This was something I thought about this morning, in reference to a “blog-swap” that took place between Pomomusings and Taking Off and Landing. Adam's post was “On Being Presbyterian” and Myles’ post was “On Being Baptist.” This was done months ago, but I thought I might have some interesting insight from a different perspective.

I had an interesting experience last night. My mother had been asked to sing in a mass choir for an audio recording in a country church. The church was in the middle of nowhere, and my mom was nervous about driving along a deserted road at night in the middle of nothing, and so after asking me to go with her, I, being the good son that I am, decided I would go and give her some late-night driving company.

(Briefly) Deconstructing Pentecostalism

As you probably are aware from the title, this was a Pentecostal church. I should mention that I grew up in a classical Pentecostal home. My dad was (and is) a Pentecostal pastor and from the time I was born to the time I was 20, the Pentecostal church was the only one I was remotely familiar with. That was before life happened. That was before my own journey into emergent, holistic and missional ministry started (Or was it the beginning of that journey?). I should also mention that this particular experience was my first time in such a church in quite a while.

As the mass choir (three churches) sang, I felt a stirring in my spirit, but not the same stirring of the spirit these people were singing about or any type of “stirring of the Spirit” you might expect to be told about in a Charismatic church. I, instead, began to feel increasingly uncomfortable with the fact that every song, every prayer, and every “message in tongues” (To the “tongues” issue, I will add my two cents at a later time.) was all about…ME. All about MY struggles. All about MY healing. All about MY “Holy Ghost Experience”. All about MY salvation. And with each “ME” mention, there was more shouting and louder singing and crying. At one point, the Southern worship leader (this is in the deep South, by the way) yells out, “Come on! Get up, people! You’re in a Pentecostal church!” No Gospel, no teachings of Jesus, and no depth.Something inside me clicked…off.

This is not the Pentecostal/Charismatic experience I will be talking about throughout the remainder of this post. This is the type of experience that, sadly, many have come to expect from a Pentecostal church. Some, at the mere mention of the word, may have conjured-up images of a Robert Tilton “give-me-your-money-and-claim-your-healing” televangelist or practically any televangelist on religious broadcasting. Some may have images of an extreme fundamentalist dogma that has no room for intellectual thought or deep theological questions. Some may have images of a bunch of people babbling nonsensical gibberish and calling it God. This, although it is unfortunate baggage that comes along with some of the tradition (as other traditions have their own baggage), is not the Pentecostal/Charismatic experience I choose to lock myself into. There is, however, a tradition and energy within the Charismatic experience that I am proud to be associated with for many reasons.

The Good Stuff

The word “Pentecostal” does not refer to “tongues of fire” or dancing or shouting, as many Pentecostals themselves might even think it does. It doesn’t refer to running around the church screaming or wearing long sleeves and dresses (and hair) that comes all the way down to the floor. It doesn’t refer to “GAWD TOLD ME…!” simple-minded preachers and simple-minded theology. The word actually comes from Acts 2 - the Day of Pentecost, which was the beginning of the Christian church as we know it. The Pentecostal tradition of the faith makes its reference to the early Jewish Christians on that day who experienced “tongues of fire” and unknown languages among other things. (Acts 2:4)

I affirm the belief in the Trinity (Father. Son. Holy Spirit. One God.), and therefore, I believe the Holy Spirit is God’s presence on Earth and throughout the Cosmos. I believe the Holy Spirit is the voice that draws us to the way of Christ. The Holy Spirit guides and directs our lives and leads us to a life that is “God-and-others-focused” and not “Me-focused.” Although it’s not mentioned in the Bible, I believe the Holy Spirit is the voice that protects us (Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t get on that airplane. Maybe I should take a step back from the road. Maybe I shouldn’t eat so many chocolate-chip cookies.), and convicts us when we’ve hurt someone or done something sinful.

But, because of what I experienced in those early years in the Pentecostal/Charismatic church, I learned that there is much more to the Holy Spirit. I learned that the Spirit of Jesus is very much alive and is not simply risen from the dead and into Heaven. That Spirit is alive in Christian community, and there is great joy and freedom (from ourselves) in experiencing that Spirit. This is not limited, by the way, to Charismatic churches by any means, either. I’ve experienced the bubbling joy of the Spirit in quiet solitude, in Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist churches (as it certainly is experienced in Roman Catholic, Episcopal and Eastern Orthodox churches as well).

I have experienced overwhelming sensations as I worshipped in Charismatic circles, however. There is something powerful that I have seen and experienced happen when these groups of Charismatic worshippers come together and sing out to God. I’ve seen people get up from wheelchairs and walk (some for the first time in their lives) because of the overwhelming power of God’s Spirit. I’ve experienced a release from depression personally because of the amazing Spirit of God (call it superstition, but I believe it was something entirely supernatural).

Why Charismatic?

This certainly does not mean that other traditions in the faith have not experienced such wonders. I’ve heard stories from Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, and others telling of miracles that have happened because the powerful and mystical Spirit of God was among them. I can say, based on my own church experiences, there is a teaching in many Charismatic churches that Christians should “expect” to witness the supernatural presence of God for themselves. That aside from reading and hearing about Jesus, one can actually experience Jesus. One can emotionally, mentally, and spiritually (sometimes physically) feel the presence of Jesus in relevant and new ways. And through that expectancy, I have felt that amazing and indescribable presence of Christ in Christian community. The teaching of expectancy is a valuable teaching I have proudly adopted from my heritage.

Another valuable teaching I have held strongly to is the teaching of Spiritual Gifts: that in every human being, there is a spiritual force that has been placed there by God. This spiritual force (or “soul”) was placed in us to spiritually connect with God. (Ask any monk who has spent time in silence and solitude – or experienced centering prayer about some of their spiritual encounters with God as their spirits become in tune with God.) When we begin following the way of Jesus, these spiritual gifts manifest themselves in unique and mysterious ways. There are some (my wife, for example) that have a spiritual gift of intercession (as she prays for others, I’ve seen her literally feel their pain), some have a spiritual gift of giving to others (something we should all do as Christians, but I’m thinking of those special individuals who have experience “the calling” to leave their comfortable lives for a life spent giving to the poor and oppressed of less-comfortable nations – my wife’s parents, for example, are missionaries in eastern Europe.).

Note: Whether or not someone is Charismatic has nothing to do with these spiritual gifts in a person’s life and how that gift functions in their life, by the way. This is simply a teaching that is central to the Charismatic tradition of following Christ.

The gifts of the Spirit and the experience of the Spirit are wonderful, and I would recommend that every person experience these wonderful things. But the purpose of these gifts is the same as any other worship experiences – to be and make disciples, loving God with heart/soul/mind/strength and loving others. As intimate an experience we might have with the infinite God, without the missional calling to do those things mentioned above, it is simply an experience, and not the Gospel.

Bryan Thompson :: Blogged - emerging_church

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