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A Solemn Assembly

I’m going to take on a role that I don’t take on too often and that’s…Reporter!

Yesterday, our church had what is called a Solemn Assembly. None of us (except the Senior Pastor) had experienced this before, so the apprehension leading up to the service was understandable. My own brother and wife were confused as to what was going on and even in my own ignorance, I could only tell them, “it will be uncomfortable, confession and repentance always is, but you want to be there”. That’s all I could come up with :-)

A Solemn Assembly is a time when a church family comes together to confess and repent of sin that would hinder the growth of the family or the direction of the church. We wanted to cover four major areas in our assembly that our church has dealt with or is currently dealing with at this time.

1. Pride/Arrogance-When we are a prideful people God resists His blessing on us, but when we are a humble people God will show His grace (James 4:8) Pride sows seeds of idolatry by shifting your mind to self rather than to Jesus. Humility defeats pride every time!
2. Family Unfaithfulness-When our families are not led properly and the men do not stand in their proper role as the spiritual leaders, our church will show the pain that is felt. We need godly families, whether there is a man in the home that will lead or not, godly families will result in a godly church. (Ephesians 5:22-33; 6:1-4)
3. Gossip/Back-Biting-When we engage in the latest “dish” on someone else, we destroy unity and trust in the family. Churches must decide whether they want to be a social club or the transformed people of God!
4. Stiff-necked People-Too many folks have a me first attitude about church. This causes them not to follow their leaders that God has placed before them. We see this through the OT where the people Israel unfaithful as the people God called them to be. We need to rid our stubborn attitudes and “suck it up” mindset by being a faithful and obedient people.

I started off the service with my confession of pride and arrogance during 2008, when I thought that my ways were better than the pastor’s ways. Since he was patient with me, we were able to reconcile and we made this public during the Solemn Assembly. After this, the service took off with people in brokenness before God. People young and old would come and confess a sin that hindered the direction of the church and others would affirm their confession and pray over them. This was the pattern for 3.5 hours! The time flew by because the Spirit of the Lord was present and Jesus was being glorified.

I love my church because it is a part of God’s Church. The New Israel that follows the Faithful Israel. Our future faithfulness is now dependent upon how much we rely on the head of the Church, Jesus Christ, not on our own efforts (Eph 2).

Does your church need to have a Solemn Assembly? If you are a church leader or you know one that needs to ask this question, pray, listen and obey. Confessing and repenting is uncomfortable, people will ask “what is going on” up until it starts, but healing will begin and people will fall more in love with Jesus if He is in the center of your Solemn Assembly.

God is good and He is at work at OVBC!! If you have any other questions about the Solemn Assembly, please do not hesitate to ask.

-AOD