In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo didn’t attempt to destroy the ring by himself. He had the help of all kinds of races when he first set out and they were known as the “Fellowship of the Ring.” Frodo definitely wouldn’t have been able to destroy the ring without the help of his best friend Sam. The same could be said about Christians. We wouldn’t be able to defeat the evil we’re surrounded by everyday if we don’t surround ourselves with a sort of fellowship. Life is so much easier whenever you have friends beside you who will help you conquer armies, tear down walls, and fight along with you. It’s essential. “You must cling to those you have; you must search wide and far for those you do not yet have. You must not go alone.”
Frodo didn’t take a thousand elves with him to Mordor and Jesus had a platoon of twelve brothers. They accomplished great things with a small number of close friends because it’s impossible to have intimacy with a large number of people and that’s what this war will require of us. It’s an awesome experience to worship with thousands of people, but you can’t even say hello to everybody in a crowd that large. Is it possible to offer rich and penetrating words to someone you barely know, in the lobby of the church, as you dash to pick your kids up? Would you feel comfortable asking the person you pass the offering plate to if they could bind a demon that is sitting on your head? I’m going to call this close group of friends your “inner circle.” These are the people that are going to fight for your heart. Counseling has become a hired profession because we could not find it anywhere else. Christians need to find it because this battle is going to be rough without it.
Church is not a building and is not an event that takes place on Sundays. Church, as America thinks of it, is not how the Bible uses the term. When Scripture talks about church, it means a community. Little fellowships that share life. They worship together, eat together, pray for one another, go on quests together, and fight for each other. They can do this because they are small and intimate. Small groups have become a popular part of churches and they are short-lived for the most part. You can’t expect a group of complete strangers to become intimate allies over the course of 12 weeks. That sort of relationship builds over a shared life. “All the believers were one in heart and mind.” Acts 4:32a This means they all loved the same thing, wanted the same thing, and were bonded together to find it. Most small groups don’t heal the brokenhearted or set the captives free because we come, we learn, and we leave. This is not enough because hearts are still unknown to each other.
It’s going to get messy too. Just because everyone in your inner circle is a Christian doesn’t mean they won’t screw up and you will mess up eventually too. Going to church with hundreds of people to sit and hear a sermon is easy. It won’t expose you which is why most people prefer it. A community will expose you though. It will reveal to you where you have yet to become holy at the same moment you realize where they have yet to become holy. It will bring you close and you will be seen and you will be known.
This kind of community is extremely rare. Why? Because it is hard and fiercely opposed. Most churches survive because everybody keeps a polite distance from one another and conversations are superficial. Living in a community is like camping together, in the desert, for a month, with no tents. Anybody can be captured for Christ for an hour a week, but your life is exposed to a community you live with. There are two keys you have to keep in mind when dealing with other people so intimately too: the heart is good and we are at war. Times are going to come up where you lose patience with someone but we know the Truth. Once we are born again, our hearts are good. The Enemy is also trying to stop us with everything in his power. That is why we need to band together and fight.
We have to fight against the Enemy and we have to fight for each other because without it we’re screwed. “Suddenly, all those one another’s in Scripture make sense. Love one another. Bear one another’s burdens. Forgive one another. Acts of kindness become deeply meaningful because we know we are at war.” You have to know your friends’ hearts intimately because when they seem distant, you know what’s really going on. We also have to be careful with how we treat our inner circle. If you bring your every need to the group, it will collapse. Community is no substitute for God.
“God is calling together little communities of the heart, to fight for one another and for the hearts of those who have not yet been set free. That camaraderie, that intimacy, that incredible impact by a few stouthearted souls—that is available. It is the Christian life as Jesus gave it to us. It is completely normal.” If you started following my blog a little later than when I first started, most of the stuff I write about comes from the book Waking the Dead by John Eldredge. (which explains the random quotes) I highly recommend the book because it is awesome and so true. Christians today are not the people we were created to be. I hope this post is enlightening and that you truly seek out brothers and sisters in Christ who will fight for your heart and that you will fight for theirs. If you need to talk to me about anything, have a question, or just want to talk about what God is doing in your life hit me up! Thanks for reading, only one more post from this book and it’s going to be an epic finish.
In Love,
Bill Bouillon
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