Anyone as who knows a bit about the church year will tell you that Easter is not just one weekend it is a whole season stretching from Easter Sunday until Pentecost. We have fifty days, including eight Sundays, to celebrate the resurrection.

I have recently been studying some of the traditions of Easter. To some these may be clichés but they are virtually unknown to many evangelicals and charismatics.

During each of the Sundays of Eastertide traditional liturgy reminds us of the following truths regarding this resurrection life:

The first Sunday: The ressurection

Just as Christ has enabled us to overcome spiritual death he enables us to overcome difficulties of living in this fallen world and ultimately to defeat death.

The second Sunday: Church

Together as God’s people that we can overcome our doubts and misgivings by encouraging one another in the faith. On our own our faith with dwindle and die.

The third Sunday: Worship

As we gather for worship we learn and experience this resurrection life. It is in our experiences together that we are strengthened to live in the good of the resurrection.

The fourth Sunday: The good shepherd

Jesus is the good shepherd who has laid down his life for his sheep and taken it up again. He leads us to green pastures and feeds in the midst of our enemies.

The fifth Sunday: Ministry

During his time on earth and especially between his resurrection and ascension Jesus taught his disciples how to be Jesus after he had left – to live this resurrection life.

The sixth Sunday: The Holy Spirit

Jesus taught them to expect the Paraclete – the Spirit that would come when Jesus went away. The Spirit is given to empower us to live the resurrection life.

The seventh Sunday: Unity

Despite our many differences the fact is we as Christians all have this resurrection life in common and the important fact that will bring us to unity and so glorify God.

The eighth Sunday: Pentecost

Following Jesus ascension the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost on his church bringing a boldness to proclaim the gospel and live the resurrection life to the full.

These wonderful themes are emphasised every year as the traditional church works its way through the Easter lectionary readings. Treasure these if they are part of your heritage. If they are not then I would encourage you to study them more and maybe even incorporate them into your Sunday worship.

Here are the results from the poll I ran the other week: 92% said they knew a good balance of Christians and non-Christians and the other 8% felt that they knew more non-Christians.

These results appear to be very encouraging. If we are to be truly missional we do need to mix beyond our Christian circles and it looks like most of you are. You feel that they know a good balance of both Christians and non-Christians. Not knowing non-Christians isn’t a problem for you.

Of course it could be you tend to have closer relationships with people who are also Christians. I wonder if the poll might have got different results if I had referred to friends rather than just people you know.

It is interesting that one comment did indicate awareness that this might be problem for Christians. “I think there is a real danger to becoming cut off” my friend Ann said.

Speaking as someone who remembers “experiencing exclusion in many areas” she wrote: “I am determined not to do what was done to me – how ever I can see and do experience people who say they are Christians… [who] are selective in who they are Christian towards”

Perhaps how to get to know people outside Christian circles isn’t the issue. But perhaps you need help developing or maintaining those relationships? Or could it be serving those you know whether they are Christian or not is more important as well as how to have conversations about spiritual issues them?

A quick way to research what people are searching for on the internet is to use Google’s predictive feature. You start typing a word and Google with give you a few suggestions based on popular searches. By typing a word followed by each letter of the alphabet it is easy to collate an A to Z of that topic by just picking one of the four words or phrases that Google gives you.

Using this technique here is my Google A to Z of the Holy Spirit:

A is for “aint got a pen” as in “the Holy Spirit ain’t got a pen” Russell Brand’s response to the members of Westboro Baptist Church when discussing inspiration of scripture

B is for Bryan and Katie Torwalt from the Jesus Culture Music of Bethel Church who sing about the Holy Spirit

C is for Bryan and Katie’s ‘Holy Spirit Chords’

D is for dove and then when you’ve typed dove Google then suggests “dove tattoo”!

E is for experience such as the tremendous experience with the Holy Spirit described by Denzil Washington

F is for female depictions of the Holy Spirit – controversial!

G is for Gettymusic resources for churches by Keith & Kristyn Getty.

