day no. 17,480: inventing division

“The most entertaining thing in the world is watching a man make up a theological reason for leaving a church that his wife had long ago determined to leave because of hurt feelings.” — Tilly Dillehay, My Dear Hemlock

The devils love artificial divisiveness. They despise the kind of divisions that are caused by genuine theological disputes, discipline, and matters of conscience (the kind that Scripture confirms as good and necessary, cf. 1 Cor 11:19), but they delight in those which stem from the love of sin or the cowardice that cannot confront it. 

When a man's wife does not like a particular church and that husband doesn't want to deal with the attitude of that particular wife, he will find a theological reason to leave so that he can look like a man of principle while being a cowardly cuck. His wife is upset by the men in leadership at this church, but she likes the men who servant lead at a different church, so the husband is circumvented and ends up at a church of men he doesn't respect, including the one now looking back at him in the restroom mirror before service starts.

day no. 17,271: there are no good bargains on bad deals

“Never do a wrong thing to make a friend--or to keep one.” ― Robert E. Lee

A good friend cannot be gained by doing bad things. Whatever you do to gain something, you will have to keep on doing to retain them and good people cannot be won over by bad deeds.

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not let anyone lead you astray. “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

The quality and character of any group has gravity. It pulls its people in a particular direction and as the apostle points out, bad friends bring down good people. 

So, do not make friends through bad acting and do not act badly in order to keep someone you thought was a good friend.

The same can be said for churches. Do not gain members through bad doctrine or questionable practices and do not compromise in order to keep someone who insists that you do in order to hold their attention or to retain their membership on your roster.

Lastly, this applies also to the political arena. You cannot get votes by promising bad deals unless you are prepared to be a bad man. You also cannot promise to do bad things in order to retain the votes of people you thought were good men. I mean, you can, but you cannot retain the moral high ground by doing so. You can keep your job that way, but you cannot keep your soul that way.

In short, in every arena of life, there are no good bargains on bad deals.

day no. 17,264: church discipline is good medicine

“A church that does not practice church discipline is a church with an immune system collapse.” — Douglas Wilson, Mines of Difficulty

Sin is a given. You must budget for it. The way it ought to be dealt with it Biblically and quickly so that accounts are kept short and up to date. 

Romans 13:8

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another:

for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Keeping the law by loving one another is the best way to stay healthy. No one should owe anyone anything except to love one another. That means no apologies should be outstanding and no forgiveness should be withheld. 

Proverbs 3:27

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, 

when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

Everyone is giving and receiving what they owe one another. This will keep the sniffles away.

Church discipline is good medicine. If you get sick, it's not the end of the world if you address it. If you tolerate viruses, you could die. If you eliminate them, you can live to fight another day.

Song of Solomon 2:15

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

Good fences make good neighbors. Do your best to keep the foxes out of the garden. If they get in, chase them out. Little things can ruin everything. Do not sleep on small sins. Set up good guard rails and keep the good well protected inside and the bad well defended against.

A fruitful vineyard is an attractive target for sly foxes, so the better the fruit, the more attacks you can expect, but the better the defense, the safer the garden. Do as Adam ought to have done and protect the garden. Do not allow snakes to slither about and do not force your people to face them alone or allow them to think that they aren't as dangerous as they really are. 

day no. 17,259: a distinguished gentlemen

3 John 12

Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. 

Most people want to distinguish themselves as being the one that everyone else is talking about, but that just makes you like everyone else. if you really want to distinguish yourself, be the kind of person who promotes others. Spend your time and energy drawing attention to the good deeds and good character of others. That will set you apart. Who does that? That will shock the world. 

A husband who works hard to ensure his wife has a great reputation with others? 

Who is this guy? 

A wife who cannot sleep unless she has increased her husband’s honor in the eyes of others? 

Where is this lady?

day no. 17,245: get with the program? no, thanks.

