[Cal]

Back to the subject of needing a church life that isn’t led astray. I’ve given this idea a lot of thought and prayer, and it seems to me there are only three approaches to this.

1. Join a church that is perfect or close to perfect and will always be.
   
   
2. Join the “one true church." If your perception and conscience ever tell you otherwise, assume you are the problem and adjust your attitude accordingly. Ignore all warning signs. Determine that this church is God’s best, will always be and assume it is “perfect” even though it isn’t, that is, “even when it’s wrong, it’s right.”
   
   
3. Join a church you feel is promising. Try your best to be a positive, understanding, contributing member. Be forgiving of imperfection in others as much as you expect them to be forgiving of you. But if things reach a point where you have serious reservations about the group, feel free to leave.

Reviewing these:

#1 is not a realistic option because no church is close to perfect, and even good churches can go bad.

#2 is "the Recovery" model. You either believe in this model or you don’t, because it’s entirely a matter of blind, fear-driven faith. This model presumes the church cannot in fact be led astray. If that assumption is wrong, which good sense and observation says it is, it guarantees you will suffer when it is led astray, all the time blaming yourself for being the problem. Not a good prescription for spiritual or emotional health.

#3 is the model most serious Christians follow. It ensures that if the church you meet with goes off the rails, you have a way out. This model seems to be the one the Lord has actually set up. Of course, the LR derides this as “following your preference” and it is sometimes called “church shopping,” and in the extreme perhaps it could be abused. But the fact is it is the only way Christians have to protect themselves from bad groups and bad leaders.

It turns out the “way of Christianity” is the correct and healthy way.