"The Church", no matter the denomination, has gotten further and further away from one of it's main purposes, at least in my view. In the rural South, there are small churches scattered about in the countryside...most are Baptist (some are what we call down here "Foot Washing", or Primitive Baptist), with some others intermingled. Those churches serve(d) as a gathering place for the communities/farms in the surrounding countryside. Yes, they were places of worship, but they were also places where people could gather once a week and see how their neighbors were doing, if they needed any help, if anyone was sick, etc. People would bring what food they had to share outside under the big trees. People genuinely caring for each other, and the church was a means for this to happen. The Dogma didn't matter so much...it was all about Love. It was Real. There are still places like that in Alabama today.
In stark contrast sit what I sarcastically refer to as "Warehouses For The Lord"...HUGE buildings, with thousands of members, a good majority of the membership there for all the wrong reasons, the church more concerned with it's own financial goals/aspirations than with any one member, concerning themselves with "missions" in other countries when there are people who need help siting in their backdoor...out of touch with the meaning of it all. Committees set up to deem whether a person is "worthy" of the church's assistance. It's all Big Business, and some sort of sick competition to see who can be the biggest, most ornate, and most pretentious. It all makes me sick, and even more cynical about Religion and it's purpose in modern day social structure. It will be a cold day before anyone will ever see me shadow the door of such a place.
My Church is outside, whether it's sitting on the beach listening to the sounds of the ocean's never ending rhythm, standing in a small, cold river with a fly rod in hand, or riding my bike through tree lined two lane roads. My Church is sitting next to someone who loves me, whether it be human or another animal. If there is a force in the Universe who's noticing, I think my reverence for those moments will carry more weight than whether I tithe 10% of my income...