"We are not a church with a ton of programs. But we are a kirker community with a ton of things going on, and many of you are very busy." — Douglas Wilson, State of the Church 2026

The Christian faith does not require a lot of side quests. There is enough to do without them. If everyone is busy with their own beeswax and not spending their time trying to mind the beeswax of others, everyone will get along swimmingly. Fewer programs means more time to focus on top priorities and more free time to invite others over. I would rather have someone over for dinner on Tuesday because we wanted to than have to go to the Smiths on Wednesday because it's small group night. This is not to say that I think small groups are inherently bad, but it is to say that I'm not sure they are inherently good. They can be, but they aren't necessarily. Plus, as hard as starting a program is, killing one is even harder. Once you introduce a program, you will feel all kinds of pressure to keep it going. Some will come to rely upon the services that the program supplies. Some will enjoy being involved in the administration of the program and find their identity in the doing. In any case, the less church sponsored programs you have, the more you free churchmen and women up to manage their own schedules. And if they are Christian men and women, they will find plenty of productive ways to fill up their schedules.

1 Thessalonians 4:11

Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,

day no. 17,244: glory, gold, and girls

“When ministries go astray, it is very common for the problem to be located in one of three areas: glory, gold, and girls. And because sins are like grapes—they come in bunches—it is not unusual to find some ministries that shipwreck because of all three.” — Douglas Wilson, Mines of Difficulty

If someone is going to sell out, it is usually for status, stuff, or sex. A man will compromise his convictions in order to gain clout with the cool kids. Another man will make a case for immorality if it means more money can be found there. And yet another man will violate his vows in order to venture into a new bed. These are not mutually exclusive. They often complement each other. In some cases, a man assuages his guilt in one area, however, by becoming hyper-vigilant in another. So, he reassures himself through strict adherence to one particular moral that he is excused for his active rebellion to another.

day no. 17,242: epiphany is a reminder that Christ is King

20 ✝ C ✝ M ✝ B ✝ 26

(or the alternate keyboard strokes of 20 + C + M + B + 26)

Happy Epiphany! In reference to the symbol above, "chalking the door is" a Christian Epiphanytide tradition used to bless one's home. Either on Twelfth Night (5 January), the twelfth day of Christmastide and eve of the feast of the Epiphany, or on Epiphany Day (6 January) itself, many Christians write on their doors or lintels with chalk in a pattern such as that seen above. The numbers in this example refer to the calendar year 2026 and the crosses to Christ. The letters C, M, and B stand for the traditional names of the biblical Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar), or alternatively for the Latin blessing Christus mansionem benedicat (May Christ bless this house). The practice of "chalking the door" originated in medieval Europe, though it has spread throughout worldwide Christendom.

Romans 16:20

And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Christ is King and He has commissioned His disciples to stomp on embers of the demonic strongholds He has cast down. The Prince of Peace will conquer unrest. The grace of God will put an end to the grift of the goblins.

"As the kingdom of God grows, this is what is happening. As sin is mortified in your life, this is what is happening. “Bruise in us the serpent’s head.” As churches are planted, this is part of the glorious fulfillment. As the gospel is preached, the serpent’s skull is cracked. And this violent thing is done, remember, by the God of peace. This is what Christmas is all about. This is what it means." — Douglas Wilson. Our Mother’s Great Revenge

Epiphany a time for recognizing Christ as King. Just as the wise men traveled long and far and followed a faithful star, we too, must hear the prophets, consecrate ourselves to the journey, and seek the presence of our King. The kings of this world will bow before the King of kings. Just as the wise men offered gifts to Him, so the nations of this world will bring forth their best in hopes that Christ may bless it and retain as much of it through His refining fire as possible.

day no. 16,963: too weak to put up with others' weaknesses

Romans 15:1

We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

The weak cannot put up with the failings of others. It is one of their many weaknesses. So, if you imagine yourself strong, prove it. Put up with something. Don’t melt down like a snowflake. Stand up and bear up under adversity like a man. If you can’t, or won’t, you are the weak one everyone else is putting up with, not the strong one everyone else needs to listen to. 

