Interesting question, about why attend church. To me, faith is not something that survives when isolated. Humans need to interact - we share meals, procreate with another, etc. Our spirituality/faith requires interaction with other people in order to be healthy too.
By going to church, I gather with a group of others who are studying the same path as I am, and we can offer insights to one another as to what the scriptures mean, as well as support to maintain our faith despite "non-believers" treating us poorly regardless of our best efforts to treat them according to God's will. The minister typically has studied the scriptures more in depth and therefore can usually offer better context or alternative insights to them.
Sometimes I run into situations that I'm not sure how best to deal with them, and would like advice that is consistent with God's will for us. Other times, I may relate an incident, and another person who is not involved sees things in it that I, being too close to it, could not see. At those times, I want someone who I know takes God's will to heart to help me work through the faith issues.
Anyone can be a hermit, but in my opinion, they then miss out on tremendous relationships to be had with others, and their lives have little meaning when they do not impact others in any way. This applies to faith as well.
Yes, corruption is very much a danger in any group. Religious institutions, like any institution, are susceptible to it. However, at least at church I have a reasonable expectation of spiritual renewal and new insights to bring me into a stronger, healthier relationship with God. It is not reasonable to expect that from a gathering of people who may not want to even admit there is a God.
I am reminded somewhat of another question recently posed as a stumper, and wish to share my response to it here as well.
Ahh, an excellent question, and I don't have a full answer 'cause I'm a bit mystified too. However, I'll try to explain where I see it these days.I also don't find the idea of "putting god first" very appealing... sounds like a selfish being to me... and if he really was the ultimate architect, why would he allow for misery to happen at all? Why not just plan around it?...
Is it considered nicer for someone to do a task because they must, or because they want to? In which case are they more likely to do a better job of it?
God created us with free will - ultimately why, to do specifically what, I'm not really sure - and thus we can choose to follow God or not. God gave us instructions on how to live, even demonstrated them for us, but did not force us to follow them. It would detract from our very being to be forced; slavery is a classic example of humans degraded, and even slaves have self-will. So, to let us be fully what we were created, God allows us to make choices even when we choose destructively. Part of our being requires interaction with others, so our choices are intertwined. Thus, many can be lifted up or many can be destroyed by the choices of a few. To eliminate that possibility would be to make us less, or at least different, than we were created to be.
The "putting God first" definitely is hard to get accustomed to. I'm constantly finding myself wanting to put myself first. However, I believe that God's guidance (since God "can see the big picture") leads to much better, healthier lives for me and all affected by my decisions, so I keep trying... and trying... and sometimes I'm very trying... :-/