Guidelines For Planning A Weekend Solemn Assembly

This example of planning and holding of a weekend solemn assembly comes from Southern Baptists in Texas. The movement in Texas grew out of several retreats for leaders of Texas Baptist men's groups at which the Holy Spirit caused a spirit of revival to break out, leading to brokenness, repentance, confession, and prayer.

Motivation It is unnecessary that one point to conditions in this great nation, America, to begin to lay out the motivation behind the hunger and thirst in God's people to see a revival and renewal in the churches and among God's people. God's judgment is pending because of rampant evil, and because the people of God are far from God. Whether this will be a final judgment or a remedial kind of judgment upon those who call themselves Baptists hangs in the balance. However, it need not be either, if the letter and the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14 can be carried to the churches, and if the people will act upon that verse along with other Scriptures. The motivation is the absolute necessity for God's people to turn from their sins to become truly God's people. The hands of the clock of God's judgment stand at five minutes until midnight, and the clock keeps ticking away. Will we as Christians make a serious effort to do God's bidding and return to God, or will we go on as if God's eyes could not see and God's ears could not hear—as if the stench of our filthiness did not reach God's sensitive holy nostrils? This is the burden and the purpose for "A Journey into Prayer and Solemn Assembly." We, as the people of God, need to seek God's face and to ask permission to become involved in what God is trying to do, not in the sense of "God, let me do something for you," but in the sense of "God, let me be involved in what you are doing." Description of the Weekend This "Journey into Prayer and Solemn Assembly" is designed as a weekend effort. It could be repeated annually or about every eighteen months, as deemed necessary. The weekend is to be characterized by solemnity. The effect desired is the "beauty of holiness." This statement should not to be misconstrued to mean that a self-righteousness is sought. Instead, this weekend is an effort to follow the instructions of 2 Chronicles 7:14, in order to let God come to humble, confession-seeking people with all the beauty of God's presence. It is an effort to experience the shekannah glory. It is not an effort to seek some kind of spiritual high for the sake of the high. It is not an effort to twist God's arm to get God to turn from what God purposes. It simply is an effort to do what the Word tells God's people to do in order that God will visit the people of God once again, empowering and sending out representatives to a lost, waiting world. There is no outside leadership team for the church on this weekend. The only visitors to the church would be a prayer leader and the prayer leader's spouse and, in most cases, a music leader and the music leader's spouse. They are a praying team, working and praying with the pastor and the pastor's spouse. Provision for these visitors should be made to minimize the care church members need to extend toward them. The pastor of the church will assume a major role in this weekend as the pastor follows and works beside the prayer leader. Deacons will be involved in their true function as servants, and church members themselves will carry along the activities of the weekend through clearly prepared instructions and group activities. Preparation for the weekend should begin at least one month before the actual weekend. Three months of preparation would be better. A detailed description of the events and activities of this weekend follows. Twelve weeks before the anticipated weekend, institute the following: Start a ten-week study about prayer. Through preaching and/or teaching, begin to emphasize the need for humility, confession of sin, and prayer. Teach about the solemn assembly through sermons, etc. Begin to publicize the weekend journey and, as led by the Holy Spirit, indicate that the weekend will include a solemn assembly on Saturday afternoon and a twenty-four hour liquid fast. Two weeks before the weekend journey, begin prayer groups: Have each groups talk among themselves. Have the groups study material about the solemn assembly. Have the groups study material on fasting. Have the groups study other related topics. Pray for the weekend set for the church to come together in solemn assembly. One week before the weekend journey, leaders should: Announce again the weekend and emphasize that a solemn assembly on Saturday afternoon will be a vital part of the weekend experience. Urge