Fellowship in Christ
Dear brothers and sisters,
Paul says this to the Thessalonian church: “brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to come to you…” – I Thessalonians 2:17-18.
It’s an amazing thing to not be alone. And in his great mercy God had given us each other! Every single child of God has a family because we are one church, have one Lord, one faith, one baptism. This one church includes brothers and sisters who hold a variety of views on ecclesiology – how the church structures itself – but I have to confess to struggling with the view of our kin in independent churches – the belief that no Christian has any right whatsoever to pass comment or hold sway over a local church if that person belongs to another local church. I struggle to see evidence of this in the Bible. That each local church is completely autonomous, and that godly church leaders in a region should have no say in the life of other churches? Where do we see that? I think instead we see one church, governed by local leadership, but who have concern for other local churches in their region.
I’d be overstepping the mark to call this Presbyterianism, but it is a key part of how Presbyterians view the church – that we are not alone and that we benefit from accountability, friendship and brotherly/sisterly love, in all sorts of intricate and interconnected ways. It is one of the great blessings of Presbyterianism that we belong to something bigger than ourselves – and the fact that Gilcomston, along with 6 other churches, have voluntarily chosen to come together in one presbytery is a blessing not to be dismissed. There is a Didasko church in nearly every major city in Scotland – we’re just missing St Andrews and Inverness! Our churches care for each other, are interested in the welfare of each other, are there for each other in the difficult times and in the times of joy. We benefit from our mutual accountability and fellowship – a great example is the youth weekend that happens every year – lifelong friendships are made, and the knowledge that there is a Didasko church with people I know in a city where I might be going to university? Great!
Another example of fellowship is the upcoming Didasko Conference taking place on Saturday 21 March, 10am-3pm at Wallace High School in Stirling. It’s going to be a great day – can I really encourage as many of you as possible to consider going along? I think it will do our church the world of good to stand alongside brothers and sisters from our sister churches as we sing together and sit under the ministry of the Word together. As we gather on that Saturday, churches united together, my prayer is that of Paul’s:
“11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” – 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13.
Nathan.