Let’s face it, there are all types of gatherings out there. And if you have been a part of a church family for any amount of time you have likely been invited to few. Chances are also pretty high that you have not only attended a few of them, but you may have even hosted a gathering or two of your own.
Gatherings are a set aside place and time where we are able to connect with one another. They are the framework that fosters fellowship. But if you have had the opportunity to attend more than one or two in your life, you have likely begun to notice that not all gatherings are the same.
And I am not just talking about the reason or purpose behind the gathering. It is to be expected that a social fun and games night would be different from a Bible study or a prayer meeting. And while the purpose of the gathering will certainly have a degree of baring on the atmosphere and expectations of the attendees, there is something even more important than all the planning, the decorations and food and drinks being served.
The subtle nuance that really distinguishes a good gathering from a great one is intentionality. And this not something that is easily taught. But the truth is even the most sparce, humble gathering with intentionality will easily eclipse the most elaborate, decadent uncalculated assembly.
Why is that? Because intentionality is a spiritual force of purpose. It is the underlying wind of focus and vision that meets you at the door and carries you through to the end. Intentionality is more than having a theme or a goal. Intentionality is, for lack of a better term, a supernatural connector. It knows how to silently communicate the heart and spirit of host and facilitator to everyone else in the room. It is in many ways the powerful unspoken thoughtfulness that speaks the language of the heart.
We see this displayed for us in Ephesians 2: 10 where the Apostle Paul declares, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Many of you have likely heard that the Greek word for “workmanship” in this verse is poiema, where we get our English word “poem”.
There is an intentionality in God’s creation of us. We are a work of art, a poem. Something that required a great deal of forethought and skill to pull off. And then to hear that God also prepared good works for us to walk in beforehand means that He was thinking very intentionally about each and everyone of us. And He put things in motion so that we would not have to think about them or create them for ourselves. This is the heart of being intentional.
So, when we apply this same degree of thoughtfulness and intentionality to our gatherings, we actually tap into an element of the divine. We do things the way God would. We consider each person that will be attending and participating in the gathering. We pray very specifically for them and more importantly we listen to for the heart of God and what He wants to do and say for and to those who gather.
This in turn creates an unspoken expectation for God to show up and speak to each heart. And as hosts and facilitators we quickly learn to lean in and drink deeply from His heart for each and every gathering. This is often done days and even weeks in advance of each actual gathering. As leaders, there is a very intentional focus and spiritual preparedness that lays the foundation for the set aside time together that happens long before anyone actually shows up at the door.
And it is from that time of prayer and listening to the heart of God by the hosts and facilitators that they are then able to plan and craft what each gathering will look like. And to some degree, each gathering will likely have a slightly different feel or focus. Maybe not so much in the structure and rhythms that are followed, but certainly in the promptings and directions from the heart of God.
The other thing that is important to for us all to realize is that intentionality is not a one-way street. Certainly, the hosts and facilitators need to lead the way in their spiritual preparation, but the Bible is very clear about the expectations of all those who gather together.
1 Corinthians 14:26 tells us that “when you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification.” You may or may not have caught this when you read it through the first time, but the Scripture here does not say, sometimes or occasionally. It says “when”, implying every time you assemble or gather these things are to be done.
Which means, there is absolutely an expectation from the heart of God on each person that comes to a gathering for them to have and bring something to share (and we are not just talking about a desert or side dish). In John 7:38, Jesus tells us that “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
As believers in Jesus, inhabited by his Holy Spirit we each have an ever-flowing stream of living water coming up from within us. This stream is the outflow of our relationship with Him and it may take on a variety of different shapes and forms. It may express itself as a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. But regardless of the shape or form of the outflow, it’s end result is that it is going to be edifying to all who gather together because it comes directly from the headwaters of Jesus.
It does not have to polished or perfected, it just has to be real. It may be a testimony of something that happened to you earlier in the week. It may be something you heard or read that broke up some fallow ground in your heart. It may be an unrhythmic, unrehearsed song that washed over you as you spent time seeking the Lord. The packaging really does not matter. What matters is the heart and the truth of Jesus that is expressed to all who are there.
So, when I say that we would be wise to make room for this and set the expectation that everyone has something to bring and to share EVERYTIME we gather, it is not just a causal suggestion of a way to add a little spice to our meetings. This truly is the heart and soul of authentic fellowship. It is letting Jesus speak through every person and every heart. And sadly, it is also the one thing that is often sorely missing from our cherished church assemblies.
When we fail to give every member time and space to share their gift, the whole body of Christ suffers. Not only is each individual person’s river of living water not valued, but the body is not being fed and strengthened by all the differing varieties and expressions of Christ in us the hope of glory.
Imagine if you were only able to eat one type of food all the time, every time. No matter how you dress it up or repackage it, it is still same food. And honestly, it can only be flavored and cooked so many ways. Eventually, your body is going to crave something else. It is going to need something else. Which is one of the reasons we see so many people hopping from one church or one ministry to another.
To our own detriment, the vast majority of Christian gatherings have chosen to limit themselves to having one or at most two streams of living water feed them. One or two primary voices that instruct and share. And somehow, we have allowed this to be labeled as healthy. I would really like to challenge you to question that narrative.
We are fond of saying that no one person or gift is more valuable than another, yet if we take an objective look at who is actually getting the lion’s share of the time, we might discover that there is a very lopsided paradigm at play.
And the real travesty in all of this is that some of the body’s most potent, powerful gifts are being left undeveloped and ignored simply because we did not give them time and space to be heard or shared. There is a reason the Apostle Paul said that every time we gather each gift needs to let their stream of living water to flow out and refresh all the other gifts.
Admittedly, this requires intentionality. It requires thoughtfulness. And it often requires us to do things differently and in ways that may have never been done before. And it is not easy. We have spent years neglecting and devaluing one another (not intentionally of course), but to a heart that has been repeatedly told that “you are not important” and “you don’t have anything of value to offer”, this will not be something that comes easy.
It will take some coaxing and it will take some grace and healing. But in the end, it will do more to empower and strengthen the body than a thousand sermons or Sunday school lessons. This is about becoming who God created us to be, not just as individual members of His body, but as a corporate reflection of His triune unity.
So, as you rethink and reimagine what your gatherings should look like – be intentional. The next great awakening may be only one gathering away.