A quarter of a century ago, James Nelson anticipated the impact of church socialization and its relation to individual moral behavior and identification as well as much of the current concern with character and community. Utilizing principles from the behavioral and social sciences, Nelson argues compellingly that we are social selves whose personal identities and patterns of morality are inexplicable apart from the groups and communities with which we most significantly identify. Thus, Christian ethics and Christian community can be understood only in relation to each other.