There are practical measures for expressing and building healthy interdependence.  In order for these to have any sustaining power, much conviction and love must be present in our hearts.
 
Peter addressed the Christians as \strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia\ and gave them the following admonition:  \Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart\ (1 Peter 1:22).  This was not to be understood by those reading the letter that they were only expected to love those in their own congregations.
 
Our goal is not to end up with a contrived and superficial structure, but rather a network of churches that epitomizes this deeper love.  Contrived relationships for the purposes of looking like there\'s a connection will eventually become static or non-existent.  And the need of the hour is not a newly imposed system, but an organic connection.
 
How shall we achieve this connection with those who have shared in this journey of our historic fellowship?  First, we can study the Scriptures in a fresh manner, looking for clues and praying over the things we\'re learning.  Secondly, we could strive to identify men and women in our fellowship (especially in our individual regions) who bring with them an earned reputation, the evidence of a godly life, the interest in the well being of others and other gifts needed to be our designated representatives.  Thirdly, we could establish new levels of communications by writing letters, circulating quality bulletins, maintaining updated websites and, most importantly, having regular face-to-face time for fellowship and training.  Fourth, we could work on regional problems and projects together.  (Each of the following sections could be used for group discussions among elders and evangelists in a region of churches).
 
(1) Dig Further Into the Scriptures
 
These relevant topics for church leaders should be given fresh study and would make for great discussion among church leaders of all types.

a) Respect and love in the churches. Peter stated in his first letter the need to \Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.\ (1 Peter 2:17).  In approximately the same era, Paul was inspiring a real sense of brotherhood in expressing the indebtedness of one group of churches toward another group (Judea) who were in need at that time (Romans 15:4-16).  From what we see in other passages, this need led to an extensive plan that was coordinated by certain spiritual representatives (2 Corinthians 8-9).
 
b) Learning from the faith and example of other churches.  The believers in Macedonian, Achaia and Judea had some level of spiritual linkage with one another as far as aspects of one another\'s faith was concerned (1 Thessalonians 1:6-8, 2:14-16).  A closer study reveals the importance of this mindset in facing trials, being motivated about evangelism and in connecting figures and hearing mutually beneficial reports in regard to each other\'s progress.
 
c) Facing common external antagonists.  Agitators became a real problem as the church matured.  The apostles weren\'t hesitant to name those who appeared to be troublemakers in more than one congregation (See 1 Timothy 1:20, 4:14, 2 Timothy 1:15, 2:17, 4:10, 3 John 9, Rev 2:6, 15).
 
d) Leader-to-leader links/Leader-to-church links.  Other examples of these connectional relationships across congregations existed. There were meaningful words of affection from the elder John and Gaius, a shepherd of another flock (3 John).  The same is true of John to a church known as \the chosen lady and her children\ (2 John :1).  Of course, in our intention to apply certain aspects of these examples, we also recognize that these are not assigned relationships, but ones that had been earned and developed over time.

(2) Recognized Commended Representatives
 
Another topic for discussion among evangelists and shepherds is the identification and use of Christians who are commended by the church:
 
We can glean qualities from the role the apostles fulfilled.  The Greek term apostolos is translated either as messenger or representative.  This was a role by relationship and was recognized by the churches.  For example, Titus is referred to in this manner.  \As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ\ (2 Corinthians 8:23).  This role of representation may be the case as well in regard to the evangelist Timothy and Apollos (1 Corinthians 16:10-12, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6, 1 Corinthians 4:1-9).
 
It is evident that we don\'t have apostles today.  But to suppose that churches stopped needing to be similarly linked by relationships, cooperation and shared experiences is an incorrect assertion.  These links can be provided by both men and women and by those with or without new titles--simply disciples who have the needed humility, experience, gifts and moral authority to serve in that capacity.
 
