are institutions redeemable

"What other church is there besides institutional? There’s nobody who doesn’t have problems with the church, because there’s sin in the church. But there’s no other place to be a Christian except the church. There’s sin in the local bank. There’s sin in the grocery stores. I really don’t understand this naïve criticism of the institution. I really don’t get it. Frederick von Hugel said the institution of the church is like the bark on the tree. There’s no life in the bark. It’s dead wood. But it protects the life of the tree within. And the tree grows and grows. If you take the bark off, it’s prone to disease, dehydration, death. So, yes, the church is dead but it protects something alive. And when you try to have a church without bark, it doesn’t last long. It disappears, gets sick, and it’s prone to all kinds of disease, heresy, and narcissism." - Eugene Peterson

Darryl Dashhouse prefers not to look at the institution as redeemable or not but rather he asks:

• Is there a way to use buildings missionally and in a way that expresses the true nature of the church?
• Can orders of service be structured so that the corporate nature of worship is emphasized, and performance is minimized?
• How can preaching and teaching promote spiritual growth and emphasize the giftedness of the body?
• How can churches move beyond being pastor-driven?
• How can our giving be channeled beyond maintenance to mission and care for the poor?
• How can we recover the biblical emphasis on baptism as initiation into discipleship, and communion as a robust communal celebration?
• How can Christian formation take place that his holistic?

I like this approach. Regarding the institution of church, too many seem bent on either throwing it out or propping it up. I have little energy for either. Instead I recognize that it is here, it is likely not leaving, and I have a sense that it is fundamentally a good thing . As Dashhouse explains, "it's theoretically possible to have discovered that pretty much everyone from the church fathers on got it wrong, and that you are right - but it's highly unlikely. This is especially true in this case, because Scripture is largely descriptive (not prescriptive) in how churches can be shaped." I like his thinking.

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