Tim, Once again you have hit the nail on the head!! The main hindrance it seems to living this life of fellowship with Christ is this fleshly desire to want to have our own separate identity, to be somebody special or to accomplish something great. We want to get recognition that we are valuable but at the heart of this desire is pride. You mentioned the emphasis put on ministries and how we quantify value based on our judgement of results. We have been fooled by Satan through the agency of institutional churches into thinking that we need to have a ministry. This is simply a way to identify ourselves separately from Christ so we can get some glory for ourselves. That is also a reason why every IC is a denomination or a non-denomination and the pastors name is on the sign showing whose ministry it is. We’ve been trained to think that it is our church or our ministry and therefore our responsibility to make the right things happen. God teaches us through His scriptures that there is only one church, only one ministry and only one minister. Christ is the church,(Paul explains that Christ is the head of the body and then explains that Christ is also the body)Christ is the minister of His ministry and He alone does it all!! Out of Christ’s life we get to experience His church, His ministry to us and through us as He wills. Praise God! Christ is EVERYTHING! As a Christ One we have everything and we don’t need to be searching for an identity outside of who we already are. When you try to add to Christ as your life you are becoming less not more. Thanks again for sharing God’s heart! One in Christ, Dan Markley