen in the body of Christ through our fellowship. We’re all “1st Round Draft Picks” but if we’re going to be a championship team, we need to have fellowship with one another and push each other towards a high level of holiness and sanctification.

If you’re not a member of a church, then find one, especially one where there are people you can fellowship with; it’ll be one of the best moves you can make. Next to that, find other believers that you can build and fellowship with; you should be able to have them push you, and you should also be pushing them towards holiness. God wants us to grow together as a single body, but that is impossible if we continue to live and walk as if we’re in this all alone. Amen? Amen.