THE RADICAL MIDDLE (part 3)
“The outpouring of the Spirit meant for Paul that God had fulfilled his promise to dwell once again in and among his people.”
- Gordon Fee
Growing up in the the Pentecostal tradition, there has been so much that I have seen and experienced. Some of those things were miracles that left people saying, “Only God could’ve done that,” while other things left people wondering about its legitimacy. In my experience, I have opted to work through the negative stuff because the good stuff is so undeniable and so necessary for the church’s health and effectiveness. Sadly, however, when I’ve talked to those who identify as the spiritual enthusiasts, about how they can join the rest of us in the radical middle, most have responded with resistance. There is a reason for that.
THE SPIRITUAL ENTHUSIAST
Now, I know you might have the impression that I am a downer on the spiritual enthusiast, but I am not. As a matter of fact, for a long time in my life I was one. The desire for the Holy Spirit’s presence and for His magnificent power to be at work in our midst is fundamental to our existence as a church, and something I deeply long for. I have found that the spiritual enthusiast carries a passion for prayer, for the spiritual gifts to be operational within our church, and for the church to fulfill its mission. This too is my heart’s cry, and well as that of the spiritual skeptic. So why the struggle? Somewhere in the mix I have noticed that we lose sight of the Father’s love that is meant to fill His house, and personal agendas get pushed onto others. Both sides need to be on guard with this.
However, I’ve also taken the time to get to know those within my church that are the spiritual enthusiasts, and I love them deeply. They also carry deep longings, fears and hurts, but in a different way than the skeptic.
What are some of these longings, fears and hurts?
They deeply desire to see a move of God, and are willing and available participants with the Spirit of God
They fear criticism and judgment from those who are not engaged or have not experienced what they have seen God do in their own life
They fear being restricted by the skeptic to the point it hurts their ability to express what God is doing in their life
They feel hurt when people “stay clear of them” and/or don’t affirm them in their walk
They worry about the longevity and effectiveness of the church if the lack of engagement persists
These are VERY legitimate things for the church to consider, and although they often get a bad reputation for seeming extreme, at the end of the day the spiritual enthusiasts are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we need them. The feelings of rejection run deep within their heart, especially when they were never aware of what caused the spiritual skeptic to withdraw from relationship. My findings have indicated that the spiritual enthusiast’s longings and fears also have a lot to do with a need for Biblical teaching around the subject of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts. It’s crazy to think about the magnitude of poor, or straight out false teaching, that is out there regarding things of the Spirit. Yet, it remains a very touchy subject for them, and oftentimes it has been a challenge to address it effectively.
When I’d listen to the spiritual enthusiast share their desires for the church, and for their own personal lives, I was amazed at their commitment to the Holy Spirit. They truly offered themselves on the altar of service, and were so willing to jump on board with whatever God was doing. There is a freedom that they exemplify and I think we can all learn from them. However, my hope is that they’d be willing to re-evaluate how they’re moving ahead, and evaluate the hurt they sometimes inflict on others. Sometimes unintentionally, other times intentionally.
When talking with other pastors, they too have seen toxic things in their church around this topic. From methods used in giving prophetic words, or praying for healing and telling people to get off their meds, or just an unwillingness to respect and honour the church leadership. It happens everywhere, and pastors and churches are then left struggling deeply when the spiritual enthusiasts demand space to do what “God is telling them to do.” So yeah, this whole thing is very complex and difficult to work through. But for the sake of Jesus and the health of the church we must be determined to address it. Our future impact on the world depends on it.
LEARNING THE RADICAL MIDDLE
Both the spiritual skeptic and the spiritual enthusiast have strengths and weaknesses, and we must enter healthy dialogue so that we can grow together in Christ. The goal is: Be a community of believers that will learn to live engaged with the Spirit and be accountable to the Scriptures. We don’t shut down what the Holy Spirit wants to do, but we also don’t shut down the person(s) who are expressing hesitation. One cannot dominate the other, for that is not the way of Christ. We must learn to live with the tension that the Apostle Paul presented in 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21, “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”
We learn to journey through this together because the Holy Spirit is the One who moves the church along in the mission of Christ with power. Much would be at stake if we stopped engaging with the Holy Spirit. Much would be at stake if we stopped engaging with one another. Much would be at stake if we compromised the truth for the sake of emotionalism.
So here are my thoughts on some practical things we can do:
For the spiritual skeptic:
Speak up about your hesitation with sincerity. Your silence is not helpful to church health;
Forgive those who have hurt you;
Re-engage with Biblical teaching on the Holy Spirit;
Re-engage with the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts. Your brothers and sisters need you, and the gift the Holy Spirit has given you.
For the spiritual enthusiast:
Humble yourself before God and your brothers and sisters. God is not interested in simply moving upon an individual, but His entire community. It’s not just about you;
Listen to those around you that have hesitation, and meet them where they’re at without judgment;
Be willing to receive Biblical teaching on the Holy Spirit, and how spiritual gifts are to operate in the church (quick tip I once heard from Nathan Finochio: gifts are meant to stir up, build up, and cheer up. If it doesn’t accomplish this, it’s probably best to say nothing);
Don’t build your identity around your gift, but in Christ. Otherwise, you will struggle with the fact that people won’t give you what you want. Why not? Because it’s toxic. Know that you are loved and accepted, even if you had no gifts.
For the Pastor and Church Leadership:
Be attentive to the health of your church and your own walk. If the problem is permitted to persist, then that’s on you and your leadership team. Address it together.
Engage your church with Biblical teaching on the Holy Spirit. You will be surprised at how it will liberate your people to dialogue about and desire the things of the Spirit.
Encourage the congregation to learn what it means to discern & decide. This is something I will blog about next, as the early church demonstrated how to work through the process following the Holy Spirit’s leading.
Press into prayer and openness toward the Holy Spirit. He wants to empower, sustain, and mobilize the church.
Ultimately, our church is now comprised of people from all sorts of faith backgrounds. Some identify as pentecostals, others as baptists, or anglicans, or presbyterians, or charismatic. It really doesn’t matter, because for a while now we have been learning to simply be the church of Jesus, people of the Spirit, in a space of grace. It’s a journey that we are still learning more about, yet there is a strong sense of health and community developing in our midst. People are learning to live engaged with the Spirit and be accountable to the Scriptures TOGETHER, and I am loving it.