Respectable brothers (and sisters, Romans 16:3-15) who can share what they have learned and what God has taught them (often the hard way) are needed from one end of the globe to the other.  Some of the needs in each region are things such as overall coordination for conferences and regular meeting of church leadership.  Special needs can also be met in this manner by those trained and experienced in the areas of marriage and family dynamics, campus and youth ministry, ministry education and conflict resolution.

a)   Study and discuss this concept of commended brothers and sisters.
b)   Develop a manner to objectively identify those who are commendable.  How would we know that these figures represent the overall concerns of faithful Christians?
c)   Establish standards up front.  Godliness, rapport, availability, required skills, etc.

(3) Use Thoughtful Communication
 
The topic of communication touches a sore spot in our churches, but it\'s a topic that we must have fruitful workshops and discussions to improve upon.
 
The written and spoken word can help keep the links between congregations alive, undermine suspicion and provide opportunities where we can share what we\'re learning.  Quietness and distance are quite contrary to the example set by the early church.
 
Early Christians were innovators of ways to stay close to each other in a Roman world that wasn\'t very welcoming.  With the advance of letter writing among the churches, W.M. Ramsay states that, \there came into existence a kind of letter, hitherto unknown in the world.\   He goes on to say,

... In their hands, communication by letter became one of the most important, if not the most important, of the agencies for consolidating and maintaining the sense of unity among scattered members of the one universal church.  By means of letters, the congregations expressed their mutual affection and sympathy and sense of brotherhood, asked counsel of one another, gave advice with loving freedom and plain speaking to one another, imparted mutual comfort and encouragement and generally expressed their sense of their common life.  Thus arose a new category of epistles.[i]

Ramsay, who wrote Church in the Roman Empire and The Letter to the Seven Churches, is certain of this feature:

\... communication is the greater factor in the developing of the church; it kept alive the interest of the Christian congregations in one another, and strengthened their mutual affection by giving frequent opportunity of expressing it ... Thus it bound together all the provincial churches in the one universal church.\[ii]

And because there was not a postal service in that period, the church had to be diligent to maintain their oneness in Christ.  If Ramsay is right and the church did develop a unique genre of letters to strengthen themselves, then Christians ought to use what is available to them for the same purposes--things like the Internet, video, letters and much, much more.  In doing so, however, we should remember that intimacy is more difficult to achieve via public channels, thus the need for the wisest among us to be these communicators.

a)   How am I doing in the area of connecting the flock and is the flock that I serve connected?
b)   How is our region of churches doing in the area of communication with each other?
c)   How well do we utilize the simple tools available to us for better communication?

(4) Sort out Common Problems and Projects Together
 
This last set of discussions for stimulating healthy interdependence deals with the type of problems that were sorted out in the New Testament era.

a) Sharing apologetic material.  Two church leaders in the first century, Peter and Jude, shared common resource material for dealing with the heretics (see similarity of 2 Peter and Jude).  Perhaps they both used material gathered by trusted Christians who had investigated these errors.
 
b) Exhibiting spiritual transparence.  Jesus sent all seven churches the real picture of each other\'s individual congregations (See Revelations 1-3).  This enforced transparence certainly helped each of those churches to know what to pray for and ask about if they came upon a saint from any of those congregations.  We, too, can have voluntary transparence in many areas and no doubt need it as well (an example of this need is evident as many individual congregations are experiencing a rise in immorality among their membership).
 
c) Confronting rogue misrepresentations.  Problems of Christians misspeaking for churches (Acts 15:1, 24) can become a multi-congregational problem.  The passage in Acts 15 can be a great text to glean from without getting entangled with the issue of the standing council.  It is an incident that reveals the importance of having the right people working together to sort out a problem.

These discussions are merely a starting point.  If we had had these practices going on in a healthy manner, we would have been better able to confront the problems we shared before, during and after the recent upheaval in our churches.  Together we stand, divided we fall.

[i] W.M. Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 16.
[ii] Ramsay, 15.