Spiritual Gifts--abused, diminished, forgotten???

"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."  (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

Circa 1985--The Lord had brought me through all manner of denominational/ecclesiastical structures. I began in Christian Science, moved to Catholicism, then to Plymouth Brethren, an excursion into Presbyterianism (the biblical variety, OPC), on to a "home church" (a rare biblical one), onward to the Charismatic movement and Pentecostal expressions right into "deliverance" ministry and finally, settling into traditional/contemporary non-denominational fellowships. It needs to be noted, I was not "searching" in the sense of one looking for enlightenment, or spirituality (whatever that is), nor was I picking and choosing snippets from each iteration of faith creating my own "truth." Geographical moves necessitated looking for a place to worship communally in a biblical expression of church. It must be noted that this doesn't mean I did not find any--or at least solid portions of one--among the examples mentioned. Suffice it to say, I have been around the theological block more than most.

The spiritual gifts are confusing to many and candidly, even after my vast pilgrimages, they are to me as well.  But not everything pertaining to the gifts of the Spirit are confusing.  Strangely enough, in my experience, of the clearest aspects of the gifts seem to be the most widely abused.

Circa 1987--I am at a conference sponsored by a burgeoning, charismatic ministry wherein at the end an invitation for prayer was given. I rose to volunteer as a pray-er not to be prayed for. A man approached our little cluster and asked for prayer.  The man was a pastor who was terribly discouraged so we began to pray. (I was at this conference as a learner, not an expert.) The prayers of the group (there were maybe 5 of us) somehow turned quickly to imposing the gift of speaking in tongues on this beleaguered pastor. Over the course of the next half hour this poor man was subjected to a haranguing by the pray-ers to receive the gift of tongues. "Do you want this gift?" He was asked. He responded affirmatively. Praying commenced increasing in pitch, fervor and volume with the pray-ers becoming more aggressive and insisting the pastor was being resistant, wasn't believing, wasn't open to receiving etc. After 20 minuets he was in tears pleading for the gift insisting he wasn't resistant with the pray-ers insisting he didn't have the faith... I was witnessing and by my presence, part of, a spiritual rape of a dear man being savaged by well-meaning but theologically inept people compelled to make excuses for God's "not showing up."

Since that day I have seen or heard of many other iterations of this spiritual brutality many, many times. It is reprehensible for 4 verses later in Paul's letter to the Corinthians God's counsel is exceedingly clear.  Referring to the gifts, the inspired, infallible, inerrant, authoritative Word of God explains--

                                    "All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit,

                        who apportions to each one individually as He wills."
                                                      (1 Corinthians 12:11)

It isn't rocket science...

How self absorbed are our prayers?

In my many years as pastor of the greatest congregation on the planet, one of the most consistent elements I noticed is how self-absorbed prayers can be. "Oh Lord, help me out of this mess...; heal my back...; touch my spouse, work a miracle for XYZ..." There is hardly a category under which most of our prayers fall that don't have some self-ish motivation grounded in my well being, my comfort, my joy, my peace, my happiness...  As a pastor, my first epiphany in this arena of prayer came in the manner in which I used to pray for healing.  Healing seems to be our default position for every ailment either for benefit of myself, the one I am praying for, or both.  So I started asking myself--WHY are you praying THAT? Eureka! It changed the way I pray.

What's interesting is that we find plenty of examples in the Scriptures that are just as self-absorbed.  Many of the Psalms are cries of desperation from hurting, troubled, worried, scared or ailing individuals. But others, at first blush anyway, have a different quality, a different focus to them even if they seem to be pretty much like all the others--ME centered.  But are they?

John the Baptist was man on a  mission dressing down the wretchedness of his day and boldly stood before King Herod and called him out for his blatant immorality and wickedness. John’s “reward” is Herod's barred hotel. His "prayer" to his friends was to go back to Jesus and ask Him one question. It's interesting John doesn't ask for Jesus to come and deliver him out of the injustice upon him. He only wanted reassurance the ultimate sacrifice was worth it. “Are you the ONE?" 

The apostle Paul lived a life of sequential heart aches, physical pain, deprivations...He prayed a lot for others but he also asked others to pray for him and for his dire situations in which he found himself. But look at the key difference of his prayers' purposes.

"Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me…” Sounds like what we might pray right? But Paul continues.  “…[so] that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea [for the purpose] “…that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints; so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company."  (Romans 15:30-32) 

Paul wasn’t asking for relief for personal gratification but that he may complete the work to which the Lord had assigned him. Paul was repeatedly jailed for preaching Jesus and his express desire is to be freed in order to fulfill the mission of Christ.

Many times over 35 years in ministry I have been asked to pray for people who are in some way distressed, troubled or ill. Many of these times found me standing next to a hospital bed having been asked specifically to pray for healing. Sometimes I would--boldly, and categorically. But other times I wouldn’t necessarily yet no matter the situation, including prayers for myself during times of grave illness, my prayers were centered on restoring the one [or myself] for God's purposes; “Thy Kingdom Come…” After all it is why everyone of us have been put here in the first place. We have been bought with a price and our lives are simply NOT our lives.

Raising up tomorrow's leaders!

In the span of three weeks or so I have had the incredible blessing of being a part, a very small part of the "installation" of two men to the calling of pastor to two respective churches in which I have been blessed of having a part.  Brent Small became the new Lead Pastor of Faith E. Free in Waterville, Maine after being my right hand man, colleague and friend for 15 years.  Ben Franklin was installed a couple weeks later in Solon, Maine at the New Hope E. Free Church, a church we planted, well, a long time ago in a small town 35 miles north of us.

