ekklesia-relate

Pohlman Family Ekklesia

ekklesia (Strong's Concordance Greek word #1577): meaning chosen called out ones.

Who We Relate With

Jeff & Joanne have been meeting in this type of setting since 1973. When we first started, we were in fellowship with a group in Wichita Falls (group names don't really mean a thing - so we don't need to quote such here), and we were discipled with a whole group of guys who still lean in to each other for guidance. The phrase we use is that we are "watching out for each other's souls" (which includes the families involved).

Another phrase we use is that we are in "open-handed fellowship," meaning that we willingly submit our lives to each other, as unto Christ, but we are free to leave Christ's fold anytime we want to. There is no heavy handed over-control. We own nothing of a right to control each other. We each submit to Christ as our head and authority. We also trust each other, and it shows due to our longstanding time of accountable, high-integrity relationships together. We have no board of directors, but we lean in to each other, especially in matters of deep concern. We ARE free, yet we choose to be bound together in Christ's love.

In that wonderful group, which stretched all over Texas and Oklahoma at the early (for us) time, we had oversight given to us from such people as Bob Terrell (in an apostolic way) who was in Throckmorton at the time, and Don Morrison (in a prophet manner) also in Throckmorton.

We had a group of elders and deacons in the fellowship, having had hands laid on them in the Biblical manner, and doing the work, as opposed to carrying a noun-type title with an office to uphold. John Moreland was one who did the work of pastoring (as opposed to a title), while others of the elders did also.

In time, many of us have been all over the world, not just in a stoic sense of an institutional church's missions-outreach, but in a sense of being sent there to live and be ambassador-missionaries from His Spirit-Kingdom to the neighborhoods and businesses we were sent to.

Here it is, more than thirty years later, and much has changed while much stays the same. Brother Bob and brother John have gone on to be with Jesus - we miss them dearly but we know we'll see them soon. Some ministries remain. But the constant is that the ekklesia still meet house to house, encouraging each other whenever possible. Jesus maintains a dynamic and organic mannerism amongst His elect called out ones, and you will see some changes going on constantly. However, an apple tree always bears apples, and the fruit of His Spirit is always the same, without dissension or rottenness, but with vibrancy and LIFE.

People and ministries whom we personally relate with, in the sense that they have indeed watched over our souls, include - but are not restricted to...

JD Mihlhauser, Christian Family Fellowship