As a writer, I write alone; it’s a solitary activity. So it’s good for me to periodically emerge from my self-imposed cocoon and spend time with other people—and other writers are the people who understand me best, those with who I am most comfortable to be around.
I just returned from a Christian Writers conference. It was a great time, full of information, encouragement, and rejuvenation. While writing was the focus, God was the foundation; it was a spiritual time.
As my buddy, Gerald the Writer,” and I headed home, we processed out loud what we had experienced. It was a community, a spiritual community. The only problem is that it only occurs once a year.
However, the writing critique group we started happens every month. It’s also a spiritual community. We’re with kindred spirits and God is in our midst.
Our group’s focus is writing and helping each other hone our craft. Sometimes what we write is about God and other times, not, but regardless, it is all done for God.
Though we may sometimes pray, it’s not an obligation to do so according to schedule. Though we may sometimes talk about the Bible, it’s not a preplanned activity. And if the subject of theology comes up, we quickly push it aside—it is not our goal to critique that.
Those who advocate a formula for the spiritual community would dismiss us as missing out because we break all their rules.
But for us,it is our spiritual community and our most significant one.
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Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is a full-time, career author. He’s published scores of books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of blog posts, with experience as a publisher, editor, and commercial freelance writer. A passionate wordsmith, his goal is to change the world one word at a time. Learn more at PeterLyleDeHaan.com.
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