To gather together or not

Over the years I've been an active participant in all sorts of gatherings with fellow believers in Christ. They range from small mid-week groups, to campouts and picnics, to corporate fellowship in both large and small churches. I can honestly say I've been a part of some wonderful things and some very embarrassing things all in the name of church. At times I've rejoiced and at other times I've wanted to hide. 

Eugene Peterson addresses this tension well in the introduction to the letter of James in his version of The Message. 

"When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business except, perhaps, business- and dishonest business at that. Insiders see it differently. Just as a hospital collects the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the church collects sinners. Many of the people outside the hospital are every bit as sick as the ones inside, but their illnesses are either undiagnosed or disguised. It's similar with sinners outside the church.