Midwives Of The Holy Spirit #1

December 4, 2013 | by | Being "Missional", Holy Spirit Ministry, Leadership, Vineyard
The ideas for this series of posts have grown out of a training seminar Mike teaches called Power With A Purpose. If you’re interested in finding out more about it drop him a line at [email protected]

Don’t Throw Out The Baby With The Bathwater

I’ve been around the Renewal block a few times in my day. I was on staff of a Pentecostal ministry in the 70’s. Experienced the Third Wave of the Spirit in the 80’s and participated in the Toronto Blessing of the 90’s. I’ve seen the good, bad and ugly of what have been called “refreshings” or “outpourings” and can honestly say I’m better off for it because I was fortunate enough to have excellent spiritual leadership to pastor me through whatever excess and weirdness popped up along the way. I was taught to “eat the chicken and not choke on the bones” and how to hold on to the main and plain of Scripture when the ride got a little weird and wild. And because of that, each move of the Spirit I experienced, despite the excesses, provided a way for me to meet God in new, rich, and life changing ways.

Unfortunately that’s not everyone’s story. For many it ended up being a disillusioning and harmful ride that left such a bad taste in their mouth that they ended up throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They became skittish. They excluded the Spirit while trying to get rid of the harmful excess. While they don’t deny the Spirit’s reality, they steer clear of him, not wanting to have anything whatsoever to do with things of the Spirit like prophecy or praying for the sick. That’s tragic because this doesn’t have to happen.

Because of this, over the years I’ve given myself to working out a way to interact with the Spirit that’s safe, sane and constructive. A way that we can experience the power and presence of the Spirit that’s helpful and positive rather than the source of uneasiness or the butt of jokes. Fortunately there is a way. We call it being naturally supernatural. It’s a way of acting together with the Spirit that’s not confined to religious services or restricted to trained clergy and allows us to interact with the Spirit in normal ways. We can assume a natural manner with a non-religious attitude. Every believer can get in on it with the Spirit’s help and some simple coaching. It involves a way of ministering to people that’s respectful and compassionate while not scaring or weirding them out, I call Spirit midwifing. The people on the receiving end of this naturally supernatural approach to ministry feel respected and in control which helps them remain open to receiving all that  God may want to “give birth to” in their lives in that moment.

In my next series of posts I want to discuss midwifing as well as offer some coaching tips that can revolutionize the way you interact with God’s Spirit and the people around you. Stay tuned…

The ideas for this series of posts have grown out of a training seminar Mike teaches called Power With A Purpose. If you’re interested in finding out more about it drop him a line at [email protected]

Don’t Throw Out The Baby With The Bathwater

I’ve been around the Renewal block a few times in my day. I was on staff of a Pentecostal ministry in the 70’s. Experienced the Third Wave of the Spirit in the 80’s and participated in the Toronto Blessing of the 90’s. I’ve seen the good, bad and ugly of what have been called “refreshings” or “outpourings” and can honestly say I’m better off for it because I was fortunate enough to have excellent spiritual leadership to pastor me through whatever excess and weirdness popped up along the way. I was taught to “eat the chicken and not choke on the bones” and how to hold on to the main and plain of Scripture when the ride got a little weird and wild. And because of that, each move of the Spirit I experienced, despite the excesses, provided a way for me to meet God in new, rich, and life changing ways.

Unfortunately that’s not everyone’s story. For many it ended up being a disillusioning and harmful ride that left such a bad taste in their mouth that they ended up throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They became skittish. They excluded the Spirit while trying to get rid of the harmful excess. While they don’t deny the Spirit’s reality, they steer clear of him, not wanting to have anything whatsoever to do with things of the Spirit like prophecy or praying for the sick. That’s tragic because this doesn’t have to happen.

Because of this, over the years I’ve given myself to working out a way to interact with the Spirit that’s safe, sane and constructive. A way that we can experience the power and presence of the Spirit that’s helpful and positive rather than the source of uneasiness or the butt of jokes. Fortunately there is a way. We call it being naturally supernatural. It’s a way of acting together with the Spirit that’s not confined to religious services or restricted to trained clergy and allows us to interact with the Spirit in normal ways. We can assume a natural manner with a non-religious attitude. Every believer can get in on it with the Spirit’s help and some simple coaching. It involves a way of ministering to people that’s respectful and compassionate while not scaring or weirding them out, I call Spirit midwifing. The people on the receiving end of this naturally supernatural approach to ministry feel respected and in control which helps them remain open to receiving all that  God may want to “give birth to” in their lives in that moment.

In my next series of posts I want to discuss midwifing as well as offer some coaching tips that can revolutionize the way you interact with God’s Spirit and the people around you. Stay tuned…