H is for hymns such as “Holy Spirit Living Breath of God”

I is for “in the world today” as in “Holy Spirit in the World Today” a conference organised by Holy Trinity Brompton’s Alpha ministries

J is for Jesus Culture

K is for Kim Walker another American singer, songwriter and worship leader

L is for “living breath of God”

M is for “move me now” as in “Holy Spirit Move Me Now” another song this time by Vinesong

N is for novena – prayers for nine successive days such as the nine days before Pentecost (a Catholic tradition)

O is for “of fire” as in “Holy Spirit of Fire” a more traditional hymn

P is for Pentecost

Q is for quotes about the Holy Spirit from the Bible and from Christian writers and speakers, which abound on the internet

R is for “rain down” as in “Holy Spirit Rain Down” by Hillsong

S is for school. It is amazing how many Catholic schools are named after the Holy Spirit. You need to put “sp” before you get speaking in tongues!

T is for “thou art welcome in this place” as in “Holy Spirit Though Art Welcome in This Place”

U is for university – as well as schools there are other Catholic educational institutions such as the “Holy Spirit University of Kaslik” in France

V is for videos not just of songs but of people encountering the Holy Spirit in some unusual ways

W is for worship songs such as “Holy Spirit We Welcome You” by Chris Bowater and many of the others already mentioned.

X is for XVI as in Pope Benedict XVI (although I have heard a rumour that Pope Francis I is more open to the Holy Spirit than his predecessor)

Y is for “you are welcome here” as in “Holy Spirit You Are Welcome Here” by Bryan and Katie Torwalt

Z is for Zac Poonen – a preacher, teacher and writer who among other topics has written about the Holy Spirit.

Please try this yourself to see if you come up with something similar or try different words.

Following his post about the charismatic-missional tension Andrew Wilson suggests some ways forward for churches in this post Becoming Charismissional.

Here are his ten tips aimed at leaders, slightly paraphrased, on how to be both Spirit-filled and missional.

1. Being Charismissional is possible

The early church had both strange charismatic experiences and clear explanations of the gospel.

2. Be honest – how charismatic are you?

To what extent are your contributions really God speaking? To what extend are they just your own thoughts?

3. Be honest – how missional are you?

Are you sharing life with those outside the church and having conversations about the gospel?

4. Think about the words you use.

Avoid Christian jargon. Use terms new people can understand.

5. Explain what is happening when you meet

Clear explanations throughout can help visitors feel comfortable with what is happening e.g. when someone speaks in tongues or when you lay hands on someone to pray for them.

6. Understand 1 Corinthians 14

Take care with spiritual gifts. Use them primarily to build up the church. This is why they should be intelligible.

7. Acknowledge individual differences

Some non-Christians are sceptical of emotionalism but some actually prefer more passionate gatherings. Don’t over generalise.

8. Train people to use gifts evangelistically

Why not teach people to use spiritual gifts in conversation with their non-Christian friends.

9. Share the teaching

Some speakers may excel at doctrinal teaching others at gospel preaching or charismatic experiences.

10. Lead by example

Eagerly desire more of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts and engage with your culture and with non-Christians.

What do you think?

Related posts on this blog

Why CharisMissional?
Becoming CharisMissional
Post-Charismatic? A book review
7 Charismissional links
5 Examples of the Charismatic-Missional Tension

Posts by Andrew Wilson

Becoming Charismissional
The Charismatic-Missional Tension

I recently found this post where Andrew Wilson an elder at Kings Church in Eastbourne discusses what he calls the charismatic-missional tension. In this first post he raises some interesting questions about spiritual gifts, healing, ministry times, preaching and how we use social media.

Spiritual gifts

Some missional churches in attempts to be more seeker-sensitive have all but banned spiritual gifts in their meetings in favour of communicating clearly to those outside the faith. But shouldn’t we be able to be charismatic and exercise gifts in our meetings without being wacky and incomprehensible?

