True Fellowship

True Fellowship

Many in our society have difficulties with mainstream religion. I am right there with this group of people. Religion is essentially the structure that man has created to carryout what they believe is God's will for them. For me, the difficulty occurs in the blurring of the line between what is of man and what is of God. This blurred line exists in everything religion touches. Fellowship is essential to growth. This is true in every aspect of our lives. God was motivated by love when he created us. In order for love to even exist, socialization and interaction between individuals and between individuals and God must occur. Is there a way to minimize the blurred line between what is of man and what is of God? Is there a better way to structure our efforts to carryout God's will for us?

I believe there is a better way. Before I share what I believe, I must give credit where credit is due. Religion made me aware that there is a God and that I needed to know him. I was not introduced to who God really is in church. My first real introduction to what God is really about came in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. It was within the structure created by the first one hundred members of AA that God became real to me. From some of the principles God introduced to the early pioneers of AA, I believe a structure for true spiritual fellowship exist. A fellowship which will encourage growth through realization, evaluation and application. A structure which can truly put God first and makes each individual's relationship with God the highest priority.

In order for true fellowship to occur there must be a set of agreed upon principles. A frame work of ideas with which to operate. As I currently understand these are the twelve principles:

1. A primary purpose is essential. The primary purpose is to create a structure for
   fellowship which promotes spiritual growth while maintaining
   non-professional leadership.
   
2. Recognizing the importance of individual free will, provide an environment of open
   discussion, in which individual beliefs, experiences, strength and
   hope are expressed freely and respectfully.
   
3. Encourage education prior to declaration of faith.
   
4. Encourage people new in their spiritual growth to work with a mentor. Both individuals must
   agree on this relationship.
   
5. The only requirement for membership is a desire to know God.
   
6. Outreach is accomplished through attraction rather than promotion. We should
   always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press radio and
   films. This is to ensure the freedom of expression within the
   fellowship.
   
7. Funds should be collected only from individuals within the fellowship and should
   only be used for obtaining meeting facilities and anonymous
   charitable donations voted upon by the fellowship. Amounts donated
   are between the individuals and God.
   
8. We seek through prayer and meditation, as a group and as individuals to improve our
   knowledge of God, God's creation, God's will and the power to carry
   that out.
   
9. Trusted servants should be elected from with in the fellowship and serve term lengths
   determined by the fellowship. Service meetings are separate from
   fellowship meetings. Elected servants carry out the business of the
   fellowship. The duties of the elected servants shall be determined
   by the fellowship.
   
10. The fellowship shall not canonize any literature. Individuals may share anything the has
    helped their spiritual growth. Application of anything shared
    within the fellowship is between the individual and God.
    
11. Individual information and experiences shared within the fellowship meetings can only be
    shared outside the meeting if the anonymity of the individual who
    shared is maintained. Each individual is free to share their own
    personal experiences and information as they see fit as long as one
    one within the fellowship has their anonymity broken.
    
12. Spiritual growth is defined as any change in a person's consciousness that improves
    their ability to love God, love themselves, and love others.

The principles are just a beginning and since revelation is progressive, they are subject to change. If a sincere desire for true fellowship is maintained along with the desire to know God, the framework will only improve.

This article is only an introduction. Coming soon will be articles expanding upon the ideas of each principle. Thanks and God bless.

If you would like to be a part of this vision, if you would like to contribute to the evolution of these principles, I have started a group called True Fellowship. Just go to http://groups.google.com/group/true-fellowship and apply to join the group.