Recognizing the Spirit

Blending Two Kinds of Church Cultures

In the past, American Protestants have had two different kinds of church cultures. They emerged out of the colonial First Awakening of the 1730s-40s. One side emphasized religious emotions as the essence of being a Christian; feeling the love of God was most important. The other side taught that the heart of true religion is right thinking; emotions are fickle and often lead one astray.

Historically since the Reformation, pastors of established mainline churches were university educated. It is no coincidence that the Reformers were a university professor and a sophisticated lawyer. Pastors in my heritage were and are taught by professors lecturing them. I know that the majority of Bible studies in our churches are lectures to the members by the pastor. No one else could be trusted to have the right knowledge.

The problem with one-way lectures is that they are absolutely the least effective way of communication, especially if you want to change someone’s behavior. Job behavior is shaped much more by informal communication with those around you. On-the-job training is so effective because you learn by doing. Worker effectiveness is shaped much more from these two sources than from the formal job description given to you.

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Do Your Ministries Reflect Belief in the Holy Spirit?

In general, the ministries of traditional mainline churches are done without conscious belief in the Holy Spirit—a belief that goes beyond mouthing the Creed. We mostly rely on the Father and the Son. But ministries lose their effectiveness over time without reliance on the power of the Spirit. Our ministries cannot remain effective without a firm belief in the Holy Spirit and the role he performs. Luther describes how the Spirit “calls me by the Gospel, enlightens me with his gifts, sanctifies and keeps me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth.”

Those roles are the essence of the ministries and church life we try to guide and develop. How can we do that effectively if we are not looking for and expecting the Spirit’s power to accomplish what we are trying to do on our own? Believing in just the Father and the Son is like trying to do ministry with one arm tied behind your back. Without the Spirit, tradition too easily turns into traditionalism.

Churches Running Almost on Empty

The three biblical symbols for the Spirit at work are the dove who sat on Jesus’ shoulder at his baptism, and the tongues of fire and rushing wind at Pentecost. Jesus described the wind as unpredictable. Consider the following interpretation of what those symbols represented.

The tongues of fire suggest energy, the kind associated with heavy work that flushes the face and increases the heartbeat, like being on fire for the Lord. The unpredictable wind is the Spirit bringing unexpected changes into lives and relationship.

I think of the Spirit as a dove sitting on my shoulder whispering godly thoughts as my day goes on. I do have ongoing conversations about what to do a specific situation, especially whether to speak my mind or deny myself. I identify many tempting thoughts as coming from the Enemy whispering into my other ear. I see these thoughts reflecting what Luther described as daily washing away our old nature and letting the new person come forth—the process of the Spirit changing me little by little, with the occasional “a-ha” insight that changes my thinking and reactions.

Many call this conversational prayer, as distinct from formal prayer. They usually consider conversational prayer to be the essence of the prayer relationship with God. It approaches what Paul from his experience described as “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16). The book I have written a book on that distinction and how individuals experience it is How the Spirit Shapes Prayer (2017).

Recognizing the Spirit

Blending Two Kinds of Church Cultures

Do Your Ministries Reflect Belief in the Holy Spirit?

Churches Running Almost on Empty

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