Healing

Praying for the sick may mean seeing some people not healed. Andrew Wilson discusses how we can tackle this with honesty and integrity – not exaggerating, appearing deluding or destroying people’s faith when the healing doesn’t occur. Is it more charismatic to pray for healings but more missional not to?

Ministry times

This refers to a charismatic practice where people respond to a sermon by coming forward to be prayed for. We may still long to experience God more deeply but also feel that visitors may be spooked by some people’s highly emotional responses during such times and so experience this charismatic-missional tension.

Preaching

Here he discusses the balance between teaching doctrine, preaching the gospel and encouraging Christians to experience more of the Holy Spirit. Wilson observes that most good preachers excel at one or two of those but rarely all three.

Social media

To what extent do we discuss our Christian experience in front of non-Christians? Some charismatics may freak out their friends whereas some missional types may say next to nothing and miss opportunities to testify.

He tries to make sense of these in his following post, which I will discuss next week.

Further Reading

The Charismatic-Missional Tension by Andrew Wilson
Becoming Charismissional by Andrew Wilson

Following on from my earlier post about sceptism and healing I just wanted to emphasise that I do believe that God heals today and give a verifiable case that I feel demonstrates this well.

This link about the healing of Delia Knox was published in the Daily Mail. It has stood the test of time and scrutiny from the press.

Delia Knox was paralysed from the waist down. In 2010 she was dramatically healed and has been walking ever since. A British preacher Nathan Morris prayed for her and the moment she first regains use of her legs was captured on video and become a YouTube hit.

Here is a quote from the Daily Mail article:

When she agreed to attend a meeting with preacher Nathan Morris, she had no idea healings were happening. She said: ‘I knew it was an evangelistic meeting but I didn’t know healings were taking place. To be honest I’ve stayed away from healing meetings… and rarely responded to altar calls. ‘But Nathan Morris called my husband forward and I had no idea what was going on. I didn’t want to make a scene when Nathan was praying for me.

‘Then all of a sudden I felt a voice which I knew was the Holy Spirit saying to me, “Get up”, and I felt feeling in my legs and then faith came on me to walk.

Please have a look and investigate the links. It would be great to know what you think.

Read the Daily Mail article here.

It’s a blog thing!

Have a go at this little quiz to determine how sceptical you are. (I will spell it with a ‘c’ because I am British!) I just did the quiz and got this result. Well I suppose I am fairly sceptical so I shouldn’t really be surprised!
 

You Are Fairly Skeptical

You’re not the type of person who will fall for anything…But you do keep your mind open to all sorts of possibilities. You figure that anything could be true. After all, the world is a strange place. However, you’re going to need some convincing before you can believe in aliens or reincarnation!

 
Having a play with it I can only find three outcomes ‘Very Skeptical’, ‘Fairly Skeptical’ and ‘Not Skeptical in the Least’. So that means I am probably fairly balanced. I’m not taken in by every new flaky idea, But neither do I doubt everything. I actually feel that this is a good place to be as a Christian. I think we should be discerning after all but still people of faith.

I was recently reading a book on aromatherapy. I was really enjoying the book and learning about the different ways to use the many essential oils. But past half way through the book it began talking about using crystals and energy points and even links to horoscopes. I was very sceptical about that!

But what do we make of the claims of miracles by some of the big healing evangelists? Recently I shared the following video on facebook. As a Charismatic Christian I do believe that God heals today and that this could be a real example of God moving.

The woman’s response certainly looks authentic. But I still think we need to be cautious before making such claims. Could this be a result of suggestion? I was recently discussing this on facebook and one comment I agreed with was that there is a lot psychological pressure to believe that you are healed in a situation like this in front of thousands.

I agree that the real test must come later when we hear her testimony a few months down the track. If and when we hear that she is truly healed then we can rejoice that with her and give praise to God. But I don’t think saying that makes anyone a sceptic.

What do you think?

Here are some quotes from Brian McLaren’s book that I promised last week. The book goes into more detail and covers more controversial ideas than his talk did. I’ll give you my thoughts about them next week as I review the book.

