Ekklesia without its Pastor

I am resigned to the fact that when the church premises reopen for ekklesia or the gathering of the saints, the place or gathering will be without its pastor. I understand that the congregation may take some time to appreciate the gravity of some of these requirements to enter a building for worship. It is something I will try to explain and exhort perhaps by the end of the month, from my house through online medium, whether it is google meet or Zoom. Interestingly, my Zoom End time seminar early October will see the speaker as a pastor without a congregation. I take heart from the book of Ezekiel that Ezekiel was bound in his house for 430 days, the length of time which I believe the pandemic will last until early 2023. By then I hope the requirements for entry to many places will be relaxed. In the meantime it is important to go back to Scripture to see what an ekklesia meant in the first century AD. The saints met at homes of believers. Those who were in Jerusalem could worship in the Temple but those outside could only meet at home and on Festive occasions might have made the trip to Jerusalem. They broke bread from house to house (Acts 2:46). So I will open my house like Ezekiel when on occasions the prophet was visited by the elders of Israel. How did the exile community meet? For sure, at homes of fellow Israelites who still feared Yahweh, their God. Even as Ezekiel prophesied that God would provide a little sanctuary in exile. And where could this little sanctuary be? Nowhere else but in a home, the house of a prophet no less.