Of One Mind by Randy Rowley 12/17/25 ©

In October of 1988, on the way to a men’s retreat, Lee Tunnell invited the men riding with him to go goat hunting.  I asked him to count me in.

Two months later, six men, including two children, Lee, and I went on a Mouflon and Corsican sheep hunt (which is what the goats turned out to be) on the Appletree Ranch.  Lee owned a 40-acre tract, but as a landowner, he and his guests were allowed to hunt the entire 1,200-acre ranch.

I envisioned walking up to a pasture and leisurely eradicating grazing wild sheep like prairie dogs.  What actually happened is a different story.

The Appletree Ranch is close to Leakey in Southwest Texas and only around 15 miles from Garner State Park.  The area is gorgeous – mountainous with steep ravines, green forests, and the clear Frio River (Frio is Portuguese for cold).  Many Texans believe the area is the jewel of the state.  Campers often must wait up to a year to get a Garner State Park campsite reservation when schools are out.

Our caravan arrived at the ranch late on a Friday afternoon.  I was immediately struck by its awesome beauty.  The never-ending mountains, hills, and live oaks gave me the impression that we had left Texas behind and entered a foreign country.  As we drove down a long dirt road to the ranch we spotted the most incredible sight.  To our left was an average size pond with clear inviting waters.  However, it was not the pond that seized our attention, rather it was the two bull elk standing in the middle of it.

For a group of Texas hunters, most of whom had only seen elk in magazines, it was an impressive sight indeed.  We stopped for pictures and to admire them.  The elk were unimpressed with us and after a minute of staring proceeded to ignore us.

We soon arrived at a two-story house that included a pool table.  The downstairs toilet was required to be used as the upstairs one had issues and there was no heat.  Otherwise, it was perfect.

To the right of the camp was a fence.  The fence was unremarkable, however, what was on it wasn’t – it contained bleached out skulls of all kinds of horned and antlered game including whitetail deer, Sika deer from Japan, Fallow deer from Germany, Corsican sheep from the Ural Mountains, Mouflon Sheep from the island of Crete and Aoudad Sheep from the Middle East, among others.  To say it was impressive was an understatement.

After Lee explained what could be shot and what was a no-no, we went hunting.

Unfortunately, the weekend was rainy and very foggy – the kind of fog that made it impossible to see objects beyond 20 yards.  The weather probably also affected the game, as none of us saw even a squirrel all weekend.  Even though our hunts were unsuccessful, the camaraderie and fellowship bonded those who were present to the extent that we decided to form a club.  One of the reasons that we founded what was to become The Fellowship of Christian Sportsmen (FCS) was to offer fellowship opportunities for men to experience hunting, fishing, and similar activities in the beauty of God’s creation.

Eventually we added that purpose, and three others, to our bylaws.  Our bylaws also require a minimum of two people to attend an event for it to be promoted and reported as an FCS event, as it’s impossible to fellowship with just oneself.

There’s just something special about fellowshipping with others who have the same beliefs, goals, and mission.  Over the years, even though I’ve been on hundreds of FCS events, I still love to get together with other like-minded people who share a similar love for hunting, fishing, shooting, and related activities.  We encourage, inspire, and challenge each other.

Out of the dozens of events that we offer, the ones that I love the most are those that have a group mission, such as duck hunts in a blind and fishing trips in a boat.  It has to do with the social aspect of the event.  Certainly, some of our events don’t exactly fit that mold, such as hog hunts were everyone hunts individually from a blind.  But the social aspect is afterwards when everyone comes back to camp.

As the club has grown, I realize that even though I don’t know everyone or what they’re struggling with, we all share the same love, have the same goals, and are like-minded.

Right before he was arrested, Jesus prayed for his disciples in John 17:22-23, saying, “‘I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.  Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.’”

Paul and Peter also encouraged unity.  Paul wrote in Philippians 2:1-4, “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:8, “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”

All Christians are on the same team, especially those belonging to the same body of believers.  Jesus, Paul, and Peter stressed like-mindedness because a body of believers falls apart when it is not of one mind.  When we treat believers as they said we should, we can be of one mind in the essentials of the faith, and in our purpose, mission, goals, and objectives.  To be of one mind is to be united in intent.

Other reasons to be of one mind include to:

• Glorify God and convey his offer of reconciliation. Romans 15:5–6 says, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
• Be selfless and humble. Philippians 2:1-3 says, “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”  Selfishness and haughtiness cause disunity – selflessness and humility cause unity.
• Love one another. When we become Christians we join the family of God.  1 John 3:1a says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”  1 Corinthians 12:13 says, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”  Families that are of one mind love each other well and the parts of the body work together harmoniously.  If we believe we are of one mind then we will love one another.
• Share the Good News effectively. 1 Peter 3:8-9 says, “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”  When believers are united in treating others with sympathy, love, compassion, and humility; don’t repay evil with evil or insult with insult; and on the contrary, repay evil with blessing, they are preaching the gospel without saying a word.

Being of one mind does not mean pursuing unity at all costs.  Teachings that promote false doctrines (see Matthew 7:15 and Revelation 2:14–15) and cause divisions (see Romans 16:17) must be excluded.  Nor are we to unite with people who claim to be Christians yet who refuse to repent of their sin (see Matthew 18:15–17 and 1 Corinthians 5:1–2).

Being of one mind doesn’t mean that all differences between denominations and churches must be eradicated.  We can have strong Biblical convictions and still maintain unity and love other brothers and sisters in Christ who hold different convictions.  It’s Jesus who unites us and the Holy Spirit will convict us if we’re not focused on what Jesus told us to do.

It takes work for Christians to be of one mind – every believer must labor with the other members of the body to accomplish unity.  Being united in Christ transforms how we act, including how we love each other, and helps us in our missions to glorify God and share the good news to a lost world.

Just as we were of one mind on our trips to the Appletree Ranch, Christians can be of one mind if we make it a priority.

Randy