When I asked a few people to beta read early versions of Glory in the Flower, one response I heard frequently was "are you trying to convince people to join the church or leave it?"
It was a deliberate choice for me, to show some of the darker underside of the current patriarchal evangelical church system, including the notion that there are men who have so much social/religious/economic power that they literally answer to no one. Of course, they claim to answer to God, but as we can see both in this book and in real life, that's often not the case. I grew up noticing this, that people who weren't accountable to other people almost inevitably lost themselves within their own power and authority, and caused a considerable amount of harm in their wake.
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. All good men are bad.
I have tried to show strong, genuine faith in the book as well. I've tried to portray Christians with deep flaws but a sincere love for God. None of us are perfect. I've included the notion of spiritual blind spots, places where an otherwise-strong Christian just doesn't see something that seems so obvious to most people.
I'm not offering any sort of image of what I think an ideal church should be. That's different for different people. Some people thrive in a very traditional environment. Some people need a less formal environment. Some, like Peter, don't do well in a church at all, and need to be out in nature to really worship. I'm not going to insist upon one 'right' path for everyone, because I don't know that there is one.
