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I have thought lots over the years about community, living authentic intentional community. I have even tried to practice this with varying degrees of success. I think I may have come across the reason for the "less rather than more" success. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who we have just been reading about with the children, had this to say:

"He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, through they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, the sinners. The pious fellowship permits noone to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners.....so we remain alone with our sin....The fact is that we are sinners!.....

In confession the break-through to community takes place. Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him......In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person."

As a family we are fairly good at sharing our stuff with others and serving others, helping out when the need arises (though of course there's always more you could do). We don't guard much time at all for *just us*. BUT that's only a small part of community. To be really close to someone there needs to be a transparent humility. And I'm not good at that. But while the thought scares me, it also fills me with hope and anticipation and potential expectancy.