Published by the Joint Board of Christian Education, Melbourne, 1991.
Contributors:
All chapters are the authors' own comments and not statements from their denomination, unless otherwise indicated. These Australian ministers comment on renewal and revival.
Dan Armstrong (Uniting)
Philip Audemard (Baptist)
John Blacket (Uniting)
David Blackmore (Churches of Christ)
Gregory Blaxland (Anglican)
Barry Chant (Christian Revival Crusade)
Rowland Croucher (Baptist)
Bob Dakers (Brethren)
Owen Dowling (Anglican)
Don Drury (Uniting)
Don Evans (Uniting)
Brian Francis (Churches of Christ)
Djiniyini Gondarra (Uniting)
Dorothy Harris (Baptist)
Glen Heidenreich (Lutheran)
Vincent Hobbs (Catholic)
Hamish Jamieson (Anglican)
Arthur Jackson (Uniting)
John Lewis (Anglican)
Ruth Lord (Uniting)
Barry Manuel (Baptist)
Lazarus Moore (Orthodox)
Peter Moonie (Uniting)
Charles Ringma (Assemblies of God)
Barry Schofield (Anglican)
David Todd (Presbyterian)
JohnCharles Vockler (Anglican)
Geoff Waugh (Baptist)
Tom White (Catholic)
Contents
Introduction: Renewal
Aboriginal Renewal
1. Pentecost in Arnhem Land Djiniyini Gondarra
2. Fire of God among Aborigines John Blacket
Personal Renewal
3. Pilgrimage in renewal JohnCharles Vockler
4. A testimony of renewal Owen Dowling
5. The disquieting presence of the Spirit Charles Ringma
6. A different view Dorothy Harris
7. Ingredients for unity Gregory Blaxland
8. New dimensions David Todd
9. Renewal in the Holy Spirit Barry Manuel
10. Love song Ruth Lord
Church Renewal: examples
11. Renewal in a country parish Barry Schofield
12. Renewal in a diocese John Lewis
13. Renewal in a city prayer meeting Vincent Hobbs; Phil Audemard
14. Renewal in a regional centre Brian Francis; David Blackmore
15. Renewal in a small assembly Bob Dakers
16. Renewal in a large congregation Geoff Waugh
Church Renewal: observations
17. Building with God Barry Chant
18. The cost of renewal Hamish Jamieson
19. Charismatic renewal in the Roman Catholic Church Tom White
20. An Orthodox comment on renewal Lazarus Moore
21. A Lutheran perspective Glen Heidenreich
22. Charismatic renewal: myths and realities Rowland Croucher
23. Charismatic renewal: pastoral issues Arthur Jackson
24. Ministering in renewal Don Drury
25. God's new work Don Evans
26. Future directions for charismatic renewal Peter Moonie
27. Get your surfboard ready Dan Armstrong
Conclusion: Revival
Introduction: Renewal
Renewal in the church challenges everyone.
Renewal comes from God's action. If the Lord is renewing the church we need to take notice. That will affect us all. We change. We're all surprised.
One surprise is that renewal is not a side issue, not an optional extra, not peripheral. It is essential. The victory of the cross over evil in our lives and in society can only be known in the power of the Spirit of Jesus.
Jesus Christ is Lord. He is head of the church and Lord of all. He moves among us in his Spirit, the Holy Spirit. 'God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts' and 'God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us' (Galatians 4:6; Romans 5:5).
Personal Renewal
The Holy Spirit touches us deeply. We have difficulty in trying to express the inexpressible! Scripture describes the impact of the Spirit in many ways:
* The Spirit was given John 7:39; Romans 5:5;
* The Spirit was sent Luke 24:49; John 15:26; 16:7; Galatians 4:6;
* The Spirit put on Numbers 11:17, 25; Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 12:18;
* The Spirit rested upon Numbers 11:25,25; 1 Peter 4:14;
* The Spirit came upon Judges 3:10; Acts 8:16; 19:6;
* The Spirit took control (came upon) Judges 6:34; 1 Samuel 11:6; 16:13;
* The Spirit descended (came down) Matthew 3:16; Luke 3:22; John 1:33;
* The Spirit fell (came down) Acts 10:44; 11:15;
* The Spirit poured out Joel 2:2829; Acts 2:1718; 10:45;
* The Spirit received John 7:39; Acts 8:1517; 10:47; 19:2;
* The Spirit remained John 1:3233;
* Baptised in or with the Spirit Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5;
* Filled with the Spirit Acts 2:4; 9:17; Ephesians 5:18.
These scriptures, taken together, indicate that to be baptised in the Holy Spirit involves both incorporation into the Body of Christ and empowering of the Body of Christ for mission.
