What it would take?

I haven't changed.  Not a fan of institutions.  If I was a dictator I would have denominations dissolved.

I learned recently (In Our Time) that Bonhoeffer believed that the church in Germany had been so ineffectual and collusive using the thirties and forties that after the Second World War, a new sort of Christianity would have to emerge, one not based on the church at all.

I would get heads and bang them together.  One church or no church.  For me the diversity within the church is to be celebrated and retained.  The different factions within the church are all important.  The different traditions are all correct.

What stops the church from working together?

1) Power and Control.  It's much easier to be in control, and not to have to compromise and work in partnership.  This is a shame because the skills should be out there.  After all, is this not the basis of a good marriage?

2) The money.  Churches need a steady and reliable income.  It is good to know who your congregation is so that you can estimate what you are likely to receive.  Buildings need to be maintained.  It's an expensive business.

3) Intolerance.  The history of Christianity (indeed humanity) is littered with intolerance.  I agree with Brian McLaren when he described one of the worst things that happened to Christianity (and the best) was when Emperor Constantine stopped the persecution of Christians and made it the state religion of the Byzantine Empire.

This is when the faith first became an institution.