the entire church to attend the entire weekend. Emphasize the conviction and purpose behind the weekend. Stress that there will be no team to care for and only one meal to prepare. Remind the people that the fast begins on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and continues through Saturday until 6:00 p.m. The fast is to be a liquid fast. Since milk is considered a solid, it should not be used as a liquid during the weekend fast. Remind church members that all food preparation should be done on Thursday or during the day on Friday and put in the refrigerator or freezer. No food preparation should take place on Friday after 6:00 p.m. No work is to be done during the time between Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday at 6:00 p.m. If labor is necessary to care for small children and people who are ill, it should be kept to a minimum and, if possible, arranged to be carried out by someone not involved in the meetings. This weekend is to be set aside as a sacrifice unto God and should be given over to meditation, Bible reading, and prayer. Explain that the weekend begins on Friday at 6:00 p.m. with the fast and that the people will assemble at the church at 7:00 p.m. for the first meeting. Walk the people through Saturday: the continuing of the fast and the Saturday morning teaching session at 9:00 a.m., followed by a reflection session in homes at 10:30 a.m. (No food should be served, only liquids.) Stress that the time between 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday should be a continuation of the fast, Bible reading, prayer, and meditation. All the people should plan to be present for the solemn assembly, which begins sharply at 2:00 p.m. Explain to the people that the fast will be broken by the communal meal, which will be the agape feast, followed by the Lord's Supper. The meal will consist of simple foods which have been prepared before 6:00 p.m. on Friday and have been refrigerated or frozen. The teaching time will occur near the end of the communal meal, while the people are still around the tables, and will include teaching through interpreting and through congregational sharing. The communal meal should be a time of rejoicing with one another, and the teaching time should be a time of joy and praise. Adults and youth should be informed that they are to assemble in the auditorium on Sunday at the normal Sunday school hour for a recapitulation and teaching time. Provision must be made for children too young to be in the teaching time at the Sunday school hour. I suggest that workers be borrowed from sister churches, so that all church members may participate in the teaching time. There will be a break between the Sunday school hour teaching time and the preaching hour. Sunday morning preaching hour will be given to a brief teaching period, followed by a time of public commitment. The Sunday evening service will begin at the time that discipleship training usually is scheduled. The pastor will lead the people in worship with sermon, testimonies, and commitment. The Journey into Prayer and Solemn Assembly Friday: Prayer leader and music leader arrive at the church prior to 7:00 p.m. (There is no team for this weekend.) People assemble in church auditorium for teaching at 7:00 p.m. Teaching session will include: Introduction to the weekend Definition of prayer (both talking and listening) Conditions for effective prayer Hindrances to effective prayer 8:00 p.m.: People will move to small groups for a related activity. Small groups will be asked to select a leader after prayer, if the leader has not been appointed previously. Leader will take the group through the activity/activities (see "Activity Sheet for Friday Night" below). People will return to auditorium for reports and prayer. Saturday: People assemble in church auditorium for teaching at 9:00 a.m. Teaching session will be on "Following Jesus in prayer." 10:00 a.m.: People will move to homes for reflection session. 10:30 a.m.: At the reflection session in homes (no food, only liquid refreshment will be served), leader will take the group through the activity/activities (see "Activity Sheet for Saturday Morning" below). 11:30 a.m.: People will be encouraged to go home for rest/meditation/prayer. 2:00 p.m.: People will return to the church to participate in the solemn assembly (see "Solemn Assembly Activity Sheet for Saturday Afternoon" below). 