LONE WOLF WORSHIP

THE SCENARIO: Lerado generally likes to worship Jehovah God off on their own. O sure, as a Christian they have heard all the sermons concerning the Body of Christ and unity and fellowship and so forth, but they would rather stay sort of disconnected from all that and more or less partake of the same only from a distance.

In the outworking of this scenario please consider the following:

1. We believe that the end goal of Christian Scripture is to make Christians (to make followers of Jesus Christ “A Letter of Invitation”), then to shape the same into ever greater actualizations of Jesus Christ, already beginning in this life—even if feebly so presently—so that God can have intimate fellowship with us now and beyond (and we with Him, for without said implied holiness it would not be possible to appreciate, in all the nuances of that dynamic word, this fellowship, at least “Be Holy”). If this is right, then the import of other Christians' involvement in our lives would seem to be quite paramount for obvious reasons, not least because God is also working in them to achieve the same kind of holiness goal, and through a fluid back and forth kind of conditioning He accomplishes His purposes for Himself and us in this way most elegantly. So we are worried about Lerado because they are largely missing out on the benefit of other Christians' criticism/guidance and encouragement/support because of their “on the fringes” worship. Do you believe that Jehovah God works through other Christians to materially shape us into the image of Jesus Christ (=holiness, by default)? Would you agree that Lerado could be missing out on that counsel from our God? Discuss Lerado's disconnectedness from this perspective if you agree with our premise (disconnectedness =loss of important Christ-shaping counsel). If you do not agree, please justify Scripturally Lerado's lone wolf worship; that is, show Scripturally that the image of Jesus Christ can be wrought in a Christian apart from connectedness with the Body of Christ (we believe this is an exercise in futility by the way).

2. Now please turn point one just above around slightly and look at things from the perspective of how Lerado may be cheating both God and other Christians as a consequence of their lone wolf worship mindset by not liberally sharing what God has given them with others. To what extent would God see this as sin—depends on Lerado's motivations, yea or nay? Please defend your answers with specific Scripture.

3. It seems that one of the characteristics of this twenty-first-century world we live in is a sort of “cocooning” mindset. The Body of Christ is not to have such a mindset though, as the verses in the next point make quite clear. We all need quiet time alone with God of course (soul balm), but this does not have to come at the expense of regularly connecting with the Body of Jesus Christ. Would you agree that a Body disconnected (cocooning/lone wolfing it) is a Body defeated? That to engender this sort of disconnectedness within the Body of Christ would seem to be one of Satan's greatest motivations in his last quests to destroy the blessed handiwork (Church) of Jehovah God? Tangentially—consider the role of television, radio, and internet ministries and their contributions to fostering lone wolf worship; weigh this against their positive aspects.

4. Please discuss lone wolf worship in relation to these verses—pick any three; these verses are clear examples that speak against lone wolf worship, so consider what their message of connectedness or unity or oneness is saying to you personally about this subject: Psa 133:1, Jhn 10:14-16, Jhn 17:11, Jhn 17:19-21, Rom 12:4-5, 1Cr 12:12-13, Eph 4:1-6, Eph 5:29-30, 1Jo 4:7-8.

5. Paul said that one's greatest virtue is love (1Cr 13:13). Is lone wolf worship “unlovely”—that is, does it show a sort of self-love rather than the love of God (AGAPH love); yes/no on a Scriptural basis?

6. Why do you suppose some Christians regularly worship God “all alone” off by themselves like Lerado here?

7. Finally, what can we as the Body of believers in Jesus Christ do to help an unmistakable lone wolf worshiper join the pack; do you know someone like that?

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE LEGEND

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