True, we must not pursue unity at any cost, but we must not accept disunity simply because it might cost us something. There is a unity that costs too much. It gives up too much to gain too little, like a young woman making her case for purity to a young man from the discomfort of his backseat. But there is also a disunity that is too cheap. It gives up too quickly. It hits unsubscribe on real people before it knows the whole story. It throws shade too freely at anyone who happens to disagree with them about anything. 

Galatians 6:1-4

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

If someone has food stuck in his teeth, point it out, sure, but don’t punch him in the face. Grace doesn’t require lying, but it does require you to let a sleeping dog or two lie. Love covers a multitude of sins. But if a person has cancer, don't call it inconsequential, or even worse, "cute." Don't coddle cobras, but be careful when trying to corral or kill them. They do bite.

In other words, have a sense of proportion. Do not be out of order. As much as we need our affections rightly ordered, we also need our hostilities properly ordered. We must have character, but we must be charitable. We must have resolutions, but we must be reasonable. We must be wise when we shake someone’s hand… and when we shake our fists.

Simply stated, we must be Christian. We must join the apostle Paul in saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7) 

day no. 16,962: mostly peaceful protests and barely belligerent bromides

Psalm 133:1

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 

True unity is a blessing from God, but not just any unity will do. There is a unity that is hostility with God. There is a bond that is breaking the covenant of Christ. There is, after all, a peace that violently opposes the peace of God and there is a unity that conspires to take its stand against our God’s Messiah.

True peace and unity are blessings from God, not knock offs manufactured by the compromises of men. Blessings are to be received from God by grace through faith in Christ alone, not grabbed or grasped at by our many good intentions. 

Romans 8:4-5

Walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

So, pursue peace with God through Christ and unity with men by His Spirit, but realize that this requires you to be at war with your flesh, the world, and the devil. Peace like that is costly, but it is worth it.

Galatians 5:17

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other.

The peace of God presupposes pugilism. If you are not at war with the flesh, you are on its side. The unity of the Spirit of the bond of peace is a concentrated and persistent war on sin, beginning within before aiming without.

day no. 16,954: salute the saints

Philippians 4:21

Salute every saint in Christ Jesus.

The saints are soldiers.

"Every baptized churchman is by his profession a 'soldier of Jesus Christ,' and is pledged 'to fight under His banner against sin, the world and the devil." — J.C. Ryle, Holiness

Show some respect and salute your brothers and sisters in arms. They are engaged in the same battle as you are and they have your back.

"Christian warfare is a great reality and a subject of vast importance. Necessity is laid upon us. We must fight. Where there is grace there will be conflict."  — J.C. Ryle, Holiness

The citizens of the Kingdom wage war on earth as it was once waged in Heaven by confronting evil and casting it out.

"The believer is a soldier. There is no holiness without a warfare. Saved souls will always be found to have fought a fight." — J.C. Ryle, Holiness

So, we fight side by side. Everyone is fighting their own fight, but all of us in Christ are fighting in the same direction and by the same Spirit.

"My sword, I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me, that I have fought his battles, who will now be my rewarder."  — John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress (Mr. Valiant-for-Truth)

Salute those who have gone before and those who stand by your side. Honor the uniform of those who bear the marks of fighting the good fight. Reward them with your respect and pay homage to them through your perseverance by keeping well what they laid their lives down for.

day no. 16,935: the house of God rules over the houses of men

Psalm 87:2

The Lord loves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

The Lord God loves the assembled families of men in worship at His house more than He does the individual families of men leading their times of family worship in their homes. This is not to say that He does not love families. He does. To love one thing more than another is not to have no love for the first. But it does highlight a particular emphasis or order.

You cannot make an omelet without eggs and you cannot have a congregation without families, but neither can you have an omelet if the eggs stay in the carton or a congregation if all the families stay home. There is something special about everyone getting out of their own bed, getting dressed in their own clothes, driving their own vehicles, and gathering together to a common place on a common day to worship a common God. The gathering of the saints on the Lord’s Day to worship God with His people is unique. It does not happen on a Tuesday evening. That isn’t to say that your Tuesday night with your family in worship is unimportant. If anything, it is to say that family worship at home is all the more important because it prepares your particular people to better worship your God with the rest of His people the following Sunday. 

