This is interesting to talk about. So I don't think that all churches are "cults" really. For me, the purpose of church is to hear someone's views on God and just like... think about it. Pastors read from the bible and tell you what they think it means. I like to take that and consider it. I interpret a lot of things differently from most churches in my own faith, but I like the idea of church. Another purpose I see in church is as a safe place to go and talk to people about your beliefs (that's what it should be at least). Since I work at a church, I see the good-bad-and ugly. But I'm not gonna lie, if I didn't work there, I probably wouldn't ever go there. I work at Willow creek and I like the fact that there are a lot of different people there and you can hear different things from all of them. But there are people who believe fundamentalist things (evolution) and certain beliefs make me angry. But it's like the whole world. There are different kinds of people and you have to coexist with them and accept everyone for what they are (you should probably still explain that evolution is a proven fact though).
So I think my point is that church is (or for me and other people I know) a place that you can go to learn about (other people's interpretations) of God and talk/think about what that means in your lives. It can be more things than that, like a place to worship or pray or have a community of people who support each other if that's what you need out of it.
