{"id":3133,"date":"2010-06-10T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2010-06-10T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mintools.com\/blog\/?p=3133"},"modified":"2026-07-23T14:25:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T18:25:06","slug":"stress-and-fellowship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mintools.com\/blog\/stress-and-fellowship.htm","title":{"rendered":"Stressed Out People Need True Fellowship"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Holding
\nIn a previous post we looked at possible causes for the decline of true fellowship<\/a> in the church.\u00a0 One reason might be that stressed out people<\/strong> feel they have enough worries of their own and don’t need to take on other people’s problems.<\/p>\n

We do live in a stress-filled world.\u00a0 Fearing that fellowship with others will further burden them, some people will isolate themselves.\u00a0 This actually shows a lack of understanding about true fellowship.<\/p>\n

Scripture contains many passages about how we are to relate to “one another.” The Greek word for “one another”, allelon, <\/em>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.\u00a0 “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17)<\/span>.<\/p>\n

How can we help stress-filled people step outside of themselves and into true fellowship?<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Teach about God’s design of the church being that of interdependence.\u00a0 Emphasize that the one another passages<\/a> are about a mutual, reciprocal relating one with the other.\u00a0 True fellowship is a two-way street.<\/li>\n
  2. Set time limits for each person to share\u00a0when breaking into smaller groups or pairs.\u00a0 Signal when it should be time to switch focus onto the other person.<\/li>\n
  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<\/a> 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 discourage others who then don’t have opportunity to share.<\/li>\n
  4. Provide other forums like support groups<\/a> or one-on-one counseling<\/a> for those who can’t seem to step outside of themselves enough to care about the needs of others.\u00a0 Make the objective of such groups that of helping people become fully functioning members of the body, not to wallow in their problems.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    . . . stressed out people feel they have enough worries of their own and don’t need to take on other people’s problems. . . . Fearing that fellowship with others will further burden them, some people will isolate themselves. Continue reading Stressed Out People Need True Fellowship<\/span>→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fellowship-unity"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t