GroshLink

In a recent book, church growth guru George Barna seems to suggest the end or irrelevance of the local congregation. He speaks for a significant number of people who find their congregation unsatisfying or who cannot find a church at all. It is not hard to understand such ambivalence and frustration. The church is divided and broken. It is filled with sinners and hypocrites. R. R. Reno and others have said that we are living in the "ruins of the church." This is how it has always been and exactly as Jesus said it would be.

Welcome to life in the church. It is not perfect and, in this life, it will never be perfect, but it is nevertheless instituted by God. The ministry of the Gospel (and sacraments) and the exercise of discipline are the evidences that the church is Christ's. -- A Perfect Church? Not in This Life, R. Scott Clark, Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary, California.

If finding the Perfect Church is a concern of yours, I'd encourage you to read this article.  Thank-you to Miller for passing this piece along for my edification.