One of characters that we look at as a “hero” is the Lone Ranger. Kids that don’t know who that is, think of Batman, sort of, as a cowboy.
He’s a true hero. He rides in to save the day. He’s out there all alone, and doesn’t need any help. He can do it all alone. He doesn’t have a team, he doesn’t have a partner, he doesn’t need anyone.
It’s just him against the world.
That’s not the way Jesus wants us to do it. That’s not the way that Jesus wants us to live. That’s not the way that Jesus wants us to serve.
We see how he sends His disciples out to do ministry today in Luke’s Gospel:
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go
He sent out a lot of folks to be His witnesses, but notice what He did.
He sent them out two by two. He sent them out in pairs. He knew He was sending them out to do some tough stuff. As we read the text, we see that they will have real challenges and real trials. We see that it would not always be easy.
We see they were not supposed to be alone in this. So Jesus sent them out together.
We need each other. We need each other’s support and help. We need each other’s strength. We need each other’s encouragement.
We need each other.
We need support. We need friends. We need our team.
We need church.
You were not created to live alone. You were created to be in relationship with God, and with others.
You were not made to be the Lone Ranger.
Today, let folks into your life. Love and be loved. Care and let others care for you. Support and let others support you.
You were made for this. You were made to be loved.
RevAndy.org 
Andy,
Not even the Lone Ranger was alone! See Wikipedia article below–but your point is well taken.
LaRue
Tonto is a fictional character, the Native American companion of The Lone Ranger, a popular American Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. Tonto has appeared in radio and television series and other presentations of the characters’ adventures righting wrongs in 19th century western America.[2]
Tonto made his first appearance on the twelfth episode of the radio show (which aired on station WXYZ on February 25, 1933). Though he became well-known as the Lone Ranger’s friend, Tonto was originally created just so the Lone Ranger would have someone to talk to.[3] Throughout the radio run (which spanned 21 years), with only a few exceptions, Tonto was played by English actor John Todd.[4]
The character was portrayed on television (arguably the most well-remembered version today) by Jay Silverheels. This was by far the highest-rated television program on the ABC network in the early 1950s and its first true “hit”.[5]
Two conflicting origin stories have been given for the character Tonto, and how he came to work with the Lone Ranger.
As originally presented, in the December 7, 1938, radio broadcast, Reid had already been well-established as the Lone Ranger when he met Tonto. In that episode, Cactus Pete, a friend of the Lone Ranger, tells the story of how the masked man and Tonto first met. According to that tale, Tonto had been caught in the explosion when two men dynamited a gold mine they were working. One of the men wanted to kill the wounded Tonto, but the Lone Ranger arrived on the scene and made him administer first aid. The miner subsequently decided to keep Tonto around, intending to make him the fall guy when he would later murder his partner. The Lone Ranger foiled both the attempted murder and the attempted framing of Tonto. No reason was given in the episode as to why Tonto chose to travel with the Lone Ranger, rather than continue about his business.
A different version was given in both later episodes of the radio drama and at the beginning of the Lone Ranger television series. Tonto rescues a man named Reid, the sole surviving Texas Ranger of a party who was tricked into an ambush by the outlaw Butch Cavendish (although later reference works referred to the future Lone Ranger as “John” Reid, no first name was ever given to the Lone Ranger in either the radio or TV series). Tonto recognizes the ranger as someone who had saved him when they were both boys. He refers to him by the title “ke-mo sah-bee”, explaining that the phrase means “faithful scout” in the language of his tribe. Tonto helps Reid give a decent burial to the other rangers.[6]
This Native American was portrayed as an intelligent character, almost an equal partner to the Ranger in his work. Together, they seem to be capable of righting almost any wrong within the half-hour time frame.
The radio series identified Tonto as a chief’s son in the Potawatomi nation. His name translates as wild one in his own language. For the most part, the Potawatomi did not live in the Southwestern states, and their cultural costume is different from that worn by Tonto. The choice to make Tonto a Potawatomi seems to come from station owner George Trendle’s youth in Michigan. This is the traditional territory of the Potawatomi, and many local institutions use Potawatomi names. Tonto’s name, according to an NPR news story on the Lone Ranger, was inspired by the name of Tonto Basin,Arizona.[3]
[edit]
Yeah, I thought about that. But, you know us preachers. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story 🙂