Lifeway research has found that 65% of Protestant churchgoers say they can “walk with God without other believers.” Only 9% strongly disagreed with that statement, and felt the church community was very important for their walk with God. But, what happens to an ear when it is cut off from a body? Isolation is a means of apostasy, especially in the modern age. The church has lost respect, big time. But so have pastors — they are among the most despised lot in the country today.