Ephesians 3:14

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

We are grateful for the gifts of God and for godly families, but families are derivative, not substantive. They are important because God is important. Fathers matter because God the Father Almighty matters. Families matter because the family of God matters. Your house matters because the House of God matters. Family worship is special because the family of God is special.

day no. 16,343: gang aft agley

"The charge to Peter was 'Feed my sheep;' not 'Try experiments on my rats,' or even, 'Teach my performing dogs new tricks.'" — C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm

Jesus' charge to Peter included what to do and for whom to do it -- feed (what) Jesus' sheep (for whom). The action is "feed" and the object is "sheep." Not to be neglected is the possessive pronoun "My" in order to remind Who commands the shepherds and to Whom belong the patients. It matters that the verb is feed. This is a careful, caring thing to do. Nourishment is intimate. It is what fathers are called to provide for their offspring and mothers to their infants. It matters that the direct object is sheep. These are people who need provision and protection. It matters that the pronoun is My. It matters Whose they are. These aren't just any sheep. These are His.

This charge, however, also presupposes where to get what he needs. Peter was not charged to make the grass grow, but he was charged to lead the sheep to it. Peter could not himself provide what the sheep needed, but he could guide them to where it was. In other words, Jesus presupposed Peter would not try to teach His sheep to eat rocks. In commanding Peter to feed the sheep, Jesus was promising to provide the food.

Jesus' charge equates His people with His sheep and His shepherds with their providers and protectors. They are not called sheep so that he can easily discount them, but that he may be counted upon to care for them. The imagery is not meant to demean His people, but to provide greater meaning to His pastors. God's people are not rats to be experimented on for research purposes or dogs to be trained to entertain the elderly. God's people are sheep to be tended to and protected from wolves, not preyed upon as play things or offered up as sacrifices by sheep with master's degrees.

day no. 16,304: the weakest weakness of the weak and the strongest strength of the strong

Romans 15:1-3a

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself

The strong owe the weak their strength. They are obligated to demonstrate their strength by putting up weakness. After all, if they can't, who can? If the strong are unable to lift heavy weights, how else is left? Weakness is weighty and the weak cannot get out from under it. They cannot put up with themselves, let alone bear up under the burdens of others. They cannot live for others because they are caught up in living for themselves. They are stuck staring at their own pleasure. That is what makes them weak. They can't look away. They look only to their own interests and not to the interests of others. They do all things out of selfish ambition and vain conceit. They proudly refuse to consider others.

Strength is being able to look to the needs of others. So, if you are strong, you are obligated to look to others. If you refuse to use your strength in this way, you are only demonstrating that you are too weak to do so. In other words, your perceived strength is a confirmation of your weakness.

One of the worst failings of the weak is that they imagine they are the strong ones. They read verses like this and imagine themselves as the strong martyrs who faithfully bear the burdens of those below them. Their weakness is imagined strength. They cannot see the weakness of their own position. They are too weak to resist the temptation to see themselves as strong.

So, if you are strong, show it by serving those who do not deserve it. Anyone can serve someone who deserves it. Anyone can pay what they owe without feeling guilty about it. But only the strong can pay what they do not owe and obligate themselves to those who refuse to recognize their efforts. The weak cannot be expected to recognize great effort. They are not strong enough to pay respect. They are too cheap to give credit where it is due. The strong are sturdy enough to be overlooked and to bear the lack of appreciation they receive in turn for all their efforts. 

The weak cannot stand being unappreciated. They rage against the perceived ingratitude of their peers. The strong stand unappreciated and yet grateful to God for the strength they receive from Him to do so. The strong know their weakness and surrender it to God. The weak know only their imagined strength and suffer for it.

The weakest weakness of the weak is that they imagine that they are strong.

