Reformation or Revolution?

I look at the American church and I see a system that is neither biblically consistent nor culturally relevant. The more ministry experience and education I receive, the more the chasm between how things should be and how they are seems to widen. The chasm appears so wide that I wonder whether most churches are beyond help. Can they be reformed into effective great commission churches or are they so fundamentally flawed that a restart is the best solution?

The best analogy that comes to mind is political. If a country's government is not serving its people then the people should seek to reform it within the system. Sometimes though, the government is so far from what it should be that a revolution must occur in which the whole system is scrapped in favor of a new one. Trying to get a church to actually carry out the “great commission” effectively can feel like trying to get a communist nation to become a democracy. Small changes within the system are only going to provide temporary or negative results because the problem lies in the structure itself. Reformation will not suffice; a revolution must occur.

Here is one example of a fundamental church issue that would be tough to change. For the past 50 years many churches have offerred different programs to meet the needs of the congregation and those in the culture. The mindset has been developed that if someone wanted to do something differently then they just started another program. But what does one do if they feel that the programs are the problem? That change would require a complete restructure or the whole church and would probably cause a lot of strife. Therefore, is it better to seek to make that change from within or to peacefully start another church with a “no programs” mentality? (The question of whether or not programs are good is just an example and is in no way fully argued in this post as that is NOT the topic at hand.)

Here is the question. Should one try to start a reformation within a church or should they try to start a revolution outside of that church? I think that is one of the reasons many young adults are attracted to starting new churches. They feel that most churches need such a drastic fundamental change that it is easier to start fresh than try to “fix” an already established church. I only recently realized that this was part of my motivation for wanting to help with a new church. I do not want to give up on traditional churches that are filled with amazing, godly people. Nor do I want to be a part of a church whose very structure does not allow for the change that I feel is necessary to effectively fulfill the Great Commission . I am certain that a blanket statement of “do” or “don't” cannot be found in the Bible. Every scenario is different so personal examples and hypotheticals are only going to cause rabbit trails. I am more interested in hearing what others think of the general pros and cons of reforming an established church from within versus just starting fresh. This issue is very disheartening for me since I love the church and only desire to see it grow and glorify God in it's intended manner and I am unsure of my own personal role. Martin Luther described wonderfully the tension that of one's feelings of love and dissapointment with the church when he said, “The church is a whore. And she is my mother.”