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The other week I introduced a mini-series on my time as a shepherd in New Zealand. Check out part 1 here if you missed it.
Sheep move in herds for a reason: they do not do well alone. When I worked with sheep, we collected a couple hundred of them at a time from the different pastures they lived in and brought them into a smaller fenced in area. As we moved them through the 2,000 acre farm they always stuck together in a tight group. Anytime one of the sheep got separated from the pack, it was immediately more lost then Bugs Bunny when he forgot to take that left turn in Alburquerque.
Once we got them inside the fence, we had to move a group of 20-30 of them into a small fenced aisle where we could give them the shots and minerals they needed. One time, after I finished giving them their shots, I could not get the sheep out of the aisle and back with the other sheep. The full-time shepherd just turned their heads around so they could see where the other sheep were, and then they moved! He explained, “they just need to see where their mates are. Then they will always move towards them.”
Short video moving the sheep into a fenced in area (one gets briefly lost):
Sheep need each other. Alone, they are helpless and defenseless. In fact, when predators hunt sheep, they rarely go after the herd. They wait until one of the sheep gets separated from the group and then they attack. Sheep may not be smart, but they know their need for community and so they stick together.
We Need our own Herd
Just like sheep, believers today need each other. Far too many people think faith is an individual thing, but in the Bible we see that our faith is lived out in community. Sure, there are individual aspects to Christianity, but we cannot deny the importance of fellowship.
As we see in Ephesians 4:11-16, the church family fulfills several roles:
First, it allows people to use their gifts and strengthen the group.
Second, it helps protect us from the lies of the enemy.
Third, it enables us to work together so that we can grow in faith and love and in Christ.
If we try to do all of this on our own, we, like sheep, won’t survive.
Practical Tip: Identify other believers in your life who are pursuing God and join them on their pursuit. You will be amazed at how much you grow!
Where do you find community?
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