Growing into Christ (3)

Two arebetter than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who isalone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up. Ecclesiastes 4.9, 10

Spiritual Friendship
Aelred of Rievaulx (1109-1167)
“For in human affairs there is no goal that is holier than friendship, nothing more useful, nothing more difficult to find, nothing that is sweeter to experience, nothing more enjoyable to maintain.”

It can be difficult for pastors to make and enjoy true spiritual friendship with members of their congregation. Hopefully, there will be a leader here, an elder there, or a mature older friend who will stick with the pastor and treat his soul like his own. Pray that God will give you such friends, brethren. But pastors should look beyond their own churches to other pastors in the community. If we can make friends with other pastors, and enjoy one another as Aelred suggests, this will affect our approach to making disciples, and might be a solid first step for our congregations in learning to pursue sweet oneness in the Lord. As ministers reach out in friendships with one another, and those friendships begin to be expressed within and among their churches, the unity of the Body of Christ will become more visible. And that will certainly get the community’s attention, and open new possibilities for the Gospel (Jn. 17.21).

Talk with a couple of local pastors about this idea of spiritual friendship. Do they seem open? Interested? Would they be willing to pray with you about this?

T. M. Moore

The journey of spiritual maturity
Growing into the Lord is both a personal and corporate adventure. Each us can become more like Jesus, and so can our churches. As we do, we will impact people, culture, and our times for the glory of God and progress of Christ’s Kingdom. Our free, online course, Introduction to Spiritual Theology, provides an outline and overview of the journey toward spiritual maturity. For more information and to register, click here.

Pastoral Hope Initiative
Pastor, where are you in your walk with and work for the Lord? Are you growing? Covering all the bases? Working fruitfully toward the Kingdom of God? Our Pastoral Hope Initiative can help you establish a framework and baseline for steady, fruitful growth into the Lord Jesus; and for the remainder of this spring, we’re waiving the fee for men who want to work through this 14-week protocol. Watch this brief video, then, if you’re interested, let me hear from you at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Fellowship of Ailbe is supported through the generous and faithful gifts of those who benefit from and believe in our work. Does the Lord want to use you in this way? Please look to Him in prayer over this question. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the Contribute button at our website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Thank you.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.All quotations from Aelred of Rievaulx, Spiritual Friendship, tr. By Mark F. Williams (Scranton: The University of Scranton Press, 1994, 2002).