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Stressed Out People Need True Fellowship

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Holding Hands in Fellowship Needed for Stressed Out People
In a previous post we looked at possible causes for the decline of true fellowship in the church.  One reason might be that stressed out people feel they have enough worries of their own and don’t need to take on other people’s problems.

We do live in a stress-filled world.  Fearing that fellowship with others will further burden them, some people will isolate themselves.  What this actually shows is a lack of understanding about true fellowship.

Scripture is filled with passages about how we are to be relating to “one another.”  The Greek word for “one another” is allelon which denotes a mutual, reciprocal relating one to the other.  The goal is that we build one another up, not become a drag on each other.  “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17).

How can we help stress-filled people step outside of themselves and into true fellowship?

  1. Teach about God’s design of the church being that of interdependence.  Emphasize that the one another passages are about a mutual, reciprocal relating one with the other.  True fellowship is a two-way street.
  2. Set time limits for each person to share when breaking into smaller groups or pairs.  Signal when it should be time to switch focus onto the other person.
  3. If you have “needy” people in your small group, do not be afraid to put a cap on their sharing so they do not monopolize the time.  When you do that, however, it should come with a promise to speak one-on-one after group time if the need remains.  You do not want anyone to feel ignored.  If you allow someone to monopolize the group with their needs, it could be discouraging for others who then do not have opportunity to share.
  4. Provide other forums like support groups or one-on-one counseling for those who can’t seem to step outside of themselves enough to care about the needs of others.  Make the objective of such groups that of helping people become fully functioning members of the body, not to wallow in their problems.
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