Discovering a Way Out by Going Further In:
Discerning the Presence of the Holy Spirit in a Charismatic Context
While watching a good movie one evening with one of my colleagues in the ministry a statement by one of the characters in the film caught my attention. The statement said something to the effect, “If you cannot find a way out, you find a way to go deeper in.” Reflecting a bit on this line I thought this is exactly my view of the pursuit of the Holy Spirit’s work. The direction my life has taken over the last several years have left some of my Charismatic friends a little puzzled as to the path I have been pursuing. They have watched me embrace and study with great zeal not only the Scripture, but early historical theology as well as that of the period of the Reformation as well as the post-Reformation period. Many have sat on the sidelines observing the direction I have taken and reasoned that I have abandoned my Charismatic roots as I have put at the center of worship the preached word and the celebration of the table of the Lord instead of testimonies and the “band.” Such moves when not understood can be seen as troubling especially to believers who have discovered in their thinking the vibrant life of the Spirit. Testimonies have a place in the gathering of God's people as well as musical instruments.
However, my difficulty with the Charismatic movement is just the opposite of what some Charismatics might think it is. The difficulty that I struggle with is not the greatness of what Charismatics believe they have embraced by becoming awakened to the power dimensions of the Spirit, but instead the fact that such understandings are in essence not big enough. What I mean by this is as I have observed Charismatic understandings of the work of the Spirit a couple of themes are very repetitive. These themes in my estimation narrow or even shrink the manifestations of the Spirit. The work of the Spirit at times for example, is reduced to the experience of being slain in the Spirit, receiving an instant healing, or having an emotional glory melt-down moment. Though not questioning the sincerity of some of these phenomena, the Holy Spirit is actually much larger than this as I have observed myself personally having been in the movement for 38 years. It is important to note here that I do not intend to suggest that Pentecostals or Charismatics do not have a big view of God. It is sometimes just not defined or expressed well.[1] So in order to find a way out of this narrowing definition of the work of the Spirit I had to look further in to find the way out of what seemed to be a shrinking world in the movements understanding of the Spirit.
The importance of looking further in was driven home to me recently while having breakfast with a pastor friend of mine in a southern city. As we talked over breakfast he lamented over the comments given to him by a visiting pastor to his congregation. The comments centered on what the visiting pastor perceived as an absence of the Spirit in the meeting due to the fact that my friend had established weekly use of the communion table at his Sunday morning service along with the preached word instead of testimonies and alter calls. The pastor I was having breakfast with was being accused of not “moving in the Spirit” by what seems to me a narrow defining of
what it means to have the Spirit present in a worship service. Evidently, the Holy Spirit is only present if people are falling on the carpet or the band is allowed to continue for 90 minutes or more. This not only constitutes a narrow definition of the presence of the Spirit, not to mention potentially non-biblical, but also a narrow definition of what it means to worship and also encounter God’s power. While loving the vibrant worship of God carried along by a good worship band, and experiencing the presence of the Spirit with some emotion, God’s power must be understood as bigger than emotion or worship as just singing. Remember, the foundation of Christianity is faith in Christ (Romans 3:23-25) regardless how you feel or the atmosphere created by a worship band. The Holy Spirit therefore, fills every aspect of the Christian life from union with Christ (Romans 6:4), justification by faith (I Corinthians 6:11), and multiple refreshing fillings of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) meant to help us progress in our sanctification. The Spirit is experienced also in the preached word and communion as direct means of grace given by the Spirit (Acts 20:32; Matthew 26:26-29). In the next article I would like to discuss what a fuller treatment of the work of the Holy Spirit involves in redemption. In other words, maybe we can get out of a narrowing view of the Spirit’s work by going further in?
In the mean time Charismatics in attempting to discern whether the Holy Spirit is present in a meeting need to change the nature of their question to get a more accurate reading. The question should be: How is the Spirit present, not if the Spirit is present? This is not to say that the question of whether the Spirit is present is never crucial. In a few situations it might actually be important to ask if the Spirit is even in those calling themselves Christians. However, in most situations the how part of the question will force us to think bigger about the ways in which the Spirit might be working in a particular setting.
Essay and Commentary
Gary L. Finkbeiner
[1] For an beginning study of Pentecostal and Charismatic worldviews see the recently published book by James K. A. Smith, Thinking in Tongues: Pentecostal Contributions to Christian Philosophy, edited by James K. A. Smith and Amos Yong, Pentecostal Manifestos Series (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010). Smith is very passionate about Pentecostal worship services and the inclusion of testimonies in church gatherings in this volume while at the same time committed to a Reformed worldview. By listing Smith’s book here it should be noted that I am not suggesting he would agree with this brief essay or the essay reflects the contents of his book.
