A Call to Assemble

I believe in this present time there is a call for many in the Body (leadership included) to prioritize stronger member-to-member connections.  Member-to-member connections are called joints.  Just like in the human body, it is where parts come together for specific purposes.

Like a bone, you and I can become dislocated within Christ’s Body. This means we can slip out of our designated position with other parts, although we are still connected to the Body by skin and ligament.  Just like in the natural, this causes pain, reduced life, stunted growth, and partial to complete loss of function of the dislocated member.

The Bible tells us Christ’s Body on earth, metaphorically speaking, is held together by many joints:

From whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, – Ephesians 4:6

Like a hardline football hit, the enemy’s objective is to strike strategic blows to the Body to dislocate its members from their places of connection and position.  Such strikes from the enemy can be subtle or dramatic.

Returning to places of connection is not completely resolved by simply going to church (whether physically or virtually).  Although that helps, it is remedied when each part begins to prioritize real connections with the other parts.

Gatherings versus Assemblies

To reemphasize, a member (a believer) can attend church and still be dislocated.  This is because many Sunday morning church services serve as gatherings rather than connected assemblies.  While both are essential, the latter fulfills the Lord’s desire for member-to-member joint connections.  This is what He seems to be addressing in the present. Here’s the difference between a gathering versus an assembly:

A gathering is simply a collection of saints together in one place.  As the word implies, an assembly is when the saints are assembled to each other in a giving and receiving dynamic.  Gatherings are often like loose Legos inside a bag.  An assembly is when all the pieces are put together in their positions in real-time by the Holy Spirit.  Like the two sides of a coin, both large gatherings and smaller assemblies (e.g. groups) are places to express God’s purposes.

Larger gatherings are great gateways.  They are likened to wide nets placed around the land that the Lord uses to help individuals enter into the Kingdom.  From there, they can also provide the structures needed to funnel individuals into smaller groups where growth and deeper connections can occur. This is the pattern we see in Acts:

First, the gathering – 3,000 people added to the church:

…So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. Acts 2:40

Next, the assemblies – The gathering disseminated into smaller settings (private homes):

They continuing with one mind…..in various private homes, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,.- Act 2:40, 42, 44

Assemblies restore a balance of honor

Without assemblies/groups, larger gatherings can easily (and unintentionally) lead to an extreme imbalance of honor.  This creates a disproportionate value system.  This is when the attention, concern, and care is placed to an extreme degree on leadership (e.g. pastors) at the expense of its members.  An imbalance of honor will always lead to division and dislocated joints.  Eventually, the local body will find itself crumbling down because “a house divided against itself cannot stand”. 

The Lord, on the other hand, desires balanced honor:

And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, – 1Co 12:23-24

Assemblies/groups, therefore, help prevent divisions that may occur in gatherings. They create a setting where each part has an opportunity to receive equal care and concern:

..so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. – 1Co 12:25

Assemblies are where dislocated joints get back in position.  Although of course, larger gatherings often present opportunities for some parts to function (singing, teaching, serving, etc.).

Roles and Responsibilities

Different people play different roles when it comes to maintaining connections and preventing dislocations within the Body.  There are four primarily:

1. The role of local church leadership (e.g., the shepherds) is to fulfill biblical mandates by helping their members connect to each other and assemble regularly so the unique parts can function. Their role is to provide the processes and structures needed to make connection simple. They select and equip others for oversight and ensure they are cared for.

2. Our role as individual members is to seek connection and assembly. As it’s written:

Do not forsake the assembling together of ourselves as is the custom with some, – Hebrews 10:25

In today’s world, meetings can be physical or virtual.  The Holy Spirit not only admonishes us to assemble but to do so more frequently now compared to the early church because the Day of the Lord is closer to us than it was to them (by 2,000+ years):

…, and so much more as you see the Day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:25

Assemblies are also safeguards. They help prevent believers from shipwrecking their faith (Hebrews 10:26).

3. The Holy Spirit’s role is to place the members in the Body as He wants.  He decides where they should go and what functions they have (more on that later).

4. Christ’s (as the Head) role. Where there are significant joints dislocated and extreme imbalances of honor, the Lord holds leadership accountable and will gracefully help realign their ways to His (reference Jesus’ messages to various church leaders in Revelation 2). If not heeded to, He may remove the light & brightness of that church in that city (Revelation 2:5). Ultimately, Jesus is building His church and nothing will prevail against it.

Let’s move on now to discuss the consequences of being dislocated and the blessings of connection.

There is suffering in dislocation

Wherever dislocation exists, three parties suffer:

1.Christ (as Head) – When members are out of joint, the Lord suffers because He is connected to them and feels their pain (being in them as well).

His question to us presently: will you help relieve My suffering by helping reconnect My members?

2.The Body – The entire Body suffers because the pain of dislocation emanates across other connections and joints. The connection and supply they need from the dislocated member doesn’t exist and creates a chain-reaction of suffering.

