I have read through the first 50 postings here and am dismayed by some of the comments.
Yes, some/many of the Christian denominations stray from the fundamental message of Jesus Christ which is - set aside the things of the world and follow Him; love God and neighbor, etc. The difficulty enters every group because mankind is flawed, and when you assemble a group, those flaws are magnified. However, the opposite also happens - when good Christians unite to do charity.
The goal of churches is to evangelize individuals about the message of Jesus Christ, who He is; and why He came into the world to save sinners. So, there you have it. Every individual must change his/her life and behavior because each of us is not saved by the group, but one by one - all through the mercy and love of God and whether he/she will embrace it.
All Catholics, all Lutherans, all Presbyterians, all Baptists, all Fundamentalists, etc. are not lukewarm Christians. Yes, some are, and others are not. This is true of the clergy as well.
There came a time in my life when I realized that when I made decisions, it had to conform to what Jesus would expect of me as his disciple. I realized that I did not want to personally disappoint Him, and I did not want to continue to add to the world’s sin’s which caused him so much agony on the cross. Because we are flawed, it is a daily commitment that each Christian must make to adore, believe, and love Jesus, and have hope in Him as our Savior. We must rely on the grace of God to help us in our lives. We cannot do this on our own.
The goal of churches is to evangelize individuals about the message of Jesus Christ, who He is;
***A lot of churches these days deny Who Jesus is: He is God Himself. In my view, this is what leads to all that other apostasy.
And some may have been mine.
Just remember that each of us is not on the same place on the path.
Some are just starting: learning with a passion that many of us used to have but have, over the years, become disillusioned and tired of the fight.
Others are seeing evidence of a life lived with Jesus in control: wishing, hoping, and praying that somehow they could graft a bit of the Spirit they have into others.
Others are near the end of the path: able to see the Light and in a hurry to hear, "Well done..."