Do You Need a Church to Grow?

Living together in community is hard. It's good, but it's not always easy.

In Life Together, his classic book written for seminarians, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote balancing chapters titled "The Day Alone" and "The Day Together." Both solitude and togetherness are essential for Christian growth. (If you haven't read this book, get it.)

"Less than 20% of American adults believe participation in a congregation is critical to spiritual growth," according to a recent study. I don' t know why we should be surprised at this. Few people have had good experience with Christian community, and American culture is antithetical to deep relationships. We long for them, but love our alternatives much better.

I've got more observations on this issue than solutions. The answer is one deep relationship at a time, and that's what our loving God is all about.