brightMystery: Impacting the culture, or impacted by the culture?

The following was an extended note to brightMystery's note from today.

The church on Earth is the Body of Christ. It ought to do what Jesus would do. Now Jesus, while he was with in Human Form, was an Institution unto Himself. How? He was an organized life form. He had to eat, drink, exercise, and, well, eliminate waste. (Fortunately St. Helena never found any divine waste, or someone would venerate it!)
We do venerate the Body of Christ, but not the organization of Christ. So the Church (read: Body of Christ) must be an institution. But it is what it does that matters. Institutions bring out the worst in people (perhaps this is analogous to the waste...) and we shouldn't expect the church as institution to be transcendent.
As far as relevance though, see 1Cor 9:19-22 '...I have become all things to all, to save at least some.' This was an act of charity on Paul's part. So the church is 'in the world, but not of the world.' But he never compromised. He didn't take up with the temple prostitutes in Corinth, although that was what everybody else did. We are never relevant when we sin, although it might really endear us to those in most need of help.