In using the word "sensuous," I am not using the word in a carnal or bestial sense, but rather in a sensory sense. The experience of the Holy Spirit is sensuous in the sense that it is stimulating, inspiring, exciting and at times emotional. The apostle reminds us, "For the kingdom of God is ... joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).
When electricity was first introduced some Frenchmen wanted to know how fast electricity moves, so the abbot of a large monastery volunteered his monks for an experiment. They lined up 1,000 monks, each holding the hand of the monk next to him. Then an electrical current was applied to the first man in line. The result was that every one of the 1,000 monks jumped into the air at precisely the same time. You could draw three conclusions from this story. First, electricity moves with astonishing speed. Second, abbots in French monasteries in the eighteenth century had tremendous authority over their monks. Third, wouldn't it be wonderful today if 1,000 people in church could get excited enough to jump into the air at the same time?
As we focus on Pentecost and especially the Spirit's activity in today's world and in our lives, the Neo-Charismatic movement is a force to be reckoned with. Regardless of what one may think about their theology or motivation they have made religion exciting. They go to church and enjoy it. They sing hymns with enthusiasm like they believe the words. The Bible is so important to them that they even read and study it. Their lives are centered around Bible study, prayer meetings and outreach programs. There is a sense of euphoria about their overall religious experience.
I do not believe that God ever intended religion to be as dull as some people have made it. Leonard Sweet told about returning to his home church, the place where life for him had been exciting and where he received the call to ministry. He said the church of his homecoming was a different church: lifeless and corpse-cold. The pastor had settled in for a long winter's nap and he spoke as though the church was a casket for the eternal. He said, "I looked around at the handful of glassy-eyed youths, whose sole inspiration was coming from the stained-glass windows. Sunday morning meant for them the most painful hour of the week" (New Life in the Spirit, p. 44).
The story is told about a grandmother who had taken her grandson to the Sunday morning worship service. During the service the mind of the boy became restless and as he was looking around the sanctuary he spotted a bronze plaque on the wall. He asked his grandmother what the plaque stood for and she replied, "It lists the names of those who died in the service." The boy thought about that for a moment and asked, "Did they die in the morning or the evening service?" As Sweet reflected on that homecoming experience he wondered what would have become of his life, if he had come to associate the church solely with "bingo, bazaars, and bad sermons." I agree with his conclusion that we have failed to be informed by the Bible, which knows no other kind of church but a pentecostal church and no other Christian than a charismatic Christian.
Charismatic Renewal
In the established church the Spirit has become less the subject of experience and more the object of dogma. It is interesting that by the second century the church decided that the only channels of the Spirit were through the sacraments, thus confining the Spirit to the clergy and the priesthood. It would appear that the charismatic renewal is a reaction against the intellectualism of the religious establishment. The charismatic renewal has created a new life in the Spirit that at times is accompanied by the speaking in tongues which renders an immediate validation of the Holy Spirit's presence for the believer and is available to everyone regardless of social status, education or previous experience. This Neo-Pentecostal phenomenon transcends denominations, nations, cultures and promises direct access to the Holy Spirit. Is not this one of the basic aspects of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts? This charismatic renewal is seen as a lay people's movement to take religion out of the hands of the experts. It is a reaction against the lack of feeling in worship and through this rediscovery of emotions, dance, praise, and the senses, the new figure of the "sensuous Christian" is an indication of the spontaneity of our time.
When we talk about the Spirit of God and the kingdom of God it is more than just sermons. It is a question of demonstrating that we do indeed take seriously the business of letting the Spirit of God rule our lives as a church and as individuals. When outsiders observe the church are they aware that there is a spiritual power present in the life of a congregation? When strangers come among us do they sense the presence of a compassionate concern, as well as joy and enthusiasm? When I go to a football game I expect to be surrounded by football enthusiasts. If I go to a symphony concert I expect to be surrounded by music lovers. When people come to worship why shouldn't they be surrounded by enthusiasts for the kingdom of God, by God lovers? Several years ago when I stopped at the welcome station after entering the state of Virginia I was given a bumper sticker that read: "Virginia Is For Lovers." The church is for lovers and when people enter the fellowship of Christian worship they should be able to sense that love which is generated by the presence of God's spirit.
