To whom have we been converted?

I’ve just written an article that looks at the conflict between the Christian culture we are surrounded by in our churches, and the life of following the Christ of the Gospels. To whom have we been converted? Are we captive to a Christian culture in which we are often subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) required to conform to a particular set of beliefs and behaviours? Or are we captive to the Christ of the Gospels, and thereby living a liberated life of acceptance no matter what we are like? Do we experience ‘acceptance before repentance’ or ‘repentance before acceptance’?