Day 18: Experiencing Life Together

Nothing particularly exciting has happened in the past 24 hours (well, unless you count getting new students today, but really I was more excited about who was leaving rather than who was coming; I do have three of my bandies in my 9 week classes now, though, so that'll be interesting. . . I think we'll see each other in quite a different light. I just hope they don't find my GM class boring. . . but band is WAY more exciting). I'm updating earlier because I have a lot going on tonight, and I want to give this the time it deserves (and it's early release, so I'm done with students already! Gotta love southern school systems). As much fun as I'm going to have the next few days, it's also going to be long, and half my weekend is shot with ACB, so I'm just hoping to stay above water on everything I want to accomplish and continue doing (namely, going through PDL and working out while still keeping a reasonable sleep schedule. We'll see how that goes). And I need to reach out to the elementary schools. And schedule concerts. And fundraise at some point. And I have an observation a week from tomorrow.

Blah blah blah unfocused ramble. I'm excited about the next few days of PDL topics.

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The book is so true when it says that we think of fellowship as where we go to eat. And from what I've heard and experienced, Baptists do food quite well. But it's not the only part of fellowship. "It is experiencing life together." All those "do unto one another" type commandments in the Bible? Those are what fellowship is all about. And the book also makes a good point about group size. We worship with huge groups (or can), but fellowship is really an intimate setting. Think about the disciples: Jesus easily could have picked hundreds of followers, but he chose only 12 because that allowed all of them to see and experience and be able to share every moment firsthand. When I think of my fellowship experiences, I think of my Sunday School class and of Dalton's Fellowship of Christian Musicians (formerly Fusion, which is when I joined it). As I go through the four (hah!) signs of "real fellowship" I'll probably mention either of these two situations.

Oh, and I really like the "cells of Christ's Body" analogy. I think there was something similar in my LASB. . .I'll have to check when I get home. Anyway. . .

First, real fellowship provides authenticity. Not surface-y, idle talk, but true, heart-to-heart type stuff. Now, that's not to say that there can't also be authentic joy and fun as well. I know with my Sunday School class, we are all quite open with sharing what's going on in our lives, good and bad, and praying for each other and supporting each other. That's something that has impressed me since I found the class. It's just a really great group of people who care about each other and watch out for each other. They took me under their wing the week that Brandon died. Pretty much it was just like "Hi, you're going to come hang out with us and not stay at home wallowing in sadness." I know I need to start being more open with them in general, not because things are going badly in my life or I need attention, but because when something is going on, I know I will be validated by them.

Second, real fellowship has mutuality. We aren't responsible for everyone in the Church (or the church for that matter), but we are responsible to them. Some of what I said above touches on this. In Fusion there was definitely this; we were already brought together by our mutual living quarters (the music building) and we had a lot of ways to connect through our experiences because of that. It was very encouraging to me to be able to come there every Monday night and sing and hear Gordon (or whomever) lead us in a discussion about faith, God, music, life, whatever the topic was for the day, because often it would relate to how to apply it to our lives as music majors. When the group started to get bigger and became FCM, we started to do some more group serving and spending time together type things. I remember one night we went around and picked up all the trash and papers from all the practice rooms and threw away/recycled it all in an effort to give to the Dalton community (because sometimes, there would be a banana peel in a plastic trash can for quite a while. . . or you'd see the same paper everytime you went into 1321. . . that kind of thing).

Third, fellowship has true sympathy. Sympathy is not just feeling bad for someone (that's more empathy): it is understanding what someone is going through and affirming the way they feel is appropriate and necessary for healing. Recently (well, I think November. . . I don't remember exactly) but I got a fb message from an FCM member whom I didn't know (unfortunately I didn't get to be part of it my last semester because I was interning an hour away) sent out a message asking for prayer as her uncle had just passed away. Although I haven't interacted with her since that message, I was able to provide sympathy for her at that moment as a brother in Christ, and all because I had been involved with a fellowship of believers previously. Although that's not exactly what this topic may be talking about, I still think it relates.

Finally, people will experience mercy in real fellowship. Although at this point I don't know that I've seen this in action (since I was only with Fusion for about 3 or 4 semesters and I've just moved down here), there is some great stuff in here. We have to remember that NO ONE is perfect. If someone messes up and hurts us, well, guess what? If we really thought about it, we have probably done the same thing to another person, or even worse, done it to that person! The Lord forgave us of everything; how can we not at least attempt to do the same for our fellow believers? Another great question- when we are hurt, do we use our energy and emotions for retaliation or for resolution? Finally, "Forgiveness must be immediate. . . Trust must be rebuilt over time." This is a HUGE difference that I know I need to think about in my life. It's OK not to trust someone that has a track record of hurting you, but it is NOT OK to leave the problem unforgiven.

Point to Ponder: I need others in my life.
"I hope this chapter has made you hungry to experience the authenticity, mutuality, sympathy, and mercy of real fellowship." I know I have felt that hunger, and I know I am finding it sated at SBC.

Verse to Remember: Galatians 6:2 "Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ." New Living Translation
Love your neighbor as yourself, right? 2nd greatest commandment that is weaved into all the laws in the Bible. . . pretty neat.

Question to Consider: What one step can I take today to connect with another believer at a more genuine, heart-to-heart level?
I think something as simple as asking "How is it going with _________?" and listening (truly listening) is something I could do. Sometimes all we need to open up is to be asked.

I'm super unfocused today. I hope it didn't show up too much in this entry. My brain feels like it's covered in fuzz.