6:00 p.m.: People will move to the dining area. People break fast and rejoice in their liberation from sin as they participate in a structured communal meal, or agape feast, followed by the Lord's Supper. (See instructions for the communal meal under "Solemn Assembly Activity Sheet for Saturday Afternoon" under the subheading below.) Activity Sheet for Friday Night The person who was selected by the church to be a Friday night group leader should take the activity sheets to the group meeting place. When the small group has assembled, the leader should hand the sheets to each person present. Leader: Before our Lord chose the twelve who were to be closer to him on earth than anyone else, he prayed all night and then selected the twelve. We shall engage in prayer to ask God to teach us tonight. The leader prays or calls upon someone else to pray. Group activity Leader: (Read or call upon someone else to read the following account.) An engineer had retired from a rather large company. Later, the company called him to come back to serve as a consultant to help them find out why a key piece of equipment would not work properly. He returned to the company and spent about fifteen minutes looking at the equipment; then, after drawing a sketch of the equipment, he drew an "X" at one spot and wrote at the bottom of the sketch, "Fix this." He sent the company a bill for $10,000.00 for the service rendered. The company official who received the bill was a bit put out and returned the bill with a note, "Please itemize." The engineer returned the bill itemized in this way: "For inspecting the equipment and drawing an 'X,' $1.00. For knowing where to place the 'X,' $9,999.00." (Note: This story by Don Gibson, Director of Renewal Ministry, Texas Baptist Men.) Leader: Like the engineer, God knows where to place the "X" when equipment needs to be fixed. Has God, or is God, drawing some "X's" in your life? Read one item at a time. Allow time for each person to complete each item as it is read before going on to the next item. (1) Turn your sheet over and draw a circle to represent your life. (2) Place a cross at the center if you are born again and know it. (3) Think about your life. Place "X's" in the circle to show where God has indicated that some fixing was or is needed. (4) Think about what each of those "X's" mean. (Allow time.) (5) Draw a circle around the "X" representing the last time that God touched a spot in your life. (Allow time.) (6) Invite group sharing about their circles and the "X's" in their lives. (Allow time.) (7) Close with prayer. Activity Sheet for Saturday Morning Host: (1) Assemble the group, then ask someone to read 2 Chronicles 7:14. (2) Read the following: "When God's people become cold, often hard, and distance themselves from God, they are courting disaster. Isaiah 59:2; Psalm 66:18; and 1 Peter 3:12 all say that sin separates us from God." (3) Call upon someone to read each of the above-stated verses. (4) Say, "When we are separated from God by our sins, the enemy Satan can inflict all manner of destructive things upon us. But, thank God, he has made a way of escape for us." (5) Call upon someone to read (a) 1 John 1:7–9, and (b) Hebrews 10:17. (6) Say, "God no longer requires the blood of bulls and goats in order to forgive us our sins. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, we read what God tells us we are to do." (7) Say, "We will spend a few moments in prayer before we begin the selected activity. Will you pray for this time together?" (Pause.) "Will you pray for the effects of and the results of this weekend?" (Pause.) "Will you invite the Holy Spirit to be present and to lead us in our activity?" (Pause.) "Father, we pray these things in the name of Jesus. Amen." Activity Host: Read, then pause after each question. Count slowly to yourself, saying "?one and two, and three, and four … until you have reached sixty." Or, pause for one minute if you choose to use a watch. Move on to the next question. (1) If you only had one prayer that you could pray, what would it be? (2) If you only had two prayers you could pray, what is the second one? (3) If you only had three prayers you could pray, what is the third one? Consider the things you would pray about. Was any of the three for things? For others? Of praise or thanksgiving? For our church? For our pastor? (4) As you have listened to the Holy Spirit, what has the Spirit said to you about your prayers and your prayer life? Pause for responses. (5) What do you consider to be the greatest need of our church that should be lifted to the Father in prayer? (6) We are going to dismiss with prayer; but, before we do, is there anyone who needs to share something with this group? Host: Remind everyone to continue in fasting/meditation/study/ prayer. Remind everyone to be in the auditorium by 2:00 p.m. sharp. Call on someone to voice a dismissal prayer. Alternate Activity for Saturday Morning Host: Lead the group or enlist another member of the group to lead. Leader: (Read the following:)

