I played a lot of volleyball growing up. When I said, “I’m going to volleyball” it meant I was going to the gym for a practice or a game, as a player, with my team.

Maybe “going to church” is like that. Instead of being players, we’re called believers or saints. Our team is called the church. And the practice or game is when we gather as a team to be equipped or live out our mission.

Players

In the NASB New Testament, “believers” occurs 14 times, and “saints” occurs 60 times“. Saints means set apart by/for God, holy or sacred; different from the world. Like how I was as a volleyball player. I lived differently than my friends, in how I spent my time and energy, what I ate, what I prioritized, what I thought about and talked about. – Another great word for us is “chosen” (ek-lektos) which occurs 23 times and means chosen out of.

Team

“Church” (ekklésia) is literally ek (out from and to) and kaléō (to call), so: “a people called out from the world and to God”. Like when I was selected for a club team or chosen to represent my province. But even our high school team, when we travelled, would borrow our dad’s suit jackets, put on ties and act like grown-ups. We were part of the team. It was special.

Practice/Game

Synagogue is from sun (together) and ago (bring). This is when the team comes together. It’s either the people people gathered together in the place, or the place where they gather. Like “how was practice?” is different from “I’ll drive you to practice”, but using the same word.

“Going to synagogue” would make much more sense than “going to church“. Who says “going to team“? Here are the 114 occurrences of church, substituting in “team”:

• I will build my team; head of the team – Mt 16:18; Eph 1:22; 3:21; 5:23,24; Col 1:18,24
• Tell/hear/write the team – Mt 18:17; Ac 11:22; 1 Co 1:2; 16:1; 2 Co 1:1; 8:24; Gal 1:2; Eph 5:32; Col 4:16; 1 Th 1:1; 2 Th 1:1; 3 Jn 1:9; Rev 1:4,11,20; 2:1,7,11,12,17,18,23,29; 3:1,7,14,22; 22:16
• The team was afraid/confused – Ac 7:38;19:32
• One of/belong to the team – Ac 7:38; 12:1; Gal 1:22; Heb 12:23; 3 Jn 1:10
• Against/despise the team – Ac 8:1,3; 1 Co 11:22; 15:9; 2 Co 12:13; Gal 1:13; Php 3:6
• The team rested/prayed – Ac 9:31; 12:5
• Meet/gather/dismiss the team – Ac 11:26; 14:27; 19:41; 1 Co 11:18; 14:23; Heb 2:12
• Positions on the team – Ac 13:1; 14:23; 20:17; 1 Co 6:4; 12:28; Jas 5:14
• Sent out/received by the team – Ac 15:3,4,22
• Strengthen/love/shepherd/serve the team – Ac 16:5; 20:28; Ro 16:1; 1 Co 14:4,5,12; 2 Co 11:28; Eph 5:25,29; 1 Ti 3:5; 3 Jn 1:6
• Greet/thank the team – Ac 18:22; Ro 16:4,5,16,23; 1 Co 16:19
• The team will solve it; the team has grace/glory – Ac 19:39; 2 Co 8:1; Eph 3:10; 5:27; 2 Th 1:4
• How teams act – 1 Co 4:17; 7:17; 10:32; 11:16; 14:19; 1 Th 2:14; 1 Ti 3:15
• The team at that location – 1 Co 16:19; Col 4:15; Phm 1:2;
• Messenger/affirmed/appointed by all the teams – 2 Co 8:18,19,23
• Take from the team – 2 Co 11:8; Php 4:15; 1 Ti 5:16
• (The one that doesn’t really work is about speaking in church – 1 Co 14:28-35)

Try substituting other words that we sometimes think of when we say “church”, like a building or a Sunday service. Most of these verses don’t work.

Finally, let’s look at the one verse in the New Testament that seems to say “go to church”:

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. – Heb 10:24-25

The word translated “meeting together” is from “synagogue”. In the language above, that means if you’re on the team, don’t forget to play the game: love and good deeds. It’s the opposite of just showing up to a church meeting and feeling like you belong. You already belong, because of what Jesus did on the cross.

(I just noticed that when I say “team” you could think of church as an organization that runs programs, and so reduce it to just the staff and volunteers who run the operation. Hmmm. But that’s for a different post.)