There's an interesting blog entry from Richard Beck that has caused quite a stir in the blog world.  In it, Beck challenges the idea that we can "work on our relationship with God" in isolation from other people.  He claims that spiritual growth should be measured by how we treat other people more than by how often we warm a pew at church.  Here's his conclusion:

"My point in all this is that contemporary Christianity has lost its way. Christians don't wake up every morning thinking about how to become a more decent human being. Instead, they wake up trying "work on their relationship with God" which very often has nothing to do with treating peopl better. How could such a confusion have occurred? How did we end up going so wrong? I'm sure there are lots of answers, but at the end of the day we need to face up to our collective failure. I'm not saying we need to do anything dramatic. A baby step would do to start. Waking up trying to be a little more kind, more generous, more forgiving, more humble, more civil, more tolerant. Do these things and prayer and worship will come alongside to support us. I truly want people to spend time working on their relationship with God. I just want them to do it by taking the time to care about the person standing right in front of them."