I've noticed a trend in the American church lately towards messages focused on "being the church" (rather than simply going).  In general, I think that's a good and important message to convey to our congregations: the church is not a brick and mortar building, but rather a body of believers gathered for worship, service, and fellowship.  Having said that, I have a complaint with these types of campaigns...

We did a series like this at CenterPoint a while back that was focused on a culmination event called "Don't Go To Church Sunday".  Instead of worshiping at our facility in the morning, we gathered for a word of prayer, and then sent the congregation out to several service projects.  We actually did have a worship service that evening, although I've known of several other churches who have used the same materials and have not.  Recently I've noticed quite a few other churches having similar events - all focused on going out in service rather than coming in for worship.  Again, I think that's great!  As believers, we are called to be salt and light to the world, serving and loving the people around us.  There really isn't any higher calling for a Christian, in my opinion.  But there's a problem with the "Don't Go To Church" event: it implies (to me at least) that "being the church" requires special planning and dedicated events.  How far from the truth! 

That fact is that the church never is and never has been a building, but instead has always been a community of believers.  As soon as we focus on the physical, the material, our ministry becomes less effective.  Instead of focusing on a service day as an example of "being the church", we ought to be building up a culture of service, a continuous focus on reaching out to those outside our walls in love.  The building is a meeting place, nothing more... it has never been the church.  In this sense, it's really impossible to "go to the church", because the church is anywhere that believers gather for worship and service.

Instead of having a "be the church" Sunday, why don't we focus on moving the church outside of the building, to the people and places that need to feel the love of Christ the most.