If we fail at love, there will be nothing left.
In his book Brethren, Hang Together, Robert C. Girard describes his journey from an institutional mindset of the church, to an understanding of church based on relationships. He concludes the book with the following:
The structure that now ties us together is the structure of personal relationship – to each other, to the group, and to God. If we fail at love, there will be nothing left. But, then, is there really anything of value left in the church, when love isn’t there (1 Cor. 13:1-3)? [330]
If a church is based on tradition, hierarchy, and institution, is it truly a church? Church must begin with the love of God, which leads to the love of each other.