I did not grow up in the United States' church like most of you. But as a pastor's son I had my own trials. Yet, I went to church because I felt incredibly safe in Jesus' presence in spite of turmoil at home. Moreover, I grieve with many of you since the church has failed you miserably. The American Evangelical and other Mainstream Churches have lost the concept of community, a material quality still so effervescent among the Catholics at Taiz and among the Quakers. Perhaps the trick is to, as Melanie Rainer has stated, start moving among strangers so that we can call each other brother and sister. Does this have to happen within the four walls of a church? I doubt it. Perhaps, the time has come to abandon the church building and spread out into neighborhoods to break bread, drink wine, and pass the peace in Jesus' name.

Thank you Jenny J. I agree. "He's so Amazing out here in the 'Wild'".

Good article...my struggle is the fact that I don't think that we are called to just settle within the messiness. How do we strive to surpass the ugliness of the church and let the church be the beautiful that we see in Acts?

We are His people and His people are the church and He told us to meet together regularly, so we need a meeting place where we can gather together in His name and experience His Grace and HIs Mercy. How many of us are willing to make the committment to meet regularly every week in a park in the heat of summer or the freezing cold of winter - how much easier it is to meet in a building which can be cooled or heated as needed, to enable us to keep our minds focused on the Lord. When we meet together in His name for prayer and worship, it is then that He strengthens us and enables us to go out in His name. When we meet together in His name Christ is with us and empowers us to do the Father's Will and to go.out into our neighbourhoods to share in His name, we can't do it on our own if we try we fail. Yes God's Holy Spirit is with us at all times but if we aren't in regular fellowship with other believers we fail God and ourselves by not allowing God to fully empower us to do His. Let's face it sometimes it is still hard to get out of bed on a cold winter morning to meet in a Church building which is nice and warm, we have to make that choice to get up and go to experience God's Grace, His Love and His Mercy, and to allow Him to work in us and empower us. I choose to go and be a part of His church each week meeting in a building where I can focus on God.

Well said, Melanie. You made yourself get out of bed one more Sunday morning and you went to church, listening with your heart. When you heard the pastor say that the joy of the gospel will war against your fears and your self-absorption, you knew you'd heard something you needed to hear. That's what happens when we sit in a worship service, willing to listen. God sends a sermon for us. Or a song. Or a word of encouragement from another worshiper. God does mean for us to worship together regularly with our brothers and sisters in Christ. While breaking bread with the homeless is worth doing (as one fellow commented here in the well, comment section), and gathering together to share coffee is also worthwhile, nothing takes the place of worshiping God together every week and waiting expectantly for God to fill the worshipers with His Holy Spirit like fire. And, if we listen, really listen, to the sermon being preached, we will hear something God wants us to learn, just as you did, Melanie.