What Happened To Our Churches

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Motivated by the Spirit

At their first church convention, the earliest disciples made a policy decision. They announced it in a letter to the rest of the church with this phrase: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us . . . “

Have you ever seen or heard of a church today that announces a decision with that phrase, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us that . . .”?  I haven’t.  I suspect you haven’t either.

Why not?

I think traditional Protestant churches today no longer think of the Third Person of the Trinity as a vital part of our spiritual life. Yes, he was important in Bible times. But we don’t expect much from him today.

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Recognizing When It Is the Holy Spirit

The first of the four Great Awakenings in American history happened in the 1730s and 40s. Arguably America’s greatest theologian, Jonathan Edwards, was involved but grew skeptical as the Awakening worked its way out.

That movement brought great controversy. One side emphasized religious emotions as the essence; 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 astray.

Edwards was decidedly Word oriented. In his writing, he argued against a shallow, human-oriented view of spirituality. He taught to look for these reliable signs of the Spirit’s indwelling:

– A new spiritual sense reflected in love of God that does not come from self-interest
– A new kind of convicted knowing
– A genuine humility
– A hunger for God and a Christ-like Spirit
– Christian practice

Flipping channels, many believers occasionally come across high-intensity healing services and revivals. Most are usually turned off, sensing phoniness, and they quickly move on. Next time dwell a little longer and apply Edward’s reliable signs to identify whether the Spirit is really at work. Before judging, beware that those of us from Northern European descent are easily turned off by high emotions. But that is what many others are used to and seek.

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Discipled by the Spirit

The church I serve has the purpose statement “To Make and Grow Disciples.” We leaders work hard at bringing about that result. We all agree we have a long way to go.

When that statement was finalized, I quibbled with the wording. Making and growing disciples is the work of the Holy Spirit, who calls, enlightens, sanctifies and gathers all believers together in the Christian church. There is no disagreement with this classical statement of the role of the Third Person of the Trinity. But organizational purpose statements are supposed to be pithy and short. Do we really have to add the complication of the Spirit’s role in discipleship and church life? Yes, I think, for several reasons.

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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?

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Ten Theses About the Full Gospel

The most-read blog this past half year (5,198 readers) was Re-Discover the Forgotten Gospel. So, what is the full Gospel? This is a serious very practical question for Protestants today. Here is a very serious biblical answer, set forth in serious doctrinal format of ten theses to be defended. But first this summary:

To preach only salvation for eternity is to present only half the biblical Gospel. The rest is God’s grace in sending the Spirit to make our lives better now with what the Spirit produces, his Spiritual fruit of changed emotions in our lives. By grace, we are saved eternally and by grace, we can live better now.

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Fresh Perspective on Church Decline

The steep decline that so many mainline churches are experiencing today was the subject of my book I published earlier this year, What Happened to our Churches, where I examined the rapid decline that so many mainline churches are faced with today.

This now well-recognized withering is especially widespread among mainline Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Reformed churches. We are church bodies that value our Reformation heritage and share the background of being state-sponsored churches back in Europe. This heritage places us at a great disadvantage in the current American culture.

I just published my next book, Encourage Adventures in Step with the Spirit which focuses on our need to embrace new ministry practices. I advocate that the most basic change is to give more attention to the work of the Holy Spirit in our personal and church lives. What that looks like and how to do so is the emphasis in this second set of blogs.

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Adventures in Step With the Spirit

I’ve heard it many times: “It was a life-changing experience.” Such is a frequent comment from participants in short-term mission trips through our church and other mission agencies. For some it is taking a step in faith and discovering rewards. For others this is a reaction to first encountering poverty in under-developed countries. For one […]

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Encouraged by Evidence of God’s Empowering Presence

The charismatic movement of the 1960s through 80s touched many congregations in mainline denominations. So did conflict, as traditional pastors and church members encountered something not in our Reformation traditions—experiences of speaking in tongues, as practiced in Paul’s time. Considered a gift and blessing, this experience is expected for membership in Pentecostal churches. I was […]

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