Ramblings on Imperfection

On occasion one of my best friends likes to remind me of a quote he likes, and one that I have heard in many different places. I don’t know the exact quote, or who penned it originally, but it says something to the effect that more people have been killed in the name of religion throughout history, then for any other reason. I can’t and won’t argue with this premise, as I have heard too many stories of the atrocities of the early church. I also have seen some of the atrocities of the modern church as well, and while they may not end in the death of somebody, they can be equally as bad to a person’s spirit. The new catch phrase of my generation seems to be “I’m spiritual but not religious”. I hear many people I have grown up with, and some that have grown up in my youth groups say, “I believe in God, but not organized religion”. I have had numerous conversations with people lately who say they don’t believe in God, or are struggling with that faith because of something that may have happened in church history, or something that has happened to them with the church. All of these people have allowed the imperfection of the church on earth to affect their relationship with their father in heaven. None of these people seem to point to God as their problem; they point their fingers toward man. This insight is important as it gives us background on why many people feel the way they do. It shows that we need not only address the message of salvation, but also the message of why a perfect God calls us to be members of an imperfect community of believers (his church). How can I, a sinner (and let me tell you how big of one I am….), as I enter into ministry not lead as many people away from Christ by my actions, as I lead to him? How do you teach somebody about his love, if they don’t trust the source it is coming from? We are called to try and pattern our lives after Jesus, and this is one of the reasons why. If we are to lead others to Christ, we need to demonstrate his love not only on Sunday, but everyday, to everyone. I know this task is impossible, but it helps to give me a better reason to, for lack of a better term, follow the straight and narrow. I won’t pretend to have all the answers right now; in fact sometimes I’m not even sure I am asking the right questions. My question right now is; how do you separate God from his church while leading somebody into a relationship with Christ who may have bad feelings toward the church, while at the same time showing them the importance of belonging to his body of believers and that the Holy Spirit is present in the church today?