I have sought to faithfully represent McLaren’s meanings as clearly as possible. I have included the chapter numbers for references.

How do we, as Christians, faithfully affirm the uniqueness and universality of Christ without turning that belief into an insult or a weapon? (2)

One: The Crisis of Christian Identity

Shouldn’t it be possible to have a strong Christian identity that is strongly benevolent towards people of other faiths, accepting them not in spite of the religion that they love, but with the religion they love? (3)

A new kind of Christian identity… [is] characterised by strong benevolence, generosity and hospitality towards others, not hostility on one hand and not mere ‘niceness’ or ‘tolerance’ on the other. (5)

The tensions between our conflicted religions arise not from our differences, but from one thing we all hold in common: an oppositional religious identity that derives strength from hostility. (7)

Hostility: I see other faiths as wrong, false or evil, and I maintain a posture of opposition to all faiths but the Christian faith….

Solidarity: My understanding of Jesus and his message leads me to see each faith, including my own, as having its own history, value, strengths and weaknesses. I seek to affirm and celebrate all that is good in each faith, and I build intentional relationships of mutual sharing and respectful collaboration with people of all faiths, so all faiths can keep growing and contributing to God’s will being done on earth as in heaven. (8)

A forty year old Arabian nearly three centuries after Constantine had a series of visions that convinced him that there are not many gods, as his countrymen believed, but only one. God was calling him to bring this revelation to all his fellow Arabs and to the whole world. What was he to do? …When we situate Mohammed in this way, just outside the borders of a powerful so-called Christian empire that claimed divine authority to conquer under the sign of the cross, I trust we can interpret Mohammed’s choices and convictions in a more sympathetic light. (11)

Two: The Doctrinal Challenge

So what is a proper understanding of original sin? It is the crisis of identity that emerges as we reject our original God given name… our original identity as soil creatively organised into ‘the image of God’ within the original harmony and hospitality of creation…. The popular understanding of original sin promotes a dualistic, judgemental, accusatory mindset that breeds hostility and rivalry…. A better understanding exposes hostility and rivalry and so prepares the way for us to rediscover a strong benevolent Christian identity. (13)

The holy fire of God can only consume evil things. And since human beings bare the image of God, their humanity can never be considered an evil thing… (28)

If indeed the Holy Spirit is… active in all creation, not just the church… then we would expect the Holy Spirit to be moving people in each religion to offer their good gifts to others, and to receive the good gifts offered by others. (17)

Three: The Liturgical Challenge

[Derek Flood observes] Paul edits quotations of Psalm 18:41-49 and Deuteronomy 32:43 in Romans 15:8-10. The language of divine mercy and promise is retained. The language of violence and vengeance is gone…. [And in] Romans 3:10-18 Paul is making a very different point from the original intent of these Psalms. In fact, he is making the opposite point – we should not cry out for God’s wrath and judgement because we are all sinners in need of mercy. ‘It is an artful and deliberate reshaping of these verses… from their original cry for divine violence into a confession of universal culpability that highlights our need for mercy.’ (22)

The problematic dimensions of the doctrine [of penal substitution] nudged me to be more at home with Celtic, Franciscan, Anabaptist, Quaker, Eastern Orthodox, Liberationist and other perspectives that proclaim the gospel (and celebrate the Eucharist) with little or no reference to this atonement theory. (23)

Four: The Missional Challenge

So do you have a Sikh neighbour, a Hindu co-worker, a Muslim business associate, a Buddhist member of your PTA, a New Age second cousin? Invite them into companionship over a cup of tea or coffee. Ask them questions. Display unexpected interest in them, their traditions, their beliefs, their stories…. Enter their world, and welcome them into your world, without judgement. (24)

Mission work like this will always involve charity… Community organisers working for the common good must often stand in solidarity with people of other faiths. So we who follow Jesus will discover our true identity… by going out of our way to serve Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews or atheists… also by serving alongside them. (25)

