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| John
17:23 Fellowship
“If you are dissatisfied with the quality of your relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in your church will you meet with me for lunch to discuss these things and explore what we might do to change them?”
The John
17:23 Fellowship began when five pastors, strangers to one another
and from radically different Christian backgrounds, met together
for lunch in the spring of 1993.
Ernie was a Charismatic, Jim H. was a United Methodist, Jim
A. was a lay pastor in the Gospel Outreach Movement birthed on the
West Coast among the Hippies, Mike was a Four Square pastor, and I
was an Evangelical. We
had two things in common, a commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior
and Lord, and a burning desire for more of Christ than we had
experienced up to that time. First, we would meet together every other Thursday morning, from 6:30-8:30 a.m., for the next nine months to get to really know each other, share our heartaches and struggles, read Scripture, and pray for one another and for revival in our churches. Second, these meetings were to be the number one priority
in our schedule. We
agreed that we would allow nothing except family or pastoral
emergencies or illness to usurp them.
We agreed to attend even during vacations if we were home. Third, we would keep everything shared in the group in
utter confidence, not even telling our wives, unless specific
permission was granted. “I in them and you in me. May they be
brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and
have loved them even as you have loved me.” |
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