Working Together = Growing Together
You can place people together in a team, but the true bonds of relationship form when the team works together towards the same goal.
Reference: v.6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. (TNIV Bible)
Explore: A couple of years ago I did a leadership course that spanned over two years. For the majority of the course we were to fulfil a structured reading allocation in our own time. The other element was three week-long intensives where all the participants from all over the country would come together. These conferences were a great time of learning, sharing and laughing. It was incredible to see how strong the connections were between all the participants, as we were all experiencing similar situations and learning together. While we may live thousands of miles from each other, we still have the strong bonds of experiencing these intensive conferences together.
Application: You can place people together in a team, but the true bonds of relationship form when the team works together towards the same goal. This is true in our faith journey as well. We can sit side-by-side with people in our congregation every Sunday for years, and yet we don’t start to build relationships until we work together outside the auditorium. When we do live together, or work with each other towards a common goal, that’s when we can learn from each other and support one another through our faith journeys. Our culture promotes independence so strongly, and yet all the Biblical communities supported togetherness. While it’s essential for us to take responsibility for our own faith, it’s also essential for us to form bonds of relationship with others, so that we can grow together as God intended.
Prayer: Lord, may we be willing to take the time to get to know others and open up our lives so that we can learn from each other. Amen.
Who could you include in your circle to grow together?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.