Pastor Brent came to us "raw" but with the right heart and soul and he was a phenomenal colleague, friend, support and enabled me to continue to serve at Faith for as long as I did.  Pastor Ben came to faith screaming and kicking not yet even in relationship with the Savior. He met Jesus, grew, blossomed, and now heads up the work of Christ in a tiny Maine town with Christ lovers who have shown their grit and love for the Savior over the years. And coincidentally, the first pastor of the church plant in Solon was a man who came to Faith in desperation, unsaved, ungroomed and uneducated (as the world would label education.)

It dawned on me as I was preparing my second pastoral installation that Faith has a history of seeing where God is at work and joining him. (Thank you Henry Blackaby...)  Over the nearly three decades at Faith we have brought on staff, 13 men and woman out of our own faith community, who were either completely raw, untrained, or had been long out of ministry but were who we needed to continue the work of the Lord in Central Maine.

When I look back on my decision to abandon my dreams for medical school entering the ministry it was such a Divine ordination that there are no doubts of what He had put into play. I will die an accomplished man, fulfilled, completed and satisfied and in awe of the grace of a God who can take anything and anyone and fashion it/them for His purposes without ever trampling one's personal choices and freedom.

I have no idea what He has for me with the years that remain but I fall on my face in gratitude and joy coming into the fullness of all that the Lord's Shalom comprises.  After all--
"...does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?"  (Romans 9:21)

Why He chose me for such honorable purposes I don't think I shall ever know. All I can say, is Worthy is the Lamb who was slain--ALL glory and praise belong to Him now and forever more.

The insomniac...

It is just before 4 a.m., I have been awake since 2.  Burdened with such needs for prayer for friends and loved ones 3-5a.m. tends to be my "holy" time of prayer.  I don't plan it that way. I don't want it that way, but this has been my lot for the past several years. I have embraced it.  Well, ok, I have gently, hugged it because let's be honest, I have no choice.  Well no good choice that is.

It is dark outside, my pellet stove is going, and I am nestled into my "special" chair, the chair we bought when I was going through chemo, and the chair in which I met--reluctantly--with my Lord in my dark night of the soul, to borrow a phrase from days long past by various people of God describing the struggles, the doubts, and the discouragements of even the most admirable of “saints.”

My position in my special chair, the darkness, even the time of year was pretty much identical to "that night."  The only significant difference this night is the absence of my mini-Schnauzer Gus, who has since preceded my departure from this life.  He was witness to "that night."  It was an agonizing night, pain unspeakable, from a post-op side-effect the result of a surgical intervention a couple days before. When one is either immune to most pain killers and allergic to opiates, there is no relief.  

As the hours went on I was crying out to the Lord both literally and prayerfully asking, begging, pleading for some relief, just diminishment of the pain.  It seemed, as I remember a seminary professor once saying, that that ceiling was brass with my prayers just bouncing back never making it to the throne room of God. I expect some of you have been there a time or two yourself.

This night, however was different, very different.  Gazing into the flames hypnotically licking the glass of the window of my warmth, there was no pain, not physical anyway, only the awareness that comes with hindsight that sometime in the never-ending extremity of my anguish, I awoke from a slumber.  I wasn't even aware of it, I couldn't tell you exactly when it happened, only that it did.

I cannot look back on that night--even when so graphically portrayed in all the HD glory of my wonderment, as anything but one of the most holy meetings with God in my life.  The circumstances do not fit such a description but as far as I am concerned, it was--again in hindsight--the mingling of His holy Majesty--shrouded in the eternal "musterion" of His Deity.

I do not ever want to repeat it, but I review "that night" as a highlight of my walk with the Lord and wouldn't rescind it if I had the choice.  Maybe that is what faith is.  It doesn't always makes sense, and yet the Creator makes it sensible in His own way and own time. To God be the Glory.

Why "Merry Christmas?"

For the past week or so I have been concentrating on Luke’s Christmas narrative between Gabriel and Mary. Visiting a well-worn pericope and meditating on it allowing the Lord to take my thoughts wherever He  may lead, is a beneficial practice. (Note--I am not implying present day inspiration of the infallible type.) 

The angel Gabriel makes a rather startling visit to Mary with words from which one could fill the pages of a book.  The heavenly messenger announces to her, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you."  (Luke 1:28)  Like I said, well know, well-worn, ho hum, a little yawn perhaps, but let’s get on to the good stuff right? But let’s pause.  A unique and peculiar favor was set upon the adolescent by the singular, unilateral decision/action on the part of the Almighty.  The result; she was “highly favored.” 

Gabriel’s words to Mary, though I have read them innumerable times, resounded, “Immanuel—God With Us.” How had I never seen this before? Mary wasn’t just special, she wasn’t just favored, she was “highly favored” not because of anything Mary brought to the table, but because God was with her.  Mary’s favor wasn’t defined only by the fact that she was a unique vessel used by the Creator to bring a baby into the world for our sake, but the very presence of God in an abiding way was her favor. Now let’s go back several centuries.

When Israel was facing certain destruction from their enemies, the prophet Isaiah gives prophetic utterance to assure them their doom is not on the horizon and gives them Divine reassurance.  The prophet speaks:  ""Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."  (Isaiah 7:14)

IN THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE DAY, a sign coming hundreds of years later wasn’t going to assuage terrible fear and shaking knees.  God’s people needed to know NOW that God was in fact with them, God was on their side. And so Mahershalalhashbaz (no I didn’t just fall on my keyboard) is born fulfilling the words and conditions of the prophetic encouragement thus giving God’s people tangible proof that He was indeed with them taking up their cause.

Back to Mary’s day:  The virgin is told she is highly favored because God is with her and in His being with her God would come to Earth--God in the flesh—“Immanuel, God With Us”—making all who embrace Him “highly favored” for God is with us as well.  

And that is why we say, “Merry Christmas!”