I've Got an Eerie Feeling

The birthday of the church is coming up in the next few weeks. You probably didn't know that and if you are like most people, you haven't made any plans to celebrate it in any special way. Fifty days following the events of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all flesh and the church was born. The event occurred on the day for celebrating the Old Testament Feast of Weeks. The Greek term for this feast is Pentecost referring to fifty days from the Passover.

What is interesting for me as I reflect on the events of Pentecost, is that the events associated with Calvary were necessary for the procurement of the church, but it was the gift of the Holy Spirit that created the church. The disciples were given specific instructions to do nothing but wait in Jerusalem until they experienced the power of the Holy Spirit. And, experience it they did. He wasn't really subtle upon his arrival. In fact his attendance was marked by loud rushing wind, commotion, fire, and a bunch of people so inebriated by his presence that they were accused of being drunk at nine in the morning. The faithful group that had waited the ten days from Jesus' ascension until that moment experienced the new life of the new covenant from the newly coronated Lord of Glory and in doing so became the newly constituted Israel or people of God. Is that a big deal? I think so.

We've never really known what to do with that. I secretly think that most people would be far more comfortable with the idea that the church was launched out of a meeting where an agreed upon doctrine and set of rules were hammered out. Others probably wish that the church would have been born directly at the foot of the cross the moment Jesus died with the followers immediately going to everyone to tell them that Jesus just died for them and inviting them to live for him. But that is not how it all began. It began with a mighty demonstration of Holy Spirit power that drew outsiders with curiosity and emboldened insiders to embrace the Messiah's call to radical discipleship. It began with the unexplainable being explained by the very man who couldn't even admit to knowing Jesus a few short weeks prior.

There is a spiritual element to the church. We may not know what to do with it, but nevertheless it exists and it is what makes the church unique. How do we define spiritual, or better yet, how do we relate to the spiritual side of the church. All adherents to creedal Christianity admit to there being a Holy Spirit. We give him one line in the creed, "we believe in the Holy Ghost" and thereby satisfy the conditions for being orthodox or proper in our faith. But is that all that there is? Let's face it, for what we believe and experience in faith today, we wouldn't know if the Holy Spirit was at work or not. We live with a confession that bears little application when all is said and done.

I have noted after working in a large attractional church, that the less one believes in the working of the Holy Spirit, the more one must do in order to get the results that we believe the Holy Spirit wants. Modern services require hundreds of thousands of dollars to create the right environment with lights, cameras, music, sound, videos, and staging. Well polished speakers, professional musicians, and scripted services all become necessary ingredients for hearts to be moved in God's direction. Oh, and of course the Holy Spirit does his part. But what is his part? I sense that we have arrived at a place where it is strongly believed, though never publicly stated, that the Holy Spirit can't do his thing, or can't do his thing best unless all of the above elements are present. It is simply assumed that the Holy Spirit's work is dependant upon a mega-budgeted, ultra-talented, well-polished presentation of a felt need oriented message. But is that what we see on the Church's birth date? It sure seems to me that the historical record has it the other way around.

When we move from one side of the pragmatic spectrum that can work with or without the Spirit's involvement to the other side of pneumatic infatuation, it doesn't really get any better. The opposite side of the spectrum holds to a pseudo-spirituality that is spooky in nature. This side believes in a spirituality that is downright eerie in its devotion to the Spirit, spirits and spiritual things. The spiritual label that serves as the banner for this expression of faith is a Christianized Zen Buddhism that is other worldly-in scope. Life is other-worldly. Truth is other-worldly. Final destination is other-worldly. Even Jesus himself is other-worldly. While there is an element of truth in each of these "other-worldlyisms" that element can't keep the whole thing grounded enough in real life to be of any good. The old adage is here changed a bit but applies very well: "He's so spiritually focused he is of no earthly value." These people and churches operate as mystics without substance, or worse yet, in the mold of the worst Christian television personalities, mystics without intelligence or values.

Whatever dynamic the Holy Spirit operated in during the opening chapters of the church, we must admit that the dynamic was supernatural in its unfolding with miracles, signs, wonders, and power. It also was transformational. The people who were impacted by the Holy Spirit did life a different way. We need only look at the first six chapters of Acts to realize that people don't sell their stuff and hand over their monies for distribution to the entire community without some spiritual dynamic at work. Gentiles worshipping with Jews. Slaves serving alongside their masters. Males and females sharing in the grace of God as equals. The spirituality brought about by the Spirit was experienced in the miraculous and in the everyday way of doing life.

Dallas Willard states that spirituality exists as a result of the new birth in Christ and consists of active cooperation and interaction with God and the Kingdom. A person is spiritual and a church is spiritual "to the degree that its life is effectively integrated into and dominated by God's Kingdom or rule." In other words, spirituality can only be explained by the Holy Spirit's activity while at the same time can only be validated by transformation. Spirituality will always manifest the supernatural life of God in our souls and in our churches by the thing we call transformation. Jesus told Nicodemus that the Spirit is like the wind, we can't see it but we can see its effects. Everywhere we see the Spirit at work, we notice bits and pieces of the Kingdom left behind.

I've got an eerie feeling that the Spirit and spirituality today is misunderstood and misapplied. I refuse to believe that he is inept without our help. I also refuse to believe that he is so other-worldly that he can't be appreciated. I choose to believe that he must once again reveal himself to us in power, holiness, boldness, and humility. I fully expect that God will visit us again to make our future birthdays look more like the first and less like the last. Maybe he will get more than one line in our statements of faith in the days to come. Whatever the case, we must wrestle with questions like, "Where is the supernatural today? Where does the Spirit's role begin or end? How do we walk in the Spirit? What are the greater works that we will do because the Spirit has come? or If what I'm doing for God can be done with or without him, should that bother me?" I have more questions than answers at this point. I hope you do to.