Going It Alone

I read Wilkinson's "The Dream Giver" a few weeks ago and rather enjoyed it. I usually get turned off when an author becomes a franchise, which I felt was the case after the Jabez stuff, but he did a good job with this book.

One thing I noticed about his parable is that the main character is basically on this journey alone. Yes, there are people who help him but basically he is flying solo. I also got to thinking about "Pilgrim's Progress" since it is similar and, though it has been a long time since I've read it, it seems that the same can be said for it. It is basically a solo journey.

This raised the question in my mind if this is correct thinking. What role does church, community, etc. play in all this. It would be interesting to see a book written like The Dream Giver that includes a group of people on a journey instead of a single individual. It would be interesting to see how an author would deal with the dynamics between the individual and the group. How would the individuals big dream relate to the groups collective dream? How would the individuals of the group help, or hurt, each other.

I guess I am questioning whether we really do go on journeys like this or if we need to realize that we never do outside of community. Is it possible for our personal relationship with God to become too personal? Is it healthy to look at this as a solo journey?