I was in the Old Testament, on the couch, and almost in a coma. Or, pretend we’re playing Clue: It was Mrs. Guerra, in the library, with the book of Leviticus. Out cold.

I had read this paragraph four times and still had no idea what it was about. One of those big, vague sounding words was repeated throughout it, and my eyes just glazed right over.

It was this one: Convocation.

So I finally looked it up, and the first entry was one of those super helpful ones that said “the act of convoking.”

Huh. Thanks a lot. If I knew what convoking was, I wouldn’t need you, Google.

Scrolling a little further, I found something better: “An assembly of persons called together for a meeting.” That made more sense. And for bonus points, it said it’s from the Latin word “convocare” which means to call or come together.

Like so:

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.

– Leviticus 23:1-2, ESV

I ran this all by Vin, who was next to me on the couch reading about the Free Burma Rangers in Mosul. He, too, was doing research.

“So, it’s an Entmoot,” he summarized.

Exactly. They could’ve just said that in the first place. (Take note, Google.)

Formally, a convocation is a special thing – a ceremony, or some event of special recognition. In my church (and maybe yours) we don’t hear this word hardly ever. But informally, in practice, we do it every week. Sometimes several times a week.

We come together.

Unless, suddenly, we’re told not to.

And at first, okay, that seemed like a good idea – let’s step back and see what this pandemic is really about, while the Powers That Be get things figured out.

But we’re past that. This is months later, when the Powers That Be have manipulated data and shown that this is no longer about a pandemic – pandemics, of course, not generally having a 99.99 survival rate and being less of a threat than the seasonal flu.

No, this is not about a pandemic. This is about a test. Some places are passing it, and others are failing.

I said this before on social media, but for the record I’ll put it here on my own site.

With my mom voice, and all my love:

The Church needs to stop letting the government and media lead the culture in fear, and step up to take its place to lead the culture in victory.

We don’t follow the culture, we follow Jesus. He’s the one calling the shots.

We lead the culture, not the other way around. If we do not take responsibility for our calling, others will be (and have been) happy to step in and take it for us.

History belongs to those who pray. Victory belongs to the bold who obey.

We do not take our cues from the culture — we are meant to take a stand. We are the light on a hill. We need to act like it.

I’ve heard Christians condemn other Christians for calling this “persecution” – because if you compare this to what they call “real” persecution experienced all over the world, like what the Free Burma Rangers see, it doesn’t even come close.

And, okay. That’s true.

But what is also true is that in many places, this is how that started.

What do you think comes after prohibitive restrictions on gatherings, worship, and other church activity? If we don’t know history, we are condemned to repeat it.

Pretty early on, a church in California was threatened with jail time for holding services. Read it here. These threats have nothing to do with health, they are completely about intimidation – and they are absolutely illegal and unconstitutional.

And if that reminds you of someone else who likes to use powerless intimidation to see what he can get away with, that’s no coincidence.

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

– Revelation 12:7-9

[Jesus] disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

– Colossians 2:15

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

– 1 Peter 5:8-9

The churches who are leading will prioritize their mission over government mandates. We do not ask permission to meet. A quick read through the US Constitution – and it’s less than 20 pages, so there’s no excuse to not know it – will show you that we have every right to come together.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

– The First Amendment in the US Constitution

The Church leads by meeting. Not by going with the flow, waiting for the next mandate, and then creating alternative ways to congregate without rocking the boat. The Church leads by following Jesus, not by following the government.

 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

– John 12:9-11

That’s the kind of an impact we should have. Our life and vitality should be a threat to those who want to suppress the Kingdom, and an attraction to those who want to be a part of it. That’s how we lead a culture toward healing and redemption.

But others are still waiting for permission, instead of following their commission.

Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

– John 12:42-43

And this is the real test: We can lead by following Jesus and coming together, or we can pretend to lead by following dictates and waiting for the next shoe to drop.

We can lead by doing our research and standing firm, or we can keep thinking Oh, this isn’t real persecution, while forgetting that the difference between this and what the Free Burma Rangers are seeing is only a matter of a few more steps.

Don’t believe me? Look at Portland. Look at other big cities. Look at Kenosha, Wisconsin.

This isn’t about a pandemic, but most of you already know that. This is about a culture at war – greatly because it’s also about a Church who has, in many places, capitulated.

But this is still the time for holy convocation. For an Entmoot. For gathering, and connecting, and praying, and teaching. For learning and growing and sharing.

And when the Church does that, it impacts the government, and the nation, and culture at large. And that is how it should go – not the other way around.