Lone Rangers Keep Riding?

     Men of my era were reared on a media diet of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, et. al., the strong, silent types who could handle any crisis all by their lonesome. Unfortunately the cultural conditioning produced by these icons does not reflect Biblical truth. One of the central premises of our faith is that we cannot do it on our own. For example, Peter refers to the attempt to have the new Gentile believers obey the law in Acts 15 as "placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear." (Acts 15:10b ESV) Jesus says clearly that "apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5b ESV) Romans 12:3b refers to "the measure of faith that God has assigned." (ESV) Paul says "When I am weak, then am I strong. (thru the grace of God) (2 Corinthians 12:10b.
     Why do we keep trying to do things on our own? Is it pride, lack of trust, fear? The circles that i usually travel in, little groups of Christian pioneers meeting in homes, need all the help they can get. The average size of the twenty odd groups with whom I have relationship is nine adults. This is barely enough to implement the Matthew 18 reconciliation process should it need to go to the final stage of church involvement. Typically it means one person functioning as an elder rather than the plurality that one finds in the NT. It certainly does not offer the variety of gifts that we read about in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 or Ephesians 4. It seems like a no-brainer to attempt to develop trust and relationship with other mature brethren or groups that could aid us in time of need, which will inevitably happen. You will experience disappointment in the process and it will take time but I believe this is crucial for those who are called to venture outside of the traditional church structure. May we not be lone rangers.