The room was filled with young bible college students. They were assembled for their weekly chapel service. It was 1972 and the “Charismatic Renewal” was in full gear. The president of the college felt he needed to address the excesses and errors of the so-called revival.
He gave detailed instructions on how to handle public services that would assure anything from getting out of control. As the president stressed over and over again the danger of “just letting the spirit move,” one of the students lifted his hand. He allowed the student to speak. The young man humbly stood and shyly spoke,
President [Smith], I am so thankful you’ve taken the time to instruct us in this area. And I think I can speak for all of us in that we would never want to be a part of any errors or excesses. But…but…
He paused. The President, who was flattered by the student’s comments, said, “It’s alright son. Go ahead. What is it?”
Well sir, I appreciate you telling us how to stop things before they get out of hand. But what I was wondering is if you could tell us how to get things going in the first place?
That’s still a legitimate question. Not, how do we put a lid on things, but how do we stimulate and release a move of God’s Spirit? How do we stir up God’s people in way that when we are assembled something happens?
The necessity of knowing God’s Word cannot be stressed enough. It is the infallible, inherent, and inspired Word of God. Unfortunately, in a majority of American churches there is such a huge emphasis placed on the studying, teaching, and preaching of the Bible, there’s no time or want for allowing and experiencing a move of the Holy Spirit.
No one would argue that the idea that the Holy Spirit is living inside every Believer. No one would even argue with the fact that the Holy Spirit is still at work. But anything that moves into the supernatural, the miraculous, or God forbid the spontaneous, is totally off-limits.
We have a church culture in American evangelicalism that is afraid of anything “too spiritual.” We’ve honed the art of church down to songs that everybody likes and preaching that isn’t too long. Experts, who know exactly what to do and how to do it, are in charge of the weekly gatherings.
But listen to the way Paul talked,
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1–5)
Weakness? Fear? Trembling? Paul was an expert in theology, but when it came to ministry he was completely unconfident in his own abilities, and completely dependent on the Holy Spirit. And wherever he went the Holy Spirit moved in the lives of people.
That’s how you get things going!
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