“If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (I John 1:6-7, NRSV, emphasis added.)

In the Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible, fellowship is defined as, “Engaging with other disciples in the common activities of worship, study, prayer, celebration, and service, which sustain our life together and enlarge our capacity to experience more of God.”

In the Scripture passage cited above (I John 1:6-7), there is a caveat to this form of fellowship; and that is, walking in the light as he is in the light. If we want true fellowship with God and neighbor or fellow believers, we cannot walk in darkness. To remain in the light, we must be intentional about spending time with God in prayer and in searching the Scriptures and by practicing the other means of grace, such as worship, Holy Communion, fasting, works of mercy, and holy or Christian conferencing.

Koinonia is the Greek word for fellowship or community. Acts 2:42 describes the koinonia that existed among believers as they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship and the breaking of bread and the prayers. All who believed were together and had all things in common. When koinonia is genuine, the believers are connected and in solidarity or unity.

Hebrews 10:23-25 (NRSV) says “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together.” Psalm 133:1-3 tells reminds us “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” The word “kindred” in this Psalm referred to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but today our kindred are more than our family or our heritage. They include those who also believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Dallas Willard talks about such unity in The Spirit of the Disciplines: “Personalities united can contain more of God and sustain the force of his greater presence much better than scattered individuals.”

We hear a lot about fellowship in the church. We even have “fellowship halls,” where we can meet to “fellowship.” But fellowship has a more important meaning when we realize the importance of meeting together to encourage one another to love and good deeds. Our United Methodist heritage had at its roots an emphasis on meeting together to give an account of our faithfulness. Early Methodists met in societies, classes, or bands in order to pray together, hear a word of exhortation or encouragement, and “watch over one another with love.” Not only did these meetings provide a time of fellowship, but they provided the strength needed to live lives of personal and scriptural holiness.

Today we have plenty of meetings to attend in the church, but are they times of fellowship? Is there a spirit of holy conferencing there? Do we take the time to worship together, pray for one another, and encourage one another at those meetings? What an opportunity we miss when we just hold a meeting with bookend prayers and do not experience the unity that true fellowship can bring.

We may be missing the chance to “walk in the light” when we forget whose work we are doing and when our focus is only on the business at hand, not on how we can discern God’s will for our work and love one another. What change might occur in our churches if every meeting time was an intentional time of Christian or holy conferencing? What changes might we see in the unity of the body of Christ?

How do we walk in the light of God? We walk in the light when we are faithful in our devotional practices, care for others as Christ commanded, and meet together in fellowship, and mutual accountability. When we are walking in the light, we are the light of Christ wherever we are. And when we are walking in this light, we will have fellowship with one another and thereby experience more of God.

Resources

• Laity Sunday 2008 Poster (11.25 by 17.25 inches)
• Laity Sunday 2008 Bulletin Insert (5.5 by 8.5 inches)
• Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible
• The Spirit of the Disciplines
• Accountable Discipleship: Living in God’s Household
• A Disciple’s Journal: Daily Bible Reading and Guidance for Reflection (Year A)
• Jesus’ New Command: Rediscovering the Joy of Fellowship

from www.gbod.org/laity/articles.asp