3.The dislocated member (the individual) – How do we as individuals know if we are out of joint?  The first sign of dislocation is pain. The pain of dislocation is isolation, loneliness, and distress. This pain can be a blessing in disguise, making our spiritual disconnection evident.  2020 has been a year of spiritual pain for many.  Rates of loneliness, depression, and suicide (even for believers) are at record rates.  If untreated, the pain worsens. Over time, we can become numb to the pain of dislocation and begin to completely ignore it.  This puts us at risk of great loss. Regarding disconnection, the Spirit of the Lord is bearing witness right now that the story of the valley of dry bones is occurring in various places within the Body today:

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” – Ezekiel 37:1-4

Here are bones scattered in a valley.   A valley is a specific place where the bones are gathered.  The main problem is that these bones are disconnected from each other.  God says the bones are His people:

“.. these bones are the people of Israel…” – Ezekiel 3:4a

What does God do?  First, as a loving Father, He validates their needs and problems:

…They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ – Ezekiel 3:4b

The problems and consequences resulting from their disconnection were three-fold.

1.     The bones were dried up – Do you feel dry spiritually?
2.     The bones were hopeless – Have you lost hope?
3.     The bones were cut off – do you feel cut off from others and the full life of God?

After acknowledging the condition, God then commanded Ezekiel to prophesy.  This means God asked him to declare with his voice His will for connection. As Ezekiel’s voice resounded, the bones resounded also:

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. – Ezekiel 3:7

This is happening now all over the world. There is a rattling noise resounding in the air.  A rejoining is occurring.  Bones are coming together – bone-to-bone!  God is doing it as you and I speak forth a renewed connection among the members in the Body of Christ. Lift your voice for your church, city, state, and country for renewed connections. God will honor it as He did for Ezekiel. Whether connections are virtual or face-to-face.

What can we expect to see from reconnected joints?

There is healing in connection

In the natural, when a dislocated bone reconnects, healing initiates and the pain stops.  Likewise, once members in the Body start reconnecting, the first thing that will occur is healing. Healing from hopelessness, dryness, & loneliness.  But, healing is just the beginning!

There is life in connection

After healing will come renewed life.  This was the next thing that God caused to happen in the valley of dry bones:

I will put my Spirit in you and you will live….” – Ezekiel 3:8

Through the connecting power of the Spirit of God, life returns. When bones in the Body come back and rejoin together, new energy and strength begin to flow throughout those connections. The valley of dry bones is teaching us today that life only exists in states of connection.

For example, when a plant is disconnected from the ground, it withers away.  When a fish is disconnected from the water, it dries up.  When a lamp gets disconnected from its outlet, it goes out.  When a Christian gets disjointed from within the Body, their spiritual life gets compromised.

Life is being joined to Jesus.  Life abundantly is being joined to Jesus and His Body.  He intentionally designed it this way so that we’ll need one another:

But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design. And if all were one member, where would be the body? But now indeed, there are many members, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.” – 1 Corinthians 12:18

A need is defined as something that is absolutely essential.  You are essential to the body, and the Body is essential to you.

So, what happens next after renewed life?

There is a function in connection

After healing and renewed life comes, then comes restored function:

… they came to life and stood up on their feet— a vast army. – Ezekiel 37:10

In the end, the bones joined together and became an army.  Each one standing in position and in their own unique functions to fulfill their common mission.  This is a picture of the Body of Christ.  Once connected, each begins to step into their unique functions.  This takes time.  A shoulder out of joint does not regain full functionality instantly.  Functional recovery is approached slowly, cautiously, and deliberately while under compassionate care.

In partnership with the Holy Spirit, He decides which functions you and I have.  He sees the big picture from beginning to end and guides the Body into the eternal purposes of the Lord.  His vision is that the Body would grow itself up in two dimensions: width & depth.  Width is its quantity (greater in number).  Depth is its quality (greater in maturity).

Like lifting a dumbbell with the hand causes the bicep to grow, The Lord partners with His leaders to help put the joints back into position to also help other members function. This is under His control.  Just like the valley of dry bones, He is the one that puts and fits His Body together, being held in place by His joints:

Under His control, all the different parts of the body fit together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. – Ephesians 4:6

Operating in our unique functions is like bodybuilding. When exercised, the individual body part, as well as the entire Body, grows together:

So when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love. – Ephesians 4:16

It is easy to lose sight of what He is asking each of us to do right now.  You have a very important part to play in the eternal plans of the Father. Your function is critical.

The Call to Action:

God wants to fix the dislocated joints within His Body – to bring healing, administer life, and maximize the function of all His members so we can all grow and be built up together.  Such connections are best created in smaller groups/assemblies which are a part of larger gatherings (local churches) with leadership oversight.

Furthermore, His desire is to work with leadership to prioritize membership connection.  It’s vital during this time that churches use their resources (time, talent, & treasure) to make member-to-member connections their primary backbone.  With COVID, leadership must establish how this can be done safely.

If you are not sure about what your individual part is, ask 3-5 members you know well.  They may tell you.  Look for a common theme of choice words. Ask the Holy Spirit: what would you have me do?  What gifts do I need to stir up? If you desire a gift you lack, ask Him. If pursued in love, He may just hand it out to you. He is very generous.

If you are a dislocated joint and experiencing the pain of disconnection, allow God’s healing grace to reconnect you again. Pray until you find your place. He will direct you.  With healing your portion and function your purpose, your connection is critical to your growth and the Body.  If you see a dislocated joint, extend your hand to help them get reconnected.