Remove the 'not' in both of the above memes and we're doing fine. The internet teems with sentiments like those above, including, "I'm spiritual, not religious", and "relationship not religion". And while these thoughts appeal to those who have been hurt by, or disappointed in, a particular manifestation of the Church, they are misguided at best, and dangerous at worst. This is not in any way to dispute the valid criticism of the actions of those who represent the Church, whether that be a local independent church where judgmental attitudes have replaced the spirit of grace, or an institutional church where self-protection has protected child predators. The Church, both historically (see for example the martyrdom of Jan Hus) and today has much to answer for, flaws both mundane and monstrous, both isolated and systematic. The Church is far from perfect. Christianity without the Church, or following Jesus without Religion, thus has an emotional appeal, but it has one fundamental, inescapable problem. Christianity, or even more simply, following Jesus, without the Church does not exist. Temporarily, through difficult circumstances, a follower of Jesus might find him/herself disconnected from the Church, but long-term the option of going it alone has not been given to us by God. We are both incapable of thriving as disciples of Jesus apart from the regular support and encouragement of fellow believers who will share our faith journey, and cut off from the commands of God that we serve one another when we decide to put our own, perceived, spiritual health above the needs of the many. The Gospel was not given to me, it was given to us. Discipleship is not my task, it is our task. Worship is not individual people approaching God with praise, it is his people gathered together in community uplifting his name. The grace of God is manifested in the shepherd's willingness to leave the 99 and seek the 1, but the glory of God is maximized when the entirety of those redeemed by that grace gather together to praise his name.
Throughout redemptive history God chose to work through Israel, an entire nation called to be holy before the LORD, and the Church, a gathering of people from all nations called to be united in their devotion to Jesus. The elevation of my own spiritual pursuit, or my own spiritual need, above that of the other people who I should be in community with, and whose needs I ought to be prioritizing, is a form of idolatry. Individualism above community is idolatry. To find this sentiment growing in post-modern Western culture is hardly surprising. We have journeyed a great distance in our worldview from the much more collective/community outlook of our ancestors. We have staked out individualistic positions in economics, law, politics, and even marriage and family obligations. It should be no surprise that the Church, as collective an organization as can be imagined, would eventually receive a backlash against its call to subsume the ego-centrism of post-modernity beneath a life of service to others. {FYI, the Prosperity Gospel, with its focus on what God wants to do for you, rather than what God requires of you, fits well with this, 'its all about me' attitude.}
I understand why people want to emphasize their relationship with Jesus, or even their 'spirituality' above commitment to, the easy to find flaws with, 'organized religion'. To be a part of the Church is to rub elbows with flawed people. To be a part of the Church is to risk getting hurt. As long ago as St. Augustine it was necessary to defend the idea that the Church is made up of people who are being made holy, not people who are already holy. And yet, in the end the solo path leads nowhere. Hermits were never the path to holiness that their admirers claimed them to be. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to journey with other disciples, to be a part of a community, and to serve that community. You may not love religion or the Church, but you certainly need it, and it needs you.
A final thought, if you reject religion/the Church, you're also rejecting the sacraments/ordinances. There is no baptism or communion without the Church, for baptism is a rite of initiation into the people of God, and communion is a communal meal with the people of God.
For a selection of Scripture that informs this topic, consider these verses below:
Matthew 16:18 New International Version (NIV)
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
John 13:14-16 New International Version (NIV)
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
John 17:20-23 New International Version (NIV)
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Galatians 5:13 New International Version (NIV)
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
Ephesians 1:22-23 New International Version (NIV)
22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Hebrews 10:24-25 New International Version (NIV)
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
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