Christian identity involves both witness – graciously and confidently sharing our unique, Christ centred message, and with-ness – experiencing solidarity with people of other faiths worshiping in one another’s presence and working together for the common good. (26)

What did Jesus mean by the term the Kingdom of God? Surely he meant something far bigger than any religion should or could contain. The commonwealth of God… contains all of humanity with all our languages, and cultures – and religions. We anticipate… a ‘marvellous convergence’, and our anticipation inspires participation. (27)

Old evangelism- evangelism as we knew it – was… an unwitting accomplice in the story of European colonialism and empire… In generosity we freely share our treasures with people of other faiths, without requiring them to convert… We invite people to… discover a God… who seeks to bring all things into joyous reconciliation… leading to a conversion so deep it fills with new meaning old, spent, clichéd terms like born again, saved, converted, confirmed, baptised or catechised. (28)

I recently went to a talk by Brian McLaren launching his book Why Did Jesus, Moses, The Buddha and Mohammed Cross the Road?

This was part of the Love Peace and Misunderstanding Tour that he was doing organised by Greenbelt. As well as Brian McLaren speaking it also included a short talk by Malia Bouattia a Muslim post grad from Birmingham University followed by a conversation between the two. There was also some singing by Jasmin Kennedy. The evening concluded with some questions and answers from the audience.

Brian’s McLaren’s talk

Brian McLaren began by explaining that the founders of the major faiths of the world were much more hospitable to those of other faiths than their followers have been:

• Jesus was known for making respectful contact with those his peers wouldn’t go near. For example he listened to and acknowledged the real faith of the Syrophoenician woman.
• Mohammed grew up in a multi-faith environment and had relationships with people of other faith. At one point he allowed Christians to pray in his mosque even though some of his followers objected.
• Moses was a Hebrew brought up in Pharaoh’s household and gained counsel from his father-in-law the high priest of Midian.
• Buddha was more concerned in finding enlightenment than in taking part in religious conflicts.

Coming from a fundamentalist background, Brian McLaren went on to say, he had been taught hostility towards other faiths that says if you can’t convert someone keep them at arms length. The alternative to this that most people have is a weak identity that implies that our beliefs aren’t important to us. But what he proposes was a strong identity that makes you a good neighbour to those who disagree with you.

It is a popular misconception that our religious differences keep us apart. But actually, McLaren argued, it is building our identity through hostility to others. What the world needs now is solidarity. Our real enemy is the hostility between the groups not the other group per se.

Malia Boulettia

Malia described her feelings of what it was like for a Muslim when someone wants to convert them. She explained how as an Algerian she saw Christianity as part of Imperialism because of colonialism. She said when she went to evangelistic meeting and it felt like the Christians were vultures swooping down on her!

The Q&A

In the question time I asked Brian McLaren about his approach to evangelism. If what we mean by this is sharing the unique gifts of Jesus with people so that they too may experience them he was all for it. His approach to evangelism was telling both our own stories of our walk with Jesus and the stories of Jesus from the Bible. People are interested in stories.

Malia Bouattia commented that one thing that she liked about this book was Brian McLaren’s reservations about the state of affairs in the Church. Brian agreed that an honest open approach to evangelism was the best – sharing your own failings and those of the Church. Though some might not feel comfortable with such an approach I did get his point that it is foolish to cover up the cracks that people are aware of anyway.

What did I think of the evening?

Overall, I liked what Brian McLaren was saying here and I think that a hospitable approach to evangelism with other faiths is a good one. It is much better than one that comes over as hostile or keeps people at arms length unless they convert.

But I would need to read the book to get the full picture of Brian McLaren position. Next week I plan to blog some quotes from the book and follow that up with a review of the book.

In the meantime I recommend reading David Matthew’s review of the book here. He has some interesting reservations that I plan to discuss soon.

The Christmas story told by people living and working in Bethlehem today.

This would be great to show in a Carol Service this weekend!