by Rev. Jay Fluck, Professor of Church History

When Christian parents gather their kids in minivans or SUVs on Sunday mornings, there is the common understanding that all are going to church. In fact, they are the church, and really what they are doing is going to worship God with others who are also the church (at least the visible church).

What does “going to church” really convey if it does not mean arriving at a place of worship, where God is to be met, exalted, and revered in a special corporate context? Worshiping well demands that we first know, assent to, and trust the object of our worship, and second, that we know ourselves as the church with all the duties and privileges of being members of the household of God.