What is church?

The apartment has at last settled into some semblance of peace and quiet, with Cara working away shipping Lisa Leonard Jewelry around the globe and me, well, blogging, while enjoying a fudgetastic mug of Dreyers and keeping one eye on the Giants game--who says us guys can't multi-task?! We had a wonderful dinner this evening with Lara, Darin, Caedra, and little (sorta--9 lbs newborn!) Grant. Whatever Caedra does, of course, Bekah also must duplicate--obsession with bubbles, dancing like there's no tomorrow, glass-shattering squeals, sidewalk chalk artistry, increased "talking", thinking her name is "Gebba", etc. It has been so much fun watching those two interact, witnessing positive peer-pressure take effect.
This past weekend sure was a busy one. I watched Bekah on Saturday as Cara was able to check out the Women's Conference at Grace. Then on Sunday we had church, lunch with friends, a Youth Staff meeting (Pastor Todd is doing a superb job, by the way), and then Growth Group, our weekly small group study. The discussion this week centered primarily on something I've been thinking more and more about lately--what is the purpose of church? Specifically, how are churches to spend $? Our group brought up the power of house churches and simple church buildings. Somehow believers in third world countries find a way to worship together, building or no building, and their faith often seems more genuine than our own. On the flip side, we discussed how the beautiful cathedrals had been constructed by those desiring to evoke awe and reverence. Every detail was meant to stand as a monument to God's glory. And today churches spend big bucks for top notch sound and lighting systems to draw in the edgy crowd. Many churches, such as Grace Church SLO, offer their top-notch facilities for various community functions such as Chamber meetings and orchestra concerts. Who's right??? What sort of facilities and expenditures are okay for churches? I'm still processing.