The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren—A Synopsis (continued). Chapter 18—Experiencing Life Together (pages 138-144) Summary God intends His children to associate with each other and “experience life together.” This association is known by the term, fellowship—a term that embodies all the aspects of unselfishly loving one another, such as honesty, serving, sacrificial giving, sympathetic comforting, etc. But fellowship may usually only be achieved in small groups, where everyone can participate in a personal and close manner. Christians can worship in a large group, but fellowship can only be experienced in a small one where “real community” takes place. Only in a small, close-knit group can one experience real fellowship, which differs from fake fellowship, and is characterized by the following: · Authenticity. It is fellowship that is open, genuine, honest and heart-to-heart sharing—not distinguished with pretending, role-playing, politicking and superficial politeness. To participate in this type of fellowship takes courage, humility and the ability to take risks. · Mutuality. It is fellowship that is reciprocal (giving and receiving); that is, the building of relationships, the sharing of responsibilities and helping each other. · Sympathy. It is fellowship that shares the pain of others, more appropriately expressed by today’s word, “empathy”—the deepest of four types of fellowship, which are (1) of sharing, (2) of studying, (3) of serving and (4) of suffering. · Mercy. It is fellowship that radiates gracious forgiveness toward others. It reflects the mercy of God as seen in the provision and sacrifice of His Son so that everyone might receive the forgiveness of sins. It is not to be confused with trust. Merciful forgiveness is letting go of the past, whereas trust is concerned with the future and is rebuilt over time. Quotes “Life is meant to be shared.” (pg. 138) “Real fellowship is so much more than just showing up at services. It is experiencing life together.” (pg. 138) “When it comes to fellowship, size matters: Smaller is better. You can worship with a crowd, but you can’t fellowship with one.” (pg. 138) “It is only as we become open about our lives that we experience real fellowship.” (pg. 140) “We only grow by taking risks, and the most difficult risk of all is to be honest with ourselves and with others.” (pg. 140) “You are not responsible for everyone in the Body of Christ, but you are responsible to them.” (pg.141) “Sympathy is not giving advice or offering quick, cosmetic help; sympathy is entering in and sharing the pain of others.” (pg. 141) “Sympathy meets two fundamental human needs; the need to be understood and the need to have your feelings validated.” (pg. 141) “Fellowship is a place of grace, where mistakes aren’t rubbed in but rubbed out.” (pg. 142) “Remember, you will never be asked to forgive someone else more than God has already forgiven you.” (pg.142) “Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record.” (pg. 143) Scriptures Colossians 3:15; Psalm 133:1; Matthew 18:20; 1 John 1:7, 8; James 5:16a; 1 Corinthians 12:25; Romans 1:12; 12:10; 14:19; Colossians 3:12; Philippians 3:10; Hebrews 10:33, 34; Galatians 6:2; Job 6:14; 2 Corinthians 2:7; Colossians 3:13. Conclusion/Comments Fellowship, a quality of small-group interaction, is necessary for the proper spiritual growth of every believer. Only in a close-knit group where true, mutual, sympathetic and merciful sharing can take place can a Christian achieve spiritual maturity.