Today, I’m kicking off a new blog series entitled, “The Church on the Move”. It’s a series highlighting the various paradigm shifts I’m sensing in the Church. These blog posts aren’t meant to be some kind of “prophetic” insights or proclamations. I’m simply projecting where I personally think the Church may be headed. I’m posting these in order to start meaningful conversations about what we might all be sensing collectively. Quite honestly, I’m doing this in part so that I can gain more clarity about what God is doing in and through us.
My first topic for this series is about the Holy Spirit.
A Personal Context for this Conversation:
As a child, I grew up in churches that highly emphasized the presence and manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Many of our gatherings were filled with all kinds of spiritual practices, most of which were really strange from my perspective. I never felt comfortable with the way people acted during these “spirit-filled” moments. Although there were some amazing stories of healings, I usually felt like a misfit.
It wasn’t that I had a problem with the Holy Spirit. I have no doubt that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is still active today. My difficulty was with the way people would do things in his name to introduce all kinds of weird ideas and practices. It’s with this context that I now present the following.
A New Kind of Movement of the Holy Spirit?:
In recent months, I’ve been sensing that the Holy Spirit may be shifting some of our focus from how he manifests to why. As a person with connections to charismatic circles, there has always been a deep emphasis on how the Holy Spirit shows up (e.g., Acts 2:1-4). Much of the studies and experiences have revolved around how to get “filled” and what this leads to (e.g., healing, spiritual gifts, personal transformation, etc.).
Here’s the shift I’m sensing…
I personally think that we’re being led into a time where the Holy Spirit will allow us to experience his presence in powerful ways for the sake of embracing humanity with tangible expressions of God’s love. As important as the early parts of Acts 2 may be, let’s never forget the kind of community that was created by the end of Acts 2 (i.e., a community committed to one another as well as those in the city). In fact, I believe the greatest experiences of the Holy Spirit will take place on the streets; not only as some kind of spiritual manifestation (in the traditional charismatic sense), but rather, as a deep experience of God’s presence while we do the work of compassionate justice. The love, wisdom, and hope we will experience on the streets will give us and those we serve a real connection to God himself. We must not discount these kinds of experiences to be less “filling”.
I think some in the Church have distance themselves from the work of the Holy Spirit because of some of the wackiness they’ve seen on TV (e.g., the hair, the lights, the chaos, etc.). This is so unfortunate since we need the Holy Spirit to bring the change we want to see in the world. What if the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our day and age looked more like the following?:
- Embracing of the fringe, the least, and the marginalized
- Development of sustainable projects to bring life-change to people in need
- The mutual sharing of goods, resources, and ministries
- Churches laying down personal brands for Kingdom collaboration
- Working with non-Christian entities to bring the kind of world God would be honored with
- Healing of hearts, relationships, and bodies for the sake of empowering the healed to touch the broken
My perspective has shifted drastically in recent years. I realized that my personal embarrassment of what I saw the Church do with the Holy Spirit prevented me at many levels from trusting in his ministry. Times are different now…
I now go into environments, whether Christian or not, with an expectancy of the Holy Spirit showing up. I really believe this. I find great freedom in knowing that the Holy Spirit can show up beyond the way I’ve seen him in the past (which was mostly limited to church services or “outreaches”). The truth of the matter is that he usually shows up through the way I serve and love people. There’s nothing like practical care that invites God’s presence.
Are you sensing this shift at all on how the Holy Spirit works?
This post is tagged Charles Lee, Church on the Move, Holy Spirit, Ministry, Paradigm Shifts, The Church on the Move
14 Comments
well said Charles. I have sensed a similar shift and am comforted to see many of my own thoughts expressed in your writing. In my personal community we have discussed this very idea. I even think how the original purpose of speaking in tongues (acts 2:1-4) was for the kingdom to be presented to different peoples, cultures, socio-ethnic groups and how maybe God intends for his Spirit to allow His church to begin to speak a different sort of language, not just with words but compassionate action. Im not sure if this makes much sense but ultimately I feel that God maybe using innovative and/or new means to create the same end, a world overwhelmed with the Kingdom and Love of God.
I agree man. As Wimber used to say, “The meats on the streets.” I’m unapologetically Charismatic but at the same time I also realize that in the past the Charismatic movement/pentacostals have reduced the ministry of the Holy Spirit to a single issue or a small group of issues. I think what we’re seeing, especially with the advent of postmodernity, is a desire for things to be more holistic (including the ministry of the Holy Spirit). His ministry is not to be reduced to the shaking and quaking or the speaking in tongues but I believe we’re going to see a fuller expression of the Holy Spirit through the live of believers. Great post!
Thanks for the notes guys!
Well said Benji…I think this may be more of a rediscovery than a discovery.
Jonathan, love Wimber’s quote
Love the way you articulate your thoughts.