There was an old man, a very wise old man, who lived in a village. A group of the local young people who assembled were led by a somewhat rebellious youth. He said, "Let's prove that the old man is not so wise by giving him a question which he cannot answer." He caught a small bird, and the group went to the old man. The leader held the bird cupped in his hand so that no part could be seen. He said, "Old man, what do I have in my hand?" The old man answered, "My son, you have a small bird." Somewhat startled by the old man's answer, he then asked another question, "Is it alive or dead?" If the old man should answer, "It is dead," he intended to open his hand to let the bird fly away. If the old man should say, "It is alive," he intended to crush the life out of the bird to show a dead bird. The old man paused for a moment; then, looking straight into the eyes of the lad, he answered, "My son, you have to decide. The bird is in your hands."

Lead in prayer or call upon someone else to pray. The prayer should be a prayer that God, through the Holy Spirit, will teach through the reading of this simple story and this time of sharing together.

Ask the following questions. Suggest that anyone may give a verbal response as the Holy Spirit leads. Assure the group that no one will be called upon for a response. Pause after reading each question. (Count slowly, silently saying "one and two and three and four" etc. until sixty is reached. Then move on to the next question. If a watch is used, allow one minute for response before moving on to the next question.) After a person comments, always ask, "Is there another response?" or something similar.

Questions (Pause at least one minute between questions.) (1) Did the Holy Spirit say anything to you during the reading of this simple story? (2) Who might the old man represent? (3) What has God placed in your hands? (4) Are you allowing that thing to live and produce? (5) Is there anything in your hands that you are about to crush? (6) How do you feel about having to decide what you will do with what God has placed in your hands? Leader: Remind the group to continue in fasting/Bible study/prayer and to return at 2:00 p.m. to the church auditorium. Close with prayer. Solemn Assembly for Saturday Afternoon Pastor: I now declare this to be a God-ordained solemn assembly. Let there be no frivolity. Instead, let there be a solemnity, not that God desires to see long faces; but rather, the Lord does delight in the humility of his people. Too long have we taken for granted the sovereignty of God. Too long have we come together with a lack of reverence and a respect for the God of the universe, the Creator of all things, the Sustainer of life, and the Redemptor of mankind. Oh, God of our salvation, look down upon us, honor and bless that which we do in your presence this day. LET THE SOLEMN ASSEMBLY BEGIN! Music leader sings or leads appropriate hymn. Pastor: Please stand in honor of God's Word. Listen as the Word of God is read in your hearing and respond after each reading. Our prayer leader will lead you in each response. At this point the pastor will begin reading select verses of Scripture. Then the prayer leader will lead the people in response after the reading of each Scripture. Pastor: Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord has spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. Response: We have indeed been a rebellious people. Pastor: The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. People: We are the sheep of his pastures. Pastor: Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupt: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone backwards. People: Oh, Lord, we are filled with iniquity and we are backslidden from thee. Pastor: Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. People: We have despised thy correction, our Father and our God. Pastor: From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. People: Father in heaven, we suffer the wounds of our sins. Pastor: Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. People: Strangers are in possession of our inheritance. Music leader motions or asks the people to be seated. He or she then reads:

And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

Music leader then sings or leads appropriate hymn.

The pastor motions or asks the people to rise, then reads: To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. People: He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God? Pastor: When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my court? People: We have offered polluted bread upon the altar of God, even our lives. Pastor: Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot abide, away with it; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. People: Who can stand in the hill of the Lord? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart. Pastor: And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: Your hands are full of blood. People: For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. Pastor: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. People: Oh, Lord, we would be cleansed. Pastor: Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment; relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. People: We are coming Lord, coming now to thee. The pastor motions for the people to be seated. Music leader sings "Though Your Sins Be As Scarlet." Pastor: We have come to a time in this solemn assembly for the humbling of ourselves, the confession of our individual sins, and the seeking of God's face. Let us read again that familiar passage found in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Let us read together:

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Pastor: Let us pray. (Pastor then leads in prayer.)

This is a very solemn time of seeking God. Please remain still and quiet. Let there be no talking. If there should be a need for physical relief, move very quietly and see that no more than two are three are moving at the same time. Take care of the physical need and then return quietly to your place. Everyone, now with bowed heads, begin to seek the Lord. Sheets of paper have been prepared and are here at the front, along with pencils. When you are ready, slip quietly from your seat, come to the altar to pray. List by name those sins that you wish to confess, pray for forgiveness, and deposit the slip in the basket at the altar. Later in the service, these will form a part of our solemn assembly as we burn them together, signifying God's forgiveness and liberation. Remember this is a list of your individual sins and is between you and God. No one else will read your list of personal sins. Now, as you bow before God, we will let the Holy Spirit tell us when to move on to the next part of the service.

