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How are Christians to live together? The Bible gives us how to do so, but sometimes, God gifts other writers the ability to put into words what the Scripture is saying. This is true with our work we are looking at today. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote this work, and while I may not agree with everything, or may look at things a little differently, this no ways removes Bonhoeffers work and depth we should pay attention to. 

One aspect I love the most is how this fits in with Brethren history and belief. The Brethren always believed in community. In the early years in America, the Brethren would do nothing until everyone was 100% in agreement. If they could not get this agreement, they would continue to pray and talk until they could. 

Of course, this has changed, but the Brethren, in many ways, still hold fast to the idea of community. Most Brethren churches I have visited have had a picnic shelter for gatherings. There are fellowship meals, luncheons, carry in meals, games, and a whole host of ideas that come about because of community. 

Brethren also look at worship as part of the community. They do this from the Sunday worship, but also Love Feasts. It really would be a worthwhile study of Brethren history, and I cannot recommend another book (I won't do a review here) highly enough titled Fruit of the Vine by Donald Durnbaugh. This work, while harder to find and a little costly, presents the Brethren history in a powerful way. I would highly recommend getting it!

Back to Life Together. Bonhoeffer does an amazing job talking about community, how it is to look, worship, function and act together. Again, I may not be exactly where he was, but I cannot say I saw anything alarming in it. 

To give you an idea of what is found within the pages, here are a few quotes:

"When a person becomes alienated from a Christian community in which he has been placed and begins to raise complaints about it, he had better examine himself first." - Pg 30

"Christian brotherhood is not an idea which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate." - Pg 30

"The person who comes into a fellowship because he is running away from himself is misusing it for the sake of diversion." - Pg 76

"He must know the cares, the needs, the joys and thanskgivings, the petitions and hopes of the others." - Pg 63. 

As we see, community is vital and important in the life of believers, and as we saw in the quotes, there is a way for us to carry ourselves within the confines of that community. Each local body of faith will have different ways how that would look. The biggest concerns I would have is this:

1. Is all that is done based on the Scripture?

2. Is there any violation of the nature,  holiness and commands of God from the Bible?

3. Is the fellowship and community holding fast to the true gospel once delievered by God through the Word, or does it deny the traditional, conservative, evangelical understanding of the Word and God?

4. Does it deny or twist the Gospel (the death, burial, AND resurrection) of Jesus Christ?

5. Does the fellowship cause sin either in personal or public life as God would define sin and not culture or our own opinion?

If all the above can be answered correctly, the difference is beautiful. I have been in some (not all, as there will be some outliers from this) Baptist churches, independent churchs, C&MA churches, Calvary Chapels, and now Brethren. Each one a little different, but in their own way, beautiful.  

Therefore, here is my encouragement. I would recommend picking up the book (it is not hard to read), you can get it on Biblio for a decent price. Prayerfully, and with the Bible opened, read through what he has to say. Lastly, be part of the local body of faith, and put to practice that which was learned.