The Non-Rational And The Ecstatic
Personal experience reminds me that there are many liabilities that accompany this rising tide of emotion and feelings. The reality being that spiritual gifts lead to spiritual arrogance. Those who are high on the fumes of such religious ecstasy have, in Sweet's words, "a silliness and spookiness" in the way they describe the work of the Holy Spirit. Also, I realize that the apostles at Pentecost were overwhelmed by the charismata. It was an emotional and enthusiastic experience, at times ecstatic and illogical.
In our celebration of Pentecost we need to ask the questions, "What role did the non-rational and ecstatic play in Christian beginnings -- and what role does it play in experiencing Christian life, being and worship today?" During my seminary years we were trained not to trust feelings or emotions. I am still somewhat of a rationalist seeking to express Christian experience, worship and social outreach in words that are sometimes oblivious to the fact that I am doing exactly that -- reducing it all to a form of words and reason. I have come to realize that too much rationality can be as dangerous as too much non-rationality.
But the positive aspects of the charismatic awakening have been enormous. Future church historians will look upon this Neo-Pentecostalism as a seismic force that shook the foundations of twentieth century religious life. They will recognize that not since the eighteenth century Wesleyan revival has there been such a genuine stirring of the Spirit.
Personal Experience
The personal experience of the Holy Spirit was essential and central in the New Testament. The relationship to the Holy Spirit was not creedal, but experiential -- an experience of tangible quality. James Dunn declares that there is an attitude of the Spirit in the New Testament with which modern Christianity is seemingly unfamiliar. (Expository Times, Oct. 1982, p. 8). He points out that in Romans 8 Paul does not say, "Because men are children of God therefore they are led by the Spirit," but rather, "It is those who are led by the Spirit who are the children of God." Again in Acts 19 Paul asks those at Ephesus whether they received the Spirit when they took their step of commitment. He expects an answer. As with all who claim to be disciples he expects that they will know whether they have received the Spirit or not. Christians are expected not merely to possess the Spirit, but to possess the Spirit "visibly and tangibly." This possession or lack of possession is the acid test of whether they are genuine disciples or not.
This same situation appears in John 3 where Jesus has his discussion with Nicodemus.
... it is spirit that gives birth to spirit ... The wind blows where it wills; you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from, or where it is going. So with everyone who is born of the spirit.
-- John 3:6b-8 NEB
This is to say that the Spirit is not always visible, and there is an element of mystery in the Spirit's coming. But you "will hear the sound of it." Although the wind itself is unseen, yet the effect of the wind is evident in the movement of the leaves, clouds and weather vanes. The same can be said about the wind or breath of the Spirit upon a person's life, the Spirit is visible from the effect that the Spirit has upon a human life. Where there is no sound, whistling, swirling or rustling, one can conclude that there is no wind present. Where men, women or congregations do not visibly show evidence of the Holy Spirit there is no Spirit.
The Neo-Charismatics give evidence of the Spirit's presence in their lives through their joy, excitement, and praise. Some back off from the Spirit because they cannot stand that much excitement. They are afraid that they may do something radical -- such as make a personal witness of their faith, or tithe their income, or volunteer for a world or local mission project, or possibly go to worship and enjoy it, or get emotional about their religion, or experience a personal heartfelt religious experience that may change their lives forever. Fearing that such actions border on the emotional and fanatical they back off so as not to go overboard on religion.
