Why is it Hard to be Broken in Church?

Been asking this question for about 15 years. I think it explains why the greater Seattle area (which has always been one of the lowest in church attendance) has so many followers of Jesus outside traditional structures. The church is rarely a safe place.

Anne Jackson asked the question: "What can't you say in church?" on her blog and was deluged by the responses. So much so that she wrote a book called Permission to Speak Freely. The purpose was to show people that they were not alone in the battle with fear and secrets.

The bottom line is that the church (and the community in which we live out our faith) should be a place that helps us wash away our sh#@. But our normal default is that we cover it up; we hide. Ans the church has rarely been the place where we feel safe. In reality, it has been a place where people have often been ostracized for their "failures."

As Anne says, when something in our spiritual life is broken or is confusing, we hide. If a relationship is broken, we hide. If there’s an unhealthy habit we fall back on, we hide. If there’s a controversial political or social issue confronting us, we hide. We ultimately want to hide what’s broken, whether it occurs individually or in a community.

Several of our friends (non-regular church goers) have decided to meet regularly for what is called the MSM. The Monthly Sh#@ Meeting. There we feel like we have a place to be safe; to share our challenges, our frustrations, our sh#@. We eat together; have fun together; laugh together; and yes, even cry together.

Should church not be that? Or is the MSM just a variation of church!?