To be filled with the Spirit includes an initial impact, release of, or baptism in the Spirit (Acts 2:4; 9:17) and specific encounters with or anointings by the Spirit (Acts 4:8, 31) and the ongoing Spiritfilled life (Ephesians 5:18).
We now live in a time when millions of people are rediscovering this deep encounter with God's Spirit.
Corporate renewal
All these encounters with the Spirit of God are linked in scripture with God's loving and powerful work among his people and in the world. We are to serve and minister in the power of the Spirit (Isaiah 61:12; Luke 4:1819; Acts 1:58).
Divine love embraces us. As we respond, we change. We begin to yield to the strong claims of God's love on us. The church is commanded to be the most loving, caring, healing, forgiving, serving community on earth. That's disturbing because we are not very good at it. It's tough. We have a lot of repenting to do. We need to forgive and love one another, not attack each other.
Our Lord only recognises one church. His! We see it from our perspectives, not from God's. Most of us think our branch is the best, the truest to the Bible, the most authentic. That's why we are committed to that branch, of course.
Yet this very commitment can mean that we view others as inferior, not so spiritually perceptive as us, nor so intellectually honest, nor so pastorally sensitive, nor so ecclesiastically comprehensive.
Strange isn't it? At best, we see only blurred reflections, as in a bronze mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12). So we need to be humble about our ideas. All of our structures and organisations are riddled with human sin, as well as touched by God's grace in our lives.
Unity is not found in structure or doctrine. Look at your own denomination or congregation to see that! We can have the same structure or doctrine but be divided in many ways.
All structures, including church ones, fall prey to sin: our pride, ambition, power plays, status seeking, political manouvering all the things Jesus challenged. Jesus confronts our constant abuse of structures, in the church and in the world. He calls us to servant leadership, to his justice and righteousness, to lay down our lives for one another in love.
Similarly, all doctrines, including church ones, fall prey to sin: our blinkered vision, legalistic interpretation, limited understanding, thinking one facet is the whole truth or one slice is the whole pie. Our angry debates so easily wound and divide the body of Christ. The more dogmatically we insist that our doctrine is the right one, the more we wound our Lord as we cut up his body.
On the other hand, through the presence of God's Spirit in us, the more we work for compassionate and just structures and the more we hold our doctrinal convictions with humility and grace, the more we discover unity in Jesus our Lord.
We need the Spirit's power to enable us to be more like Jesus. He turns everything around. The first are last, and the last first. Status and privilege count for nothing, and are hindrances. The loving, caring servants are great in the kingdom. You have to lose your life to find it. When we surrender to God, we win. Love triumphs.
When God pours out his Spirit upon us, we begin to discover the miracle of unity in the Spirit. God's love softens and melts our hard hearts. We really are one in Christ. We share his life, even though we see things from different perspectives.
That divine life overwhelms us and disturbs us!
Rethinking renewal
Renewal always disturbs us. Along comes this creative power transforming lives all over the place. If it doesn't fit our mould (and it doesn't) we can be upset.
The wind blows where it will. We hear the sound of it and we see the effects of this wind of the Spirit in people born anew of the Spirit (John 3:8). We are confronted again with God's action and our reaction. It's all so unpredictable!
Our human reaction is often a problem. It may vary from the extremes of disbelief and entrenched resistance to gullible cultish excesses.
There have been excesses. This happens in all traditions, especially where emotions are touched deeply. We can exaggerate, be bigoted, and fall prey to the pride which thinks we alone are right and others are wrong.
There are, however, gracious, warm hearted, generous people in all traditons who truly love God and love others. They have the humility to learn from others. They enrich others through their faith.
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble in any tradition. We can respond to God's action in faith, hope and love.
Then we will be agents of reconciliation. Scripture is full of instructions to love: 'Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all' (Romans 12:1418).
That's the way to go. 'Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts' (1 Corinthians 14:1). Those spiritual gifts need to be expressed in love.
Controversial renewal
However, God's action can be very unsettling. God's Spirit is described as wind and fire. He sets the church on fire. That is not always welcomed.
The Spirit came upon Jesus and immediately he faced opposition. He was severely tempted straight after his baptism. Then he was kicked out of his home synagogue. Yet he went on in the power of the Spirit helping and changing people because of his great compassion.
The Spirit came upon the early church and immediately it faced opposition. Conversions and healings followed Pentecost. So did strife. The risen Lord was busy in his church in the power of his Spirit still helping and changing people.