Enthusiasm
If there is one thing we need it is enthusiasm. It is contagious. There is an enthusiasm about the Spirit that is highly contagious. This was true about the day of Pentecost. Jesus even referred to this in his promise prior to the Spirit's coming when he told the disciples, "When the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The effects of the Spirit in their lives is like the dropping of a stone in a pool of placid water with the continual motion of concentric circles that continue to reach out further and further. In the early church there was an infectiously contagious movement of the Spirit.
How is it that we can get excited about so many things except our religion? It is probably because there is nothing in our religion to get excited about. When religion is no more than part of one's respectability, something you can take or leave, having no connection between what one believes and how one lives, involving no personal commitment, making no demands on one's personal life or lifestyle, then how can anyone ever get excited over a religious experience like that?
In the Neo-Charismatic movement one is struck by the unaccustomed sight of worshippers who are glad they are there and having a good time. It is like the theme song on Cheers: "everybody knows your name and everybody is glad you came."
This movement is a return to experiential Christianity as in the early days of Methodism. Do not forget that Methodism was a lay movement reacting against the intellectualism, formalism, and spiritlessness of the established church. Now we are the established church and we have allowed ourselves to become intellectual, formal and spiritless. What these early Methodists came to cherish was not theories of atonement, doctrines, creeds about Christian theology and the Holy Spirit, but the experience of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Therefore, this new Pentecostal movement is nothing more than the old Pentecostal movement that we as Methodists at one time enjoyed.
In such an experiential Christianity God is personal, where one can say not only that "Christ is the savior of the world, but he is my savior"; where one believes not only in the forgiveness of sins, but that one's sins are forgiven. The Holy Spirit is not only part of a Trinitarian theology, the Spirit is the indwelling, living presence of God in human life.
In our hymns our theology is set to music. Early Methodism was known for its enthusiastic singing. They could sing John Newton's "Amazing Grace" with feeling because they were wretched, they were lost, they were blind. It had meaning because they were the recipients of such an amazing grace. A favorite hymn of these early Methodists was Charles Wesley's "O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise." And when they came to the second stanza, "He breaks the power of cancelled sin and sets the prisoner free," they would sing it with joy and feeling saying, "I am the prisoner that God has set free!" When experiencing such forgiveness, such liberty of heart and soul, it is something that one can sing about with enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm Has It Liabilities
Some of Paul's chief headaches were caused by some of the enthusiastic factions, particularly at Corinth. From 1 Corinthians 1:18 to 4:21 Paul confronts some of the Corinthian Christians who describe themselves as "the spiritual ones." They had achieved a higher plane of spirituality, they knew a higher wisdom, and they even despised the low level Christianity of Paul, among others.
In 1 Corinthians, there were those whom Paul described as possessing a superior knowledge in order to justify their action that was selfish and inconsiderate to those who did not share the same insights.
Every pastor has had to deal with those "spiritual elite" Christians described by Paul in 1 Corinthians who are seeking one religious high after another. They are always informing their pastor about their latest religious experience, which usually takes place in another church. They are often super-critical of the church's program because it falls short of their concept of being "spiritual," whatever that means. They usually end up sending their pastor a letter informing him that they are not being "fed spiritually" and they are going to transfer to a more "spiritual church." They are playing the game of "musical churches" and keep asking the question, "Spirit, spirit, who's got the spirit?"
Nevertheless, there is that genuine personal experience of the Holy Spirit which brings the living presence of Christ into human life which makes religion exciting.
For Further Reflection And Study
1. What is meant by the statement that "in the established church the Spirit has become less the subject of experience and more the object of dogma"?
2. What role does the "non-rational" and the "ecstatic" play in religious experience? What about enthusiasm?
3. What are the negative aspects of the charismatic renewal?
4. What are the positive aspects of the charismatic renewal?
5. What particular problems do the "spiritually elite" present the pastor?
6. Describe early Methodism as an enthusiastic lay movement with emphasis on personal experience.
7. Describe the meaning of the statement, "O Lord, either enlarge the vessel or withdraw thy Spirit."
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