Henri Nouwen wrote "Your own growth cannot take place without growth in others. You are part of a body. When you change the whole body changes. It is very important for you to remain deeply connected with the larger community to which you belong."

I sense that Nouwen could have been talking about several different communities to which one belongs but when I think of it in terms of church and denomination I struggle with it. I want to take the journey myself. At least I think I do.

The next thing he writes is "It is also important that those who belong to the body of which you are apart keep faith in your journey."

And here lies my problem. I'm afraid that I will be misunderstood if I share my journey. How do you get people to understand without them becoming judgmental. Of course there is also the fear that my journey will lead to decay instead of growth and in that case perhaps I fear being responsible for decaying the whole body.