When I was a young boy, I was not the most athletically gifted boy in gym class. Sure, I was taller than most of the other kids, and I was reasonably strong compared to the smaller kids, but I was bigger and slower than most of the other boys. I can tell you from experience that it does not feel good to be the last one picked to play basketball or some other game with the other kids. I fear that this approach is made sometimes in the church. Among preachers, we have a habit of gravitating toward some members and forgetting or ignoring (even inadvertently) some other members in the congregation. It is very easy for us preachers to assimilate and become friends with fellow preachers and members who are close in age and interest, but that does not excuse anyone to mistreat other members at any time.

When we take a look into our congregations, we might be surprised to see the preacher or some of the members doing all of the work and some of them doing nearly none of the work. And since we are preachers and our thinking can be somewhat narrow in scope, we immediately, like second nature assume that the member who is not taking part in the work is lazy, doesn’t love Jesus or the church and is therefore subject to looking at the underside of our noses as we look down on them. Brethren, these things are not always the case. I have seen firsthand the mistreatment that members have undergone when they do not fit into a clique containing the preacher, or some of the members.

It may seem odd, but members actually want to take part in the work of the church, but sometimes they lack real opportunity to do so. The preacher, elders or members will call upon one of their “approved” members for a task without considering someone else that may benefit from lending a hand to the work. We will mask this mistreatment under the guise of “Well, brother so-and-so excels in this area,” but little opportunity for another member to show expertise or lack thereof is never given.

Unfortunately, it has become the case in many of our congregations that we are treating the carrying out of the work of the church as if we are drafting our fantasy football teams! We will pick that fellow because he’s a good quarterback, and we pick that fellow because he is fast and will score a lot of touchdowns, but this line of thinking cannot be present in the church. Since we are all “living stones... being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5) -- we are better than what we are showing we are.

You can’t pick your brethren. You are going to have members where you are preaching that disagree with everything you say, even if it is Book, Chapter, Verse. You are going to have members with little to no confidence and will to be encouraged and equipped. You are going to have members who will be stubborn and will need to learn that they actually need and want to serve the Lord but just don’t know it yet.

A preachers job is never easy, inspiring the uninspired, encouraging the downtrodden, speaking the Truth in love and rallying behind his brethren to accomplish the work. The Christian life indeed is the most fulfilling life to be had, and when we are all service and working and doing our best to seek and save the lost, we will see that everyone has a hand in this work; everyone has part which they are uniquely qualified to fill. “We, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” (Romans 12:5). Our differences are not causes for cliques and mistreatment, but on the contrary, our differences are cause for thankfulness – God has made us a multi-colored, multi-faceted machine able to accomplish our goal from every angle. To God be the glory!

     I've struggled with this in the past and I know many brethren do as well. At what point does a child of God have the ability to say that another human being has either failed to reach or has fallen from the salvation in Christ because of his religious beliefs or actions?

     Many believe that any person having some inkling of a belief in Jesus and some rendition of the faith in Him is to be called a Christian and is to be inside the scope of fellowship of fellow Christians, but is this correct?

     We've all heard the normal tests of fellowship - worship, church organization, authority in the Scriptures alone, etc. but are these the only things one must believe and obey in order to be unified in the Spirit? 

     However, being a person who is always yearning to test all things (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:21) we must ask the question, WHY? - I believe the reason is very simple, because the other things are not visible! 

     Take conviction, for instance. There is an aspect in which conviction in Christ (personal belief/faith) is able to be seen outwardly like when Paul wrote that the faith of the Colossian brethren was able to be seen in that he knew that they were "faithful" (Colossians 1:2) and that they had learned of their faith (Colossians 1:4). But, in a very real sense of the word, my faith and conviction is deep within my heart which no man can know save me (1 Corinthians 2:11). 

     My love for the lost and for my brethren is the same. While my teaching the lost shows my love for them and my fellowship with the brethren shows the entire world that I am a follower of Jesus (John 13:35), no one can definitively know whether or not these things are done out of true love or a pretentious love which is bent on getting society's accolades except me. 

     So, why do we use things like whether or not a person worships in spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:24) forsaking man-made traditions and worship practices like mechanical-instrumental music or flawed roles in worship as a test of fellowship? I can assure you, it isn't because we just want to feel superior to him (although a minority might have this in mind and it is really impossible to tell definitively). No, the reason is because we can openly see that. 

     That doesn't mean, however, that a person seeking to be a part of the restored church of Jesus Christ can simply stop at the outward signs of faith and be done in his restoration process! Just as it is important to restore the authority of Jesus and the knowledge that the Bible and it alone give the words for eternal life (John 12:48, John 6:68), it is likewise important to have the inner man restored in order to be in fellowship with Christ and walk in His light (1 John 1:7-9) whereby the fellowship between mankind can be defined as "Christian" as well. 

     One look at me and you know what my second favorite thing to do on the first Sunday of each month is. Aside from the great privilege that I have been given to preach the Gospel to a lost world which happens every day but most specifically on the Lord's Day, one of my favorite things to do is sit down with friends and family and enjoy the delectables offered by what I am convinced is a congregation made up of some of the best cooks in the body of Christ. The laughing, the funny stories and jokes, even inevitable question, "Lee, did you try my ____" which is universally understood to be answered with a "Yes" followed by a quick "I loved it" (provided that answer is truthful). However, recently I have been asked the question of whether or not such gatherings are permissible with reference to their taking place in the buildings owned by the church or with any support (financial or otherwise) from the local congregation. Let's lay aside all preconceived ideas and simply see what the Scriptures have to say about the authority for Christians to gather together and fellowship while eating, specifically with regard to the place and funds with which this is carried out. 

     First, one ought to look to what the Christians are said to have done within the confines of the 1st Century and the writing of the New Testament. Acts 2:42, a passage often quoted with regard to the kinship seen in the early church of Christ, speaks of their continuing in something called "fellowship". This word, according to Strong's, means something to the effect of communication, communion or distribution. It is also used in 1 Corinthians 10:16 to speak of the Lord's Supper. It is often understood, yet rarely mentioned, that our partaking of the Supper on the first day of the week is, in a spiritual sense, eating with Christ (cf. Matthew 26:29). So, fellowship can be seen in the eating of the Lord's Supper. 

     Notice that word, "eating". If Acts 2:42 is a command by example, and I believe that it is, then we are commanded to fellowship with one another. If fellowship can be done by eating, and it can, then the fellowship meal conducted at the building of the local congregation is something which members of the Lord's church know very well, an expedient. That is to say, it is something which is lawfully done in order to carry out a command which was not specifically identified to be done in one way or another. An example of this would be the worship of the saints at a specified location, often owned by the church in that area, known as a church building. Since we are commanded to worship in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24) and that worship is to be a gathering of Christians for edification (Hebrews 10:2-26) then the building is the expedient to worship. The same can be said with regard to the fellowship meal. Since fellowship is commanded (Ephesians 3:9) and there is Biblical example of the early Christians doing so through a common meal (Acts 2:42, 46) then it is just as expedient to do so within the building in order to carry out that command as it is the one to worship. 

     This question may have never been asked of you but if it ever is, the answer is written clearly in your Bible.