WE are all unique. We are all equal too, although some of us stand out more than others. Like Bear Grylls who is arguably the most high-profile Christian in the UK today. Given this it’s not surprising he makes waves when he talks about faith related issues.

His reported comments on organised religion have certainly provoked a debate on the role and the place of the church. One national newspaper has claimed that he thinks organised religion has ruined the story of Jesus and you don’t need to go to church because faith has nothing to do with church . If he’s been quoted accurately, it seems he believes that “We’ve had 2,000 years doing a good job of really screwing it up, wrapping it around religion and rules when the beating heart of the message was always about freedom, laughter, life, love, risk, rescue and sacrifice.”

Grylls seems to have been making the same point when interviewed by a well-known Christian publication. Describing his spiritual journey, he said that he’d come to see that the baby is beautiful, it’s the bathwater that’s a mess. The bathwater is obviously the church and the baby is Jesus.

Now I’d be the first to admit that church life can be pretty messy, and I’m not simply talking about the infamous sexual abuse scandals either. They are horrific, shameful and are to be strongly condemned but I’m also aware that there can be plenty of back-biting, hypocrisy and pride to name but a few ‘nasties’ that can muddy the bathwater. Such behaviour must break God’s heart as well as put people off church – and I’ve certainly met lots who have been over the years.

But if you stop and think about if for a moment the evidence shows us that it’s never been any different. If you look at the New Testament you will see that the earliest church was far from perfect. Peter denied he knew Jesus for example and just as He was preparing to be crucified the disciples were arguing over who should be considered the greatest! And that’s just for starters.

Jesus didn’t come to show us how to ‘fly solo’ into heaven, He came to create a society of people who recognise their flaws, seek His forgiveness and are keen to be ‘changed from glory into glory’ as Wesley’s hymn puts it. That’s why He told His followers that we should love one another and that could mean forgiving each other 70 x 7 times if necessary. In other words, their forgiveness should be limitless.

Bear Grylls is doing an amazing work, not least in prisons, but I think his image is wrong when he says we should try to lift the baby out of the bath because Jesus is determined to stay in it. But He does expect us to clean it up! In fact, He is more than willing to help us if we want to get on with it.