God is Good

I know, the church's favorite cliché, right? But, isn't it awesome when God does something good? I wish there was another to say it, to explain how you feel; but it all boils down to "God is good".

This Sunday was the best Sunday we have had at NHC. There was not a huge crowd. I didn't even preach a message. But during the worship, the Holy Spirit just begin to minister throughout the church. People were laying in the altars, I even lost some of my singers, as they knelt away from their mics to honor the King of Glory. Then, to top it off, God spoke.

God spoke in a profound way, by using me in the gift of prophecy. I didn't really even know it was coming. I just opened my mouth, knowing something was going to come out. God spoke. I am still overwhelmed by it all. God is good.

Truly Pentecostal?

When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Acts 2:6 (NIV)
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. Acts 2:14 (NIV)

So by now, I think everyone can agree, that the church has been going through a lot of transition. Now, I'm no expert on the subject, but I know the last decade has presented us with fresh new innovations, and a whole new set of challenges. The church has seen the resurgence of the organic home church, and the "emergence" of both the Missional church and the Emergent church.

Of course, as with every change, there has been resistance. What is interesting to me, however, is how much resistance has been presented by those of my faith tradition: Pentecostalism. I am not surprised by this resistance, because every group within Christianity has created its own set of traditions, and those are often hard to see past. But, it is interesting, that Pentecostals feel a call to settle in and defend the old fort; when the roots of Pentecostalism paint a very different picture of the church.

First of all, let me say that Pentecostals have always been known for being on the fringe of mainstream Christianity. It is our presence on the fringe that has made us, in large part, leaders in missionary and evangelistic efforts. To me, Pentecost is unique, in that we emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit in our spreading of the gospel. And rightfully so, we should. This reliance on the move of the Spirit has kept us innovative. We use phrases like "fresh anointing" and "fresh word". These phrases imply freshness, newness, and innovation. From the roots of Pentecost, we can see that it was the Holy Spirit's purpose to use an innovative way to capture the attention of an audience, so they could hear and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

While strong emphasis is placed on the speaking of tongues as initial evidence, perhaps not enough emphasis is placed on the purpose and significance of tongues. In Acts 2, it is the speaking in other tongues, that captured the attention of the crowd that was gathered in Jerusalem. Men looked in bewilderment at each other and said, "They're speaking our language." The tearing down of the language barrier got their attention. Why? Because individuals who should not have known the language of others, did. What an awesome testimony.

Wouldn't it be great if the church could get the attention if the world, by speaking their language. What if people said, "That church is speaking my language. They shouldn't be, but they are!" Recently, I read that only 4% of individuals born after 1983 are currently active in any church. What an astonishing statistic. Could it be that we don't draw the attention of a new generation, because we don't speak the language of a new generation? There is no one way to do this. Every local church, in every location, must find the language of the unchurched people of its community. Chances are this group is going to largely be young people.

So let's return to being Pentecostal. Let's pray for a fresh filling of the Spirit, that will empower us to speak the language of the people around us, and open their eyes to the truth of the gospel.