Cultural Experiences of the Spirit

Growing Into a Free, Cheerful, Glad and Loving Heart

“When the Spirit comes, he makes a pure, free, cheerful, glad and loving heart—a conscience made righteous by grace, seeking no reward, fearing no punishment, doing everything with joy.”

So observed Martin Luther in a sermon he preached in 1521. The Spirit was very much in the center of his thinking in those early years of the Reformation. He was not a systematic theologian. But what he intuited in this off-hand comment happens to fit three of the stages of faith development recognized in modern developmental psychology.

Luther described three kinds of conscience, which are three stages of faith development. A churchyard conscience concentrates on getting the external rules of church life right. A nave (pew section) conscience characterizes those who are living faithfully but out of guilt with no joy. Progressing forward, those who are living with a heart changed by the Spirit have a chancel conscience. “Conscience” in classical theology describes what I call motivation. The Latin would be affectus.

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How Spiritual Temperaments Influence Church Life

Did you know that you have a spiritual temperament? This means some activities help you feel closer to God than what you do otherwise. And people have different spiritual temperaments. So, if you want to be drawn closer to God spend more time on the spiritual pathways that work best for you.

These are insights from a new branch of psychology associated with the names Myers and Briggs. The Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory is the most-used testing instrument in business human resource management. One familiar distinction from their work is between introverts and extroverts.

I first ran into the insights on spiritual temperaments reading the book Who You Are Is How You Pray, by Charles Keating. He applied the Myers and Briggs Personality Types to members of religious orders to help candidates find the one that fits them best. He highlighted the view of Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, who urged those seeking to be closer to God to try out different approaches and disciplines to find the one that is “sweet” for each. Don’t just imitate what someone else does. Had I been born Catholic, I probably would have become a Jesuit. One of the biggest blessings in my life is that I was born and raised in a vibrant Lutheran community.

Do you feel closer to God when you are hiking in nature? Or when you are caring for others? Or when you are alone thinking about God? Or when you are with other believers praising God with high emotions? Or when you are out crusading for peace and justice? Or when you are worshiping in a building with lots of symbols using special rituals? Or when you are pondering God’s word? These questions reflect types of spiritual temperaments recognized by Gary Thomas in his book Sacred Pathways: Discover Your Soul’s Pathway to God.

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Waiting on the Spirit

When Jesus ascended he told his disciples to “wait for the power from on high.” The Spirit came in a dramatic way 50 days later at Pentecost.

Does the Spirit come today? Many traditional and evangelical churches don’t act like it, beyond perhaps an annual Pentecost church birthday party. That was then. How does he come now? Other essays discuss how to recognize the Spirit’s subtle movements. How can we wait upon his blessings today?

Think like Zacchaeus. He’s the short guy who climbed a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus coming. Jesus then saw him and shared dinner fellowship with him. Jesus comes to us now through the Spirit he and his Father send. Like climbing a tree, we can deliberately put ourselves in the Spirit’s workplace.

What will you wait for the Spirit to do in your life?

Growing Into a Free, Cheerful, Glad and Loving Heart

How Spiritual Temperaments Influence Church Life

Waiting on the Spirit

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