Banner from the Mosquito Heads Band Miami.

I was reading an article recently in the Miami Herald. It told about the mayor of our town, “Cutler Bay,” returning to his band the Mosquito Heads for a reunion concert. It has members of the old band share a few quotes and one stuck out to me.  Ron Derrick, the lead guitarist, spoke about when they used to practice at the mayor’s house, “It was like church. We even met sometimes during our anniversaries. We all formed a really tight bond.”

I get what he was saying.  Their time together was of such a quality that they really got to know one another deeply and so they made beautiful music together.  That’s fellowship!  I can see why he called that church.  That is what the church is supposed to do.

You certainly get the feel that such fellowship happened in the early church. Acts 2:42-47 (NLT) ⁴² All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. ⁴³ A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. ⁴⁴ And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. ⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— ⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

I’m not sure if many U.S. churches reach that level of intimacy any more. I know it’s difficult to do in large churches because it’s hard to achieve such connection in large groups.  But, if we’re honest, it is difficult to achieve in a society that has lost deep friendships.  We’re so busy. Here in South Florida we go from an air conditioned house to our air conditioned car to our air conditioned work and back again.  We don’t take time to really connect with our neighbors, much less other Christ-followers.  The church worship service is essentially the same; we come, we sit, we sing, we hear, we sing again, we give, we leave, but we don’t really connect with other Christ-followers at an intimate level. But in order to be “like church” we’ve got to get there.

If we achieve such intimacy with one another, something spiritual happens; God shows up in a big way. There’s a deep sense of awe. Miracles happen. People really support one another and even get together on their anniversaries.

Part of being a Christ-follower is a deep connection with other believers.  Are you connected? What are you doing to achieve intimacy with others? How are you seeing God work through your deep fellowship?  Please leave a comment.