Archive for May, 2009

Short, Rambling Teaching on the Holy Spirit

May 12, 2009 at 2:00 pm · Filed under Current Events, Discipleship ·Tagged , ,

First and foremost the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons making up the One God.  He was present at Creation (Gen 1:2), at Cross (Heb 9:14), at Witness (Rev 22:17), and is essential in our perseverance in life (2 Tim 1:14).  1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16, and Ephesians 2:21 (among other scriptures) clearly tells us that we are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in his people.  This indwelling is what marks us as his unique people (Ephesians 1:13-14, also Acts 2/Joel 2:28-32, Acts 10, 2 Co 1:22, 5:5, 1 Thessalonians 1:5).  He is our confidence is sharing God’s story with others (Luke 12:12), our source in prayer (Rom 8:26, Eph 6:26, Jude 20), our teacher (Luke 12:12), the prophetic voice of the church (Acts 20:23), and the giver of gifts for ministry (1 Co 12:11).

For those who have not been taught about the ministry of the Holy Spirit it is often new to hear that Christians are encouraged to keep on being filled and renewed by the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18) and that we are called to pray for spiritual gifts in order to minister his love and grace to others in power (1 Co 12:31, 14:1, 12).  It is vital to know that the gifts of grace given by the Holy Spirit are used in an orderly manner (1 Co 14:26-33) for the building up of the entire church (1 Co 14:12). 

They are not a “badge” to exalt one person over another.  They are not possessions to be coveted or horded.  The one who graciously bestows these gifts of grace is the person of the Holy Spirit. (1 Co 12:11) Scripture teaches us to eagerly desire and ask for spiritual gifts. (1 Co 12:31, 14:1) But we ask knowing that the Lord has the freedom to say “yes”, “no”, or “wait”.  Often the waiting is a matter of character and maturity in us.   That is, the need for more mature, humble, loving character. 

While the giver of the gifts is God himself and he gives them for building up and commands that they be used in an orderly manner, we also have to be aware that one of the hardest aspects of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in a congregation is that we relinquish a great deal of our preferences in his Presence.  Let’s use this last Sunday as example.  We had an order of service, a testimony, specific songs, a great sermon <grin>, table talk, etc.  As it turned out it was the Lord’s good pleasure to change it all.  We stopped to minister as we perceived his leading.  It was still done out of and for love.  It was orderly.  But we must be clear, we weren’t in charge.  He was and is. 

For a more thorough and orderly teaching on the Holy Spirit, please go to Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology.  Dr. Grudem use to teach at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and wrote the systematic theology text that we use as a congregation and a Free church.  If you are the type of learner who doesn’t like (or learn best by) reading, you may want to check out Wayne Grudem’s teaching on MP3 here:

http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/MP3-Audio–Multimedia/All-Speakers-Lectures-and-Sermons/Wayne-Grudem/Scottsdale-Bible-Church–System/

The specific teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit can be found here.  Be sure to look for “Wayne Grudem” as there are several teachings listed on the link. 

http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Baptism/Baptism-of-the-Holy-Spirit/

I want to thank Ray Dillon for giving me the links to Grudem’s teaching. 

 If the person, work, and ministry of the Holy Spirit is something new to you that you would like to learn more about, please let me know.  It is one of the teaching blocks in our 2oolbox, and we can offer it if there is a need/desire.

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Reconciling All Things

May 6, 2009 at 2:10 pm · Filed under Current Events, Discipleship

My good friend, Jim Wehner, gave me the book, Reconciling All Things – A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace, and Healing by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice, for my birthday.  This is an amazing book that I think every Christian should read.  There is so much wisdom here.   Wisdom about a calling and practice that is so absolutely counter-intuitive that without it we are virtually guaranteed to make decisions that seem right to our nature but are actually counter-productive to God’s work. 

In the life of our community we are in the midst of one of these confrontations.  In writing about the kind of leadership that embodies reconciliation Katongole and Rice write about Church of the Savior in Washington D.C. :

“When I (Chris) visited their ministries, we walked within a matter of minutes among people of every hue adn social class, from the Potter’s House (coffee shop and bookstore), to Joseph’s House (hospice for those dying of AIDS), to Andrew’s House for visiting guests, to Christ House (residential medical care for homeless men and women), to the Festival Center (discipleship training center).  There Gordon Crosby sat quietly waiting for everybody to show up for noon prayer.  In the midst of all the ministry, all the carre, all the swirl of activity, the inward journey remains central as the outward.“  (pg. 132 italics added)

This is one of the balancing/tension points in CCD (Christian Community Development) :  the inward-outward focus.  We saw the requirement for both in our solemn assembly Sunday night.  Josh’s poem about the “burning fire” consuming lives and communities in Chamblee-Doraville and the “water” that flows in and through us was balanced/in tension with the healing, confessing, fear, insecurity and brokenness that came bursting forth from all of us. 

What is important is that we have both without loosing either.  But here is an important point of “order.”  We don’t do the inner work to get ready and prepared to the outer.  It is only in doing the outer work of being engaged and involved personally/bodily that the inner work has any real context.  Otherwise the inner work is prone to a narcissistic, therapeutic emotionalism.  Yet, without the inner work of growth, confession, and healing the outer work becomes mere social work or a codependent, twisted form of martydom/works righteousness. 

As I reflect on Katongole and Rice’s work (which I haven’t finished yet because I keep getting overwhelmed and having to close the book every page or so to pray) I see the necessity of  both in CCD because at the heart of CCD is incarnation leading to confrontation and transformation.  A confrontation that costs us deeply as it did our Lord.  

“Leaders who grow to belong to the gap [in our case the familes and communities in our "2 miles"] are those who journey far enough to feel its deep pain, to lament it, to learn its story deeply.  Always bringing the pain of their context back to God, their response grows deeper over the years, drawning others with them into a distinct way of life.  The leader has not come to the place of brokenness for a brief detour but to “offer [their] bodies as living sacrifices” (Rom 12:1).  In belonging to the gap, everyday leaders take on the deep pain and brokenness there.  Their very bodies and journeys become sites of the old and new in contention.”   (pg.132-133)

Let’s keep both the inner work of healing and unity as we are fully engaged in the outer work of CCD.  Working together overcomes a false distinction because as both work together they bring about the other.  The outer work transforms us in lament and hope.  The inner work heals and renews and fills us with joy and purpose to express love (the outer work).  Ultimately it’s not the task of a particular ministry at a point in time, but the Lord’s loving, confronting Presence through our actual bodies and lives that is the most important work. 

The million dollar question is:  are we engaged in the lives of the people in our “2″ closely enough to have THEM wipe away our tears as we tremble, rage, and are broken by (and ultimately resurrected from) the struggles, injustices, and indignities of living?

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