Taking Jesus Seriously

With much study, and I've studied this for thirty years and more, you will discover that the behavior of the churches, both Catholic and Protestant varieties, has nothing to do with Jesus. Instead, all churches are about other things-- dogma, doctrines, administrations, economics, etc. It simply does not matter to the average church-policy body what Jesus did. To take him as a personal model, to be seriously imitated, is a good idea, but has little to no place in organized religion. I like to half-joke that, "The one unforgivable sin in a Christian church is to take Jesus seriously.":)