Recently I marked the end of the seventh year of my FCA career. I have been involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes since elementary school and have always considered FCA a treasured part of my heart and life. I have always loved gathering before school once a week – Christians assembling in a public facility – to worship and glorify God. Because I have transitioned to different schools, I have been able to see different facets of FCA. I have been witness to various ideas and styles merging to create one incredible body of believers intent on pursuing Christ. In middle school, students would team teach lessons to their peers; in high school, various youth leaders and speakers joined us to teach us important life lessons. Throughout, I have met some incredible, godly men and women who have mentored me and inspired me to pursue Christ. This type of Christian community has been pivotal in my love for the Church as a body of believers and my desire to be an imitator of Christ, filled with the Fruits of the Spirit that make Christians so attractive.

I am sure we have all experienced difficulties in cultivating community. Oftentimes, we encounter friction or discordance between groups – even believers. Too often we hear of a tragic church split that had to do with a breach in community; unity was lost, and community broken. But, oh, how sweet is real Christian community when it is thriving! How sweet it is to be unified with fellow Christians, basking in the love of our Sovereign Creator and rejoicing in His blessings. Where two or more are gathered in His name, there Christ will be – that is scriptural! So why are we so hesitant to allow ourselves to be vulnerable and open to such a loving environment?

I know I often struggle with vulnerability and opening myself up to mentors and peers. However, I can say from experience that solid Christian community is a beauty to behold. I pray that I will leave all fears and insecurities at the doorstep when it comes to entering into a body of believers that will love and accept me and challenge me to pursue Christ. I know that the prize far outweighs the price of sacrificing my personal fears for a unified fellowship of believers.

As Christians, we are called not only to believe in Christ and be a testimony of His love and grace, but we are also called to have a strong, unbreakable bond with one another. How can we keep from rejoicing in His name? How can we keep from loving and connecting with each other? Satan knows the power that lies within one strong Christian. But imagine if that strong Christian had a friend also firmly grounded in faith. Now imagine if those two Christians had a couple more friends firmly rooted in the faith. How much more then would Satan have to fear?!?

Friends, we are powerful! Being empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are given power over the enemy. If we will only willingly submit one to another, living in the light of His love, we will conquer all darkness. True Christian community is a sight to behold. It is an unbreakable bond and a miraculous chain of love. I pray that I may be able to submit myself to Christ and therefore be one with a body of believers. I pray also that we all, being rooted in the faith, will come together, relying on each other as Christ instructs us. We must encourage one another and love one another and point each other to Christ daily. I pray that we may allow the Holy Spirit to fill us so we are overflowing with love not only for Him, but for each other. It is then that our message cannot be quieted, our light not dimmed, our fire not quenched. May we go forth in love, cultivating community and delighting in our Maker.

Have I trained enough? How long does training take? What will the results be? Those are three questions that haven’t stopped repeating in my head since my last post about training my core. While I was rock climbing a boulder, I couldn’t get past a certain point. Every time I would reach for the next hold, I would miss it and fall about nine feet. I became aggravated, and a fellow climber suggested I work out my core that week. The next week after training I finished the route with ease. Working my core had strengthened my whole body!

I don’t train for fun. Training is to work my body to perform better in whatever it is I’m training for. I found out that my core’s strength helps other parts of my body, and that without it I am weak. That is why I needed to train my core, because it wasn’t strong in the way it needed to be, and it was hindering me from growing as a climber. When I wrote the post about training my core last week, I had learned I needed to focus on training my spiritual core, which is my relationship with Christ. What I hadn’t learned yet is what results would come from training spiritually.

I began searching God’s Word for an answer to those questions. I knew training was beneficial, but I wanted hear about results. In Ephesians 4:12-13, the purpose and result of training is clear. “For the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.” This training is to reach unity with our brothers in Christ! I now know I am training to become a mature man who is united in the faith with the rest of the body!

The goal that has been set is to grow—for me to grow in unity of faith and knowledge, and in maturity measured by Christ fullness! Ephesians 4:16 says this, “From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.”

I am a part of the body of Christ. If I don’t train, I might hinder growth of the body. If every part is not working properly, growth is not promoted in the body! That is why Paul told us what training was for, so we could know what to expect to happen. With training comes unity, from that maturity, and as a lasting result comes growth!

“God I pray that my training will produce results of growth! That unity will become evident in the Faith!”