I have been reading a book by Ray S. Anderson called An Emergent Theology for Emerging Churches where he is trying to establish a theological foundation for the practice of ministry in the emerging church movement. The emerging church movement is busy doing the work of ministry and Anderson wants to provide them with the theological basis for "why" they are doing it in a way that can inform "how" they are doing it. This mornings chapter was titled "It's About the Community of the Spirit, Not Just the Gifts of the Spirit," and in it he is trying to establish a vibrant theology of the Spirit from which we can build ministering communities. He closes each chapter with a non-theological postscript as a sort of accessible summarizing of the information provide and today's really struck me and I wanted to share it with you. So here it is, you can find it on pages 175-177.
"I know that my own spirit is too tame when it should be adventurous. My spirit can be too impulsive and sometimes brash when it should be measured and modest. My spirit can waver in doubt and uncertainty when I should be brave and bold. This is why I ask for the Holy Spirit to come beside my spirit, not to take my place but to make my place more resemble a home where Jesus lives than a college dormitory. This is the Spirit I seek when I pray "Spirit of God, descend on my heart."
I don't want the Spirit of God to startle me in the middle of the night when I need rest. I don't want the Spirit of God to make me anxious in order to seek first the kingdom of God. I don't want the Spirit of God to make me bark like a dog or laugh like a hyena in order to fulfill a craving for more of God. On the other hand, there is something I desire in being filled with the Spirit, and that is captured in the poignant words of the psalmist:
"I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child that is within me. (Psalm 121:2-3)"
I am not sure that I want to go through the weaning process - nor am I sure that God wants to go through it with me! The parent suffers more than the child, I suspect. To be weaned from the kind of relationship with God where my needs for gratification demand his immediate response is to walk alone, it seems. But Jesus went through that process, first in being weaned from the breast of his mother, and then from the power of God as a form of temptation. It was, after all, the Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness (Matthew 4:1).
The Spirit of Jesus is a weaned Spirit, no longer demanding to be fed but returning once more to the Father. My spirit is still too restless. I want every prayer to be answered. I want to keep praying even when there is no answer. In the end, I want to be able to trust God to hold my unanswered prayers like letters from a separated lover, close to his bosom. This is the Spirit of my prayer.
I do not expect the church to meet my every need. The church can and should provide the kind of body life where the Spirit can reveal to each of us our own particular needs. If I am weak in faith, I need to be in a church where I am not required to profess more faith than I have. Rather, I need the freedom and security to express my faith deficiency with the expectation that I can draw on the faith of others as a stimulus for my own growth in faith. If I am starved for love, it may indicate that I have a love deficiency in myself rather than lack of others to love me. The Holy Spirit knows what I need, and he will, through the loving care and concern of others, prompt me to grow more in love through a body life where love is expressed generously and openly.
Nutritionists remind us that there are essential ingredients in our daily diet that are necessary to maintain good health. Consumer protection laws have been enacted that require labels on food products that help the purchaser make good decisions about his or her food purchases. Here, rather than a prescription that offers a remedy for some distress or dysfunction (though that is still a good idea!), we should each develop our own nutritional guideline that contains the essential ingredients for our spiritual life and growth. It is not the quantity but the quality of food intake that is necessary for our health. A person can suffer serious malnutrition with a full stomach! I have know people who have been so preoccupied with church activities that they are literally full of religion but starving themselves spiritually.
I have come to the conclusion that an individual is not given a gift of the Spirit because he or she needs it but because the community of the Spirit needs the individual. I do not seek a spiritual gift because I need one to be more spiritual. I need to belong to a community that needs me and needs the gifts that I can bring to the service of Christ within the community. I need to belong to a community that needs me.
A spiritual gift is not an honorary title but a subpoena of the Holy Spirit issued by the body of Christ to fulfill a task or responsibility. Just because it is a gift I should not assume that it will not cost me something to use it. The exercise of a spiritual gift will require my time and energy that could otherwise be used for my own benefit or for the welfare of family and friends who look to me for support. This is why the community of the Spirit needs to have the Spirit's wisdom in distribution of the gifts. The gifts of the Spirit yoke us to Christ, whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30). When we become burdened in our exercising of a spiritual gift, it is no longer a gift that brings a blessing to ourselves but a duty that bruises our spirit.
When the body of Christ of which I am a part reaches out for someone to fill a need, I respond by saying "I can do that." It's that simple. And I am convinced it was that simple for Paul. His analogy of the human body works very well here. If I need to taste something to determine if it is ready to eat, my tongue says "I can do that." If I need to look at a page in a book in order to read it, my eyes say "We can do that." If I have some toxic waste in my blood that needs to be filtered out, my kidneys say "We can do that." I won't press the analogy any further!
The point is, the community of the Spirit, not just the gifts of the Spirit, is what emerging churches are about. If the community is alive in the Spirit and the members are allowing the Spirit that birthed them into Christ to flow into every nook and cranny of their lives, and to conform their human spirits to the Spirit of Christ within them, there will be as many gifts as the body needs, no more, no less."
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Faron
nice blog
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