Masters, Knights and Padawans. Can we start up a real Jedi Order without becomming as bureaucratic and corrupt as the Republic in it's worst days?

All who have power, fear to lose it. Simply the fact that Palpatine says this, doesn't discredit it. Quite on the contrary, despite the fact that a lot of what Darth Sidious utters is deceit and lies he also has a way of expressing very inconvenient truths. The Republican Jedi do crave power, as do the Sith. These Jedi have stopped being selfless decades ago, but at the latest in the moment Yoda decided not to inform the Senate of their inabillity to see through the fogs of the Darkside out of fear that would multiply their enemies. Out of self-protection truth was sacrificed.

The whole build up of the discrepancies between the council and Anakin revolved around the issues of Mastery and Knighthood. Similarly, the forces of renewal represented by Jedi such as Qui Gon Jinn were effectively halted by the dogmatic narrowness of the council hierarchy. The continuous presence of a Jedi council during many millenia has been a safeguard against the Order falling victim to pseudo religious hypes and unreflected alterations of the Jedi code. But if we would found a JEdi order here on Earth; do we need a council and a "ready-to-fly" set of Masters and Knights to go along with it?

There is no deeper truth in the Trials
We need not doubt that a Council is a good thing at times when it is populated with wise and experienced women and men. Such a Council could ofcourse deliberate on what sort of trials could be used to allow students to prove their Knighthood or Mastery skill. However, if you and I were to found a Jedi order today we would not have any wise and experienced members. Installing a hierarchy that is not based on earned respect but on authority derived from assigned functions promotes arrogance. Trials would serve to cement a division of power and then it will only be a short time before such a transfer of power incubates as fear to lose power. The whole order will set its course towards the dark side.

There is no deeper truth in trials if they are derived as representative tests from the biographies Jedi who have convincingly earned the respect and authority that we would associate with Master's or Knights. Untill then every member in the order would be a Padawan without a Master to teach, to mentor or to guide us. But that does not mean that the order would devellop in pure chaos. Because we do have the Force to guide us through meditation, action and interaction. If someone becomes a Knight or a Master in our Order; the Force will open our eyes to it.

Bright future for a real Jedi Order
Just think of how attractive such an order would be in our world! So many religious groups are dominated by grumpy old men that fail to veil their hatred of the modern world. So many religions have submitted conscience to obedience. Why would a theologian no more about God than a phycisist? Because he mastered Hebrew or classical Greek? Why would an Imam know more about Allah than an honest hardworking carpenter in the streets of Bhagdad? Because he mastered classical Arab and knows all the Sura's from the Koran from the outside? Take a peek into history and into our modern day world and see where it has brought us: they are no keepers of Peace and Justice!
But then consider a Jedi order made up of learners, Padawans. Where a Jedi temple is a place of reflection, contemplation and learning. Where maybe, in an Age from now, we will have Masters, Knights and even a council; but where untill then we are happy to live in the Force as equals. All searching for deeper knowledge of the force without loosing the World we live in out of sight. I think such an order has a bright, bright future.