Music leader sings softly "Grace That Was Greater Than All Our Sins." After a sufficient length of time, the pastor should move the service to the next phase, which will be a confession of corporate sin. Pastor: In the days of Joel, when a solemn assembly was called, every class of people was called to be present to participate: the congregation, the elders, children, nursing infants, the bridegroom, the bride, priest, and ministers. The result of this participation in the confession of the corporate sins of God's people was that God extended his healing hand of mercy and blessing so that the people were made to rejoice. Listen carefully as I read from select passages (Joel 1:13–14; Joel 2:12–18; and Joel 2:25). Our deacons will now rehearse in our ears and before God those corporate sins which our church has committed. God convicted us of these corporate sins in our prayer groups which we had prior to this solemn assembly. Several deacons now will come and take part in the reading of the list. The pastor should review the lists from which the deacons read to make sure there is no duplication of corporate sins. Each deacon should read a list then drop it into the basket for burning before God. When all the corporate sins have been read, the pastor will begin again. Pastor: Now therefore if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. People: All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. The pastor should lead in an appropriate prayer and afterward instruct the people concerning the burning of the basket of confessed sins as well as the communal meal and the observance of the Lord's Supper. If the burning takes place in the sanctuary, make provision for the safety of people and building. Consider the amount of smoke which will be generated, and take precautions not to trigger smoke detectors which might summon the fire department. City codes should be considered and any special permissions secured. The assembly could adjourn to a nearby parking area for the burning. After the burning of the sins, the people are to go directly to the dining area in a reverent manner for the communal meal and the Lord's Supper. Burning the Sin Offering Whether burning the sin offering is conducted in the sanctuary, on the parking lot, or in some other designated area, it should be a very serious meaningful activity. Leader: We have assembled ourselves in this place to continue the solemn assembly. Those individual sins which each of us confessed as we wrote them on slips of paper and placed them on the altar are in this container. Also, those corporate sins which you as a church identified and confessed are in this container. We remember that the holy Word of God teaches us that at the moment we confess our sins and claim the cleansing blood of Jesus, those sins are forgiven, gone, remembered no more by our heavenly Father. According to God's Word, we need do no more. But we are at this time, in this place, going to burn these lists of our individual and corporate sins in a symbolic reminder that God destroyed them through the blood of Jesus. As the flames from these pages lead upward and as the smoke curls toward the heavens, let us remember the confessed sins that they represent. Prayer Leader: Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Pastor: Let us remember that the blood of bulls and goats, rams and heifers, pigeons and turtle doves is not required to cleanse us from our sins. Prayer Leader: As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Pastor: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Prayer Leader: Would all of you respond after me: Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Pastor: (While lighting the papers) If the Son has made you free, you are free indeed. (People should very reverently watch as the paper burns.) The pastor should lead in a prayer of thanksgiving and praise for the forgiveness of the sins of the people. The pastor then asks the people to go reverently to the dining area for the communal meal and Lord's Supper, after asking God to bless the food. The Communal Meal and the Lord's Supper Before the people enter the dining area, food has been grouped according to meats, vegetables, salads, desserts, breads, and drinks. Deacons already have been appointed to serve the people. As much as possible, disposable materials should be used. As soon as the people have had sufficient time to eat, deacons clear the tables of the disposable goods and cover the remaining food with clean tablecloths. As soon as the tables are cleared, the Lord's Supper begins. Music leader sings "We Will Break Bread Together." At this point, the pastor takes charge, and the deacons assist. As the deacons bring in whole loaves of bread, the pastor comments that tonight members shall partake of the Lord's Supper as closely as possible to the way it was done in the Upper Room, except that Jesus broke the break himself and served it. However, he might have torn free a piece of bread before passing it on, just as will be done tonight. The pastor reads 1 Corinthians 11:23–24 and blesses the bread. Deacons pass the loaves of bread down the tables, letting each loaf go as far as it will before starting another loaf. The congregation at the tables will tear off a piece of bread, large enough for several bits, and will eat it, remembering the sacrifice of our Lord. Music leader sings a Communion hymn or song. The pastor reads 1 Corinthians 11:25–26 and blesses the cup. The deacons pass the grape juice. After the elements have been distributed, the music leader sings again. Finally the prayer leader concludes with a teaching session.