There are 50+ “one another” verses in the Bible. When Christians seek to obey them, hearts begin to connect and community occurs. We can’t “bear with each other” and follow the other “one another” commands if we refuse to band together and instead insist on our “individual rights.” The Bible is a group text written to communities. Very little of it is written to individuals.

Those “one another” Bible verses mostly deal with relationships with other people. They are interactive behaviors much more than singular actions.

My wife and I were asked by The Salvation Army in Nashville, Tennessee to start a “nontraditional church” in an empty church building in a rough East Nashville neighborhood. We modeled it according 1 Corinthians 14:26 and the New Testament concept of “ekklesia” (the proper name of the town hall meetings in ancient Greek cities). Instead of a sermon, we allowed anyone present to say and do what they felt prompted to by the Holy Spirit as they considered “others better than yourself.” It was an amazing 9 1/2 years of powerful demonstrations of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. I wrote a book about it: Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible–Ekklesia. Give it a search.