9. My spiritual community benefits much from spending longer periods of time together.

(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.) 

How does the idea of spending a couple of days together with spiritual friends sound to you?

What would you look forward to?

What would cause you to be reluctant?

What do you imagine the benefits could be from spending a couple days together?

Deep relationships take time to develop. Whether in friendships, marriages, families, or other partnerships, time spent together will always affect the quality of the relationship. This does not necessarily mean that spending long periods of time together automatically leads to intimacy. In fact, when we go below the surface in our relationships with others we may find things about them and about ourselves that make us uncomfortable. 

If our time together is short we may ignore these obstacles and resist the opportunity to confront, reconcile, and be transformed.  But if we choose to spend time together and work through our differences we will experience transformation and a deeper joy in those relationships. In most church settings, time together in a space that allows for sharing and caring is limited. An hour or two once a week in a small group is not sufficient to develop deep relationships. 

Although there is no magic amount of time, when groups spend a couple of days together sharing meals, free time, and focused spiritual discussions and alone time with God, deeper relationships naturally develop and people experience loving and being loved. 

We might want to consider if it would be better to gather for longer periods of time, a weekend for example, several times a year than to gather weekly for an hour or two.