As I am from the Baptist tradition, it has always been easier to assume that the Holy Spirit doesn’t do crazy cool things anymore, but recently, I’ve been loosening my grip on my emotions. I have zero connection with any charismatic movement, but it’s been good to experience the Holy Spirit showing up in situations I would have earlier assumed to take care of myself. It’s good to hear about the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thanks Dan for the note. I love your honest assessment of what may be brewing. Honestly, I don’t think most of us really know what’s going on. I just love the fact that we can still work on our postures towards God.
Great blog, Charles. I have been to far too many summer camps and retreats where the Holy Spirit is presented as a means to speak in tongues, something that verifies your being filled with the Spirit. I have to wonder to myself: is this the end goal? It is often stated that the Holy Spirit fills us with power for “daily Christian service,” but on the “Holy Spirit Night” of camp, how often is this practical action portion actually presented to others? It’s a new thought for me to view the acts of the Holy Spirit in my life in the terms of the list you presented, but it is a comforting and exciting thing to consider. I have been filled with the Spirit since I was 10, yet only in recent years have I began to consider that Holy Spirit means more to my life than signs and wonders seen at camp and in specialized services. I connect with and love your statement that the Holy Spirit shows up “through the way I serve and love people.” Thanks Charles!
Charles I am glad I was able to read this blog. In a simliar conversation, I was thinking outloud about the passive church model a lot of churches have adopted, specifically in context of our youth groups. Not in the spirit of negativity, but in honest reflection, it is hard to see a generation of youth lost when they graduate from high school and “lock up” there faith in college.
What works with the passive church model is that it brings a structure and consistency a lot of people need. I have also found it is hard to integrate what is taught in service into a living breathing tangible faith when it’s practice is primarily in four walls.
Again, I am not deminishing the profit of our services or advocating the end of them. I am seeing more and more youth wanting to embrace the mission of God, and quite frankly that’s what’s going to keep them coming back because the compartmentalization of the Holy Spirit won’t be confined to a service, camp, or outreach.
I think if the church focuses on “seeing heaven” now, we will see the Holy Spirit move in ways He hasn’t before, and we see with our own eyes the fruition of the Kingdom being manifested on earth. I am looking forward to the creativity and change that will come from this current and evolving shift.
Thanks Bo for the note…I’m glad to hear that this post is opening up different ways for you to think about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I was telling a friend recently that I feel like I’m using the same words as 10 years ago about the Holy Spirit but mean totally different things.
Good thoughts Chris…you have so many variables in your youth ministry that it will be hard to put really see what’s going on. I think it’s so important to place young people (as a matter of fact, even adults) in environments where they will need to trust God and his presence. I’m glad to hear you working through this.
Hmmm….. I love the Holy Spirit and what I am hearing from this conversation is GREAT! When we, “Spirit-Filled” people, look at the book of Acts trying to locate the current church in that context it is easy to get mis-guided. Acts is just the start. In fact, if you really want to see the reality of the Church, look at Paul’s writings. There it is easier to find yourself. We find teaching, guidance, and even correction as Paul navigates the early years of the Church. It shows that even they needed course corrections.
Something that Paul continually brought up is what I believe has been lost in most Charismatic circles, LOVE. So, when Charles brings up the why, I believe that is what Paul kept trying to bring the Church back to. LOVE. Plain, simple, unconditional, 1 Corinthians 13 LOVE.
Why the Holy Spirit? Why the gifts of the Spirit? Why the ministries that reach outside Church walls? Why? I believe it is simple, but yet lost in our hectic, entertainment centered churches. It is:
God LOVES people.
Coming from a Pentecostal background, I agree: funkiness in the name of God is a huge turn off! It brings a disconnect between ordinary life and the “Christian ” life. To paraphrase what’s been said, it’s about taking it to the streets. I’ve been surprised that my mother is the person who truly sees this the most in her Christian life. She cleans homes, and yet has been able to connect with all sorts of people who are certainly above her socio-economic status, and has been able to share more with them than I have. As it was pointed out, the coming of the Spirit in Acts led to what many of us would call a “missional emphasis”. It was to reach out to the culturally different (as Prof. Sevillano would call them) so that the message could be presented (Peter’s first sermon). And then we see them in the community of the saints. (Of course I hope we can avoid the problem they all dealt with of staying in their closed circle for the next few years!).
Thanks Ty for emphasizing the importance love in this conversation!
Frank, thanks for sharing the story of your mother. I do believe that we need to highlight more of those kinds of stories in our churches. Love it.
I run in the charismatic circles that you speak of, and I am SO glad that you shared this! I think that this is something that has been on my heart for a while, and I also see the need for this sort of shift.
I can’t help but to think about what you started touching on when you referenced Acts 2. We actually see the same thing thoughout the book of Acts… anytime there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it is ALWAYS followed with the fact that there were many added to the church. I’ve seen many ‘outpourings’ where there is no such fruit, and that saddens me deeply.
I pray for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit regularly, but also that it be in that ‘Acts’ way that produces the fruit that it was intended to produce.
Thanks for the note Dan. Well said!
Incoming Links
Leave a Reply