Even Christians faced opposition from within the church when the Spirit moved powerfully among them. Peter was criticised for going to Cornelius. Paul was opposed by Jewish Christians who wanted the scriptures obeyed in every detail. Always the Spirit calls us on into deeper union with our Lord in his mission in the world. God's Spirit will not be confined to any of our traditions. That's disturbing.
The same sort of thing happened in church history. Our heroes are often those who were persecuted. It's safe for us to study events back there and then. Or is it?
Here and now it is not so safe. It can revolutionise our lives.
What do you do when you ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and you are? You are flooded with a dynamic new love for God and for others. As you read this book you can ask that, and expect it!
What do you do when someone lays hands on you so that the gifts of the Spirit will be more fully released in your life, and you discover it has happened to you as it did for Saul of Tarsus or the Ephesians (Acts 9:17; 19:6)?
What do you do when you are in a meeting where the Spirit comes upon everyone in majesty and mystery as happened in Jerusalem and Caesarea (Acts 2:114; 10:4448)?
What do you do when the Spirit of Jesus leads you to identify with the poor and oppressed and to confront injustice as happened with the Spiritfilled ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus?
A young lady prays for a poor man with a withered arm who is instantly healed, and she gets such a shock she faints!
A young man speaks at his first crusade among oppressed people and hundreds are converted and healed. It caused such a stir that the international media covered the three day event.
Revival can flood into communities with such impact that thousands repent of wrong attitudes and actions, crime rates drop, abortions diminish, enemies are reconciled, stolen goods are returned, justice prevails. Yet not without opposition.
We live in such a time again.
Worldwide renewal
The Lord is renewing his church in many ways. Just as our branch of the vine is not the whole vine (and needs some pruning), so our branch of renewal is not the whole picture. God's Spirit cannot be limited to our little ideas or actions.
No one term or theology can grasp the mystery or explain it fully. That is the nature of mystery!
So with pentecostalism and charismatic renewal. Those terms emerged to put a handle on some of the mystery:
* a rediscovery of the Spirit coming in intimacy and power as in Jesus' ministry;
* a rediscovery of Pentecost as in the Book of Acts; and
* a rediscovery of the charisms or gifts of the Spirit as described in the epistles.
These rediscoveries are linked with a baptism or infilling or empowering in, with and by the Holy Spirit. Many different terms describe this powerful encounter.
God's power was present in Jesus, in the disciples, and in the early church. It is described in many ways.
Recently, millions have discovered this intimate and powerful encounter with God in different ways with different testimonies explained in different terms.
David Barrett, editor of the World Christian Encyclopedia, reports that the number of known pentecostal/charismatic Christians were 100 million by 1980, 150 million by 1985, 337 million by 1989, and over 360 million in 1990. At the beginning of the nineties they were onefifth of all Christians, onefourth of the fulltime workers, responsible for half of all conversions to Christ, and had the world's largest churches.
Henry Van Dusen, former president of Union Theological Seminary, had concluded by 1960 that the pentecostal movement with its emphasis upon the Holy Spirit was more than just another revival. He described it as a revolution in our day, a revolution comparable in importance with the establishment of the original Apostolic Church and with the Protestant Reformation. He called it the third force in Christendom, alongside the Catholic and Protestant expressions of Christianity.
The last thirty years have seen that powerful dynamic spill over into all branches of the church. It is not limited to pentecostal or charismatic groups.
This book reflects on the phenomenon of pentecostal and charismatic renewal in many different traditions, expressed in various theologies.
What is God doing in the world at this crucial time in history? What is Jesus Christ the head of his church doing among us? What is the Holy Spirit saying to us?
There are no easy answers. We see only a small part of the picture. Our observations and conclusions must be tentative and limited. God is much bigger than our understanding of renewal in the church.
Nevertheless, we do have the biblical witness. Renewal of biblical Christianity will drive us into sacrificial service in the church and in the world through the power of the Holy Spirit transforming us.
Renewal is not for us to have nice meetings. Indeed, meeting together in the holy, majestic presence of God through the power of his Spirit, can be quite overwhelming or unnerving. When the Spirit of God comes upon people profound changes happen. It was so in the early church. They experienced awe and wonder (Acts 2:43; 4:31; 5:5, 1116; 10:4448; 13:12).
Those early Christians made an impact on their world in the power of the Spirit. Others throughout history have done the same. Now it's our turn.
This book offers some personal witness, case studies of renewed churches, and reflections or observations about this multifaceted renewal from people who are involved and have been on the road a while. They have different perspectives, different theologies. Yet they all witness to the wonderful and disturbing impact of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, in renewal.
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(c) Geoff Waugh, 1991, The Joint Board of Christian Education.
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