grieving the Holy Spirit

I had the very cool opportunity to have a phone conversation with Todd Hunter this week. (He was the former president of Vineyard USA, started a ministry called C4SO, and wrote some amazing books - here's my favorite.) Over the course of a conversation that was all over the map, Todd said (as closely as I can remember), "Two things grieve God's Holy spirit: when we overemphasize him, and when we under-emphasize him."

Wow.

Growing up with no church background, my only experience with the Holy Spirit was the caricature you might see in the media: hyper-charismatic protestors, slick-headed televangelists, etc. When God captured my heart in High School, it was through a Southern Baptist church, which didn't really acknowledge the Holy Spirit at all. Tasha and I went to a Southern Baptist seminary, and while our theology professors challenged us to expand the box we kept God's Holy Spirit in, the general culture of the seminary was very . . . quiet? . . . about the Holy Spirit. We didn't really think much about it, but Tasha and I both felt that there was a part of our with-God life that was missing. And we were pretty sure it was related to the Holy Spirit.

Several years later, a trusted friend Chris Backert (organization architect of the Ecclesia Network) spent some time in the UK doing some research, and when he returned, we spent some time together sharing his experiences. As we chatted, Chris said, "I think I'm a British charismatic." (Don't bother googling the phrase - Chris made it up.) I asked him to explain, and he mumbled on about gifts and power and some other stuff, but I never got clarity on what he meant. But the phrase stuck with me, because I sensed that found in his own life the thing Tasha and I sense we were missing in ours.

The Todd Hunter makes his casual-yet-profound statement this week, and I'm on another journey. How can I live a life that doesn't grieve God's Holy Spirit by overemphasizing or under-emphasizing him?


What do you think?

a divine conspiracy

Dallas Willard died on Wednesday. Well, he died in the human sense. In the truest sense, Dallas died every day as he yielded his life to the trust-able arms of Jesus. In my short list of "authors that have most shaped my understanding of life and the Kingdom of God," Dallas is in the top three. 

Tasha and I had the privilege of leading worship a few years ago for an Ash Wednesday gathering of the Ecclesia Network in Washington D.C. The preacher for the evening: Dallas Willard. Truth-be-told, I don't remember much about what he said that night, but I remember approaching him afterward to thank him for his comments, and he said simply, "You helped me see Jesus tonight. Thank you."

Another shaping moment.

The next day, Tasha and I drove Dallas to the airport to catch his flight. I intentionally took the long way to Dulles so we could spend the extra few minutes with him. We made a little small talk, then I said, "Dallas, I'm a young pastor, I love your writings, and I'm trying to be faithful to Jesus and to God's calling on my life. Is there any 'off-the-cuff' advice you'd want to share?"

Dallas leaned back in the chair, breathed deeply, and said, "Tom, never quit."

That's not a typo. He just didn't remember my name :)


But another shaping moment.

     Never quit.

When the important relationships in your life seem to be falling apart . . .

     Never quit.

When the decisions you make cause deep wounds in your own life and in the lives of others . . . 

     Never quit.

When you're at the end of your rope, and you think you can't go on . . .

     Never quit.

When you're diagnosed with pancreatic cancer . . .

     Never quit.
 
When you feel completely alone, and there's no where left to turn . . .

     Never quit.
 

My (selfish) sadness at Dallas' death is pretty deep. Ironic, because we weren't friends, and if I walked into his office, he wouldn't have recognized me. He wouldn't have even called me, "Tom." But I'll always remember those two encounters. And I'll reread The Divine Conspiracy and Renovation of the Heart and The Great Omission quite a few times throughout my life. And I'll quote him often, because the things he wrote are so embedded in my understanding of what's important.

And one day, I'll see him again. And maybe then he'll know my name :)


One of my favorite quotes from The Divine Conspiracy, "[Jesus] matters because of what he brought and what he still brings to ordinary human beings, living their ordinary lives and coping daily with their surroundings. He promises wholeness for their lives. In sharing our weaknesses he gives us strength and and imparts through his companionship a life that has the quality of eternity.

Dallas Willard (September 4, 1935 - May 8, 2013)