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This passage also hints, however, that "some" were developing a bad "habit" of neglecting the meetings. So it is in any age or culture. Some people will drop by the wayside. The temptation, then, is to water down the intimacy or frequency or cost of meeting together to accommodate those who want something less demanding.

This is a fatal mistake. Historical and sociological studies have shown repeatedly that churches with high belonging expectations are more vital, grow faster, have more countercultural impact, and last longer than those that relax the intensity of their community life.

In small groups, it is important to share your concerns and "growing edges" and to study Scripture. Face-to-face community in such contexts is not a secondary add-on—it is the church itself, as described in Acts 2:42 ("They devoted themselves … to the fellowship") and in the "one another" passages.

When in 1738 John Wesley started the religious group known as the Fetter Lane Society, he said that he did so "in obedience to the command of God by St. James, and by the advice of Peter Böhler." The reference is to James 5:16 ("Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed").

Wesley came to understand—as other Christians have learned—that Christians don't naturally confess to each other. It takes the kind of trust and openness that develops only in some form of face-to-face community. That is the way churches know what it means to "be healed."

Howard A. Snyder is professor of the history and theology of mission at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.

"Authentic Fellowship," by Howard A. Snyder, Christianity Today, October 2003, Page 102

More Bible Study Helps

Authentic Fellowship How is the church called to be different from the local social club? Why can authentic Christian fellowship be so difficult to develop? What are the markers of genuine Christian fellowship? How can it be deepened and strengthened? These are the questions we'll be asking and discussing in this study. Read more.

My Post-Evangelism Friendship So, that person you were witnessing to actually got saved. Now what? By Janice Thompson My obligation to Keli began the moment I walked her through the doors of the church, and it wouldn't end until we were parted some years later. Once she came to the saving knowledge of Christ, my work was just beginning. I didn't understand it then, but I certainly do now—and I count it a privilege. Read more.

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