Baptists, with a focus on the priority of congregational life, have long emphasized Christian friendship as an organic means of grace and essential for spiritual sharpening, accountability, and joyful obedience to Christ.  Consider the following

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be

Too many people sitting in pews on Sunday morning consider the preaching event as if it were simply a one-way street. All the responsibility rests on the preacher. I wrote an article addressing the topic

There is no end to books and articles aimed at helping those who preach learn to do so more effectively. There is very little aimed at helping people listen to sermons more effectively. The discrepancy