What You Said About Institutional Religion
(Reader Responses)

Most responders, in spite of the church’s many flaws, are sticking with it, primarily because their congregation still manages to do good things—including fostering Christian community and serving people in need. Several examples follow:

• I try to follow the teachings of Jesus but have real doubts about many statements in the creeds. I attend an affirming, welcoming, and diverse congregation that engages in a lot of community ministry. I continue to attend in order to participate in the many good things we do.
• I view “the church” like people. Flawed. Imperfect. Works in process. But I feel that I am called to stay here and help.

• Years ago I heard a quotation supposedly from Martin Luther concerning the church. “If it weren’t for the storm on the outside, you couldn’t stand the stench on the inside.” Whether he actually said that or not, it’s pretty much on target. I try to remember that I am part of the problem in many ways that I don’t even recognize.

• Change is sometimes easier if urged from the inside. I have often questioned whether resigning in protest is the most effective action or if it just makes us feel better to wash our hands or shake the dust off our feet. I have come to see that the social capital gained from being involved in a church family outweigh the negatives. But I do sometime teeter precariously on the edge.

• My father was a wonderful pastor and father. He, like a lot of clergy, was frequently hurt by the church, especially when he spoke out about racism in the 1960s. Someone asked him, “How and why do you stay in a church that treats others this way?”  His answer was, “I have found it easier to knock the dents out of a bucket from the inside.”  He felt he could make a bigger difference by staying in the church and using his influence there rather than by leaving. I am reminded of that when I am sorely tempted to be done with the church. So far, I have decided to stay in the “bucket.”

• I have been deeply involved with healthy churches during my long lifetime, so I still have hope for the institutional church.

• The church I serve is neither conservative nor openly ultraprogressive. It is moderate, and there are people here all across the political spectrum. That strikes my husband and me as being healthy and rare, and we cherish the church family and friendships we have here.

• I am hanging on to my church, always will, but it is hard when I no longer believe in so much of the doctrine. But my local church offers me much support in the advocacy and social justice issues I have been involved in all my life.

• After years of being condemned as an “abomination” by evangelical churches, I found a congregation that truly welcomed and affirmed LGBTQ people like me. For the first time in my life, I am a valued member of a church family. We’re certainly not perfect. Like any church, there’s plenty of conflicts, pettiness, and hypocrisy. But I am loved and appreciated here and I’m not leaving.