A Fitting Addition
I find the following a fitting addition to what I posted yesterday. It was wisely pointed out in the comments that lots of people ARE hurt by churches or The Church. (My wife and I have been among that group.) The comment yesterday was that this hurt happens when we subsitute religion or even church for a personal relationship with God and/or we push our personal agends instead of God's will. This, perhaps, can also be seen in what author David James Duncan calls "the 'missionary zeal' of self-righteous proselytizers." It is painful when the act of sharing the Good News sounds more like Bad News and condemnation and even hateful judgement. Anyway, here's the quote that I think says a great deal about what we may be lacking too often.

Let the Whole World Fall In
David James Duncan

True evangelism, based on the example of Jesus, does not suggest the "missionary zeal" of self-righteous proselytizers. It implies, on the contrary, the kind of all-embracing universality evident in Mother Teresa's prayer: "May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in." Not just fellow nuns, Catholics, Calcuttans, Indians. The whole world. It gives me pause to realize that, were such a prayer said by me and answered by God, I would afterward possess a heart so open that even hate-driven zealots would fall inside.
--found on Bruderhof.com