As many have said, the reason that churches are imperfect is that mankind is imperfect. I had a close, close friend who was an atheist and very liberal. Also extraordinarily intelligent. We used to argue religion and about the Jimmy Swaggart's and Jim Bakker's of the world, and he pointed to them as representative of Christianity. I would say, no, they are outliers who get all the press coverage but there are thousands of true Christians doing God's work who you never hear about. I am just starting to learn about a church that I have begun attending about a month and a half ago. They went through a trial about a year ago and almost closed their doors, but some factions left and some remained and I am happy there. But I don't forget it could go south in a heartbeat. I've been in churches that just fell apart due to drama and politics.
Oh, and the friend who was the atheist. He killed himself, about eight years ago. I had another friend who is a committed Christian who said, in all seriousness, not sure he knew the answer, "I wonder where he is now??".
