Originally Posted by greenbaggins

I certainly would not want to exclude the corporate aspects of the means of grace. Sacrament, of course, is done in an exclusively corporate setting. One does not get baptized (at least normally; Scripture does have an exception to this!) on one's own. Word and prayer have both individual aspects and corporate aspects, since both are done in both settings. Certainly, Ken, you raise a good point: our spiritual growth in knowledge and application of Scriptures' truths happens in a community. Certainly, in my own life, it has been other people who have taught me far far more than I have ever learned just by myself. Even books can be considered corporate, since one is joining the conversation that has extended for many long centuries.