Jesus doesn't ask us to "Go" to church. He wants us to "Be" the Church. But there is a lot of confusion about what it means to "Be" the church. Most of us identify "Church" as the building where we meet for worship. Even though I've been critical of that definition, from time to time I slip and do the same thing. But the church is never identified by a building in the New Testament. The New Testament identifies the Church of Antioch... Corinth... Ephesus... by the Christians who gather in each of those communities. The first church building wasn't built until around 234 AD. That means the church experienced great vitality and growth before a single building was built. You could argue that the bigger and more beautiful our church buildings have become, the smaller and weaker the church's impact has been. After spending a couple of years worshipping in the tiny mud church buildings in the mountains of Northern Nigeria, I thought it would be great to worship in one of Europes great cathedrals when we traveled through Europe a few years ago. However, we were disappointed when we showed up for Sunday morning worship and found the building locked. We learned later that the cathedral functioned as a museum Monday through Saturday, but it was closed on Sundays. No matter how grand and glorious church buildings may be, they cannot compair with the strength and vitality of 2 or 3 Christians who gather in the name and focus on the mission of Jesus Christ. -- Bob