The strongest strength of the strong is that they know that they are weak.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses…For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses... For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The greatest failure of the failing is not seeing their failure.

The greatest victory of the victorious is is seeing their failure.

day no. 16,300: assigned places and purview

"The Church is the ministry of Grace and Peace. The Civil Government is the ministry of Justice. The Family is the ministry of Health, Education, Welfare." -- Douglas Wilson

God has directly established three forms of government or ministry: the family, the church, and the civil government. Each is a type of government that He has assigned certain respective responsibilities and jurisdictions of authority. These spheres may speak to each other, but may not annex from the other what God has given uniquely to it. For example, the Church should not carry the sword nor the State administer the Lord's Supper. The Family should not take the place of the preacher nor the Church the place of capital punisher.

The primary focus of each ministry is that which God has given to it directly. It cannot delegate these to any of the others. It cannot confiscate any of the other's.

Each sphere lives in a world where it must consider and do commerce with the other spheres and God has given clear instruction on the adverbs that should accompany said interactions: gently, kindly, patiently, honestly, etc... And in addition to that, He has also reminded us to mind thine own beeswax. (Romans 14:4, 12–13),

day no. 16,211: ownership

Galatians 6:6

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.

We are called to be somewhere. And in that place, we will receive. And in that place, we ought to give back. We need to take ownership of our place. This includes being associated as a member of part of it and being or assuming the roles and responsibilities of a member in that place.

Ownership is picking up clutter because it's your home, not your job.

You know you have taken ownership of something when you do the little things without being asked. If you pick up the tissue next to the bin and toss it in the trash, you are expressing ownership. If you grab the lint from the carpet on the stairs, you live there. The difference between occupying a space and owning it is taking responsibility for it. You want it to be clean because its yours. You don't need a chore chart to make you tidy up. It's where you live, so you take it upon yourself.

Ownership is giving to where you get from, serving at the table from which you are served, and doing the dishes where your plate is filled. Those who do so get all the benefits of belonging. One of those often overlooked is the privilege of giving back to and pitching in where you get.

day no. 16,164: the family was the first university

"A row of identically dressed and identically trained soldiers set side by side, or a number of citizens listed as voters in a constituency, are not members of anything in the Pauline sense. I am afraid that when we describe a man as 'a member of the Church' we usually mean nothing Pauline: we mean only that he is a unit--that he is one more specimen of the some kind of thing as X and Y and Z. How true membership in a body differs from inclusion in a collective may be seen in the structure of a family. The grandfather, the parents, the grown-up son, the child, the dog, and the cat are true members (in the organic sense) precisely because they are not members or units of a homogeneous class. They are not interchangeable. Each person is almost a species in himself. The mother is not simply a different person from the daughter, she is a different kind of person. The grown-up brother is not simply one unit in the class children, he is a separate estate of the realm. The father and grandfather are almost as different as the cat and the dog. If you subtract any one member you have not simply reduced the family in number, you have inflicted an injury on its structure. Its unity is a unity of unlikes, almost of incommensurables." -- C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and other essays: Membership

The family was the first university.

Family is where unity in diversity was first fully realized. A man and a woman have as much in common as they have in distinction. They are diverse, but they are alike; and in marriage, they come together as one flesh in a unity that glorifies the diversity of each. The family is from God and combines robust creativity with covenantal unity. He makes the two into one in a way that does not rob from either, but rather accentuates both. Diversity is retained, but unity is gained.

"To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition. " -- Samuel Johnson

Home teaches us harmony.

At home, a person can be themselves without being abandoned. At home, a person can be unique and still be part of something. Each member of the family is unique without being an outcast. Their differences contribute to the unity just as a kidney comes along side a liver to make a healthy body.

"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A home provides a place of peace. The unusual find their place and the regular finds its delight. Everyone is at rest being who they are under the comfort of the same roof -- living, moving, and having their being as part of the household.

The home is where the heart is taught true diversity and it grows to love outside its comforts what it once learned routinely within them. At home you learn to look not only to your own interests, but the interests of others so that when you leave the home you are prepared to consider the interests of others without forfeiting your own interests altogether.

day no. 15,914: relentlessly diverse

"We make our friends; we make our enemies; but God makes our next-door neighbor... Precisely because he may be anybody he is everybody." -- G.K. Chesterton, Heretics

The world down the street and up the block is larger and more varied than the big, wide world we imagine is outside of our neighborhood. There may be more geographical space and square footage outside our city block, but what we would seek out there are those of a similar mind or station to ourselves. We would select from society those with whom we would commune and would find a smaller world, not a larger one. We don't flee from our families or our neighborhoods in search of more variety, but less. What could be less diverse the Coachella?

We don't leave home because it is too oppressively stale, but because it is so relentlessly diverse. It won't stop insisting on things we don't care about. It won't stop bringing up topics we're not interested in. We are too weak for family and neighborhoods, so we seek the comfort of clubs and mutual congratulation societies and refer to them as being outside and open-minded when in reality they are a retreat into a gated community of closed-mindedness.

"It is a good thing for a man to live in a family for the same reason it is a good thing for a man to be besieged in a city.... They all force him to realize that life is not a thing from outside, but a thing from inside."  -- G.K. Chesterton, Heretics

day no. 15,592 continued... the especiallies

"But the fact remains that the services are not alike, that no wit of man can make them alike, and that the retention by each of its separate character, customs and confidence is essential to the conserving of our national military power. Unification has not altered this basic proposition. The first requirement of a unified establishment is moral soundness in each of the integral parts, without which there can be no soundness at all. And on the question of fundamental loyalty, the officer who loves every other service just as much as his own will have just as much active virtue as the man who loves other women as much as his own wife." -- The Armed Forces Officer, U.S. Department of Defense (1950)

Christians should love their local church more than other churches. They should be members of their church as a matter of priority. They have an obligation to serve and minister to those who are enrolled as members in their local gatherings before they serve and minister to those Christians of other congregations.

Christians have obligations to love particular neighbors in a particular order of priority. Christians must honor covenants before anything else. This means a Christian is obligated first and foremost to God with whom they have made a covenant of worship. They then must love their spouse, if married, above all other earthly people as they made a covenant of marriage with them. Next, the children produced by the union of that covenant of marriage must be prioritized. One's own children take precedent over other people's children. Next would be a Christian's parents. One must honor thy father and mother and the covenant home into which one was born and lived under until establishing their own home through the covenant of marriage. Any siblings produced as a result of that covenant come next as the closest extended family from a previous covenantal arrangement. These blood-relatives whom God has made them family by His choosing of time, place and boundary a la Acts 17:26. Then the Christian must love the members of their local congregation of which they have a voluntary covenant of membership. Since this covenant can be transferred upon permissible geographical circumstances, it comes after the permanent nature of the marriage covenant under which you were born and the current one under which you have formed a new family. Next, the Christian must love their geographical neighbors beginning on their block and moving outwardly by association to neighborhood, city, county, state, nation, etc... Christian obligation is a matter of monitoring the especiallies and applying them with particular attention.

1 Timothy 5:8
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Galatians 6:10
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

day no. 15,037: remembership

"Christ does not call us to join a church, but to submit to a church." - Jonathan Leeman

"The church is not simply another voluntary society, like the Boy Scouts or the Sierra Club. It's an embassy of Christ's kingdom. And kings do not offer suggestions, sell products, or provide resources that people can take or leave." - Michael Horton

It is easy to forget that Christ calls His people to gather together as His body in a local church. Not because Scripture is silent on the matter, but because society is so loud in the contrary. 

"You don't have to go to church to be a Christian."
"The church is not a building, it's a group of people."
"I love Jesus, I just don't like the church."

But we are not called only to personal growth, we are called to interpersonal growth and the place we do both is in the context of the local church, belonging to it, submitting to it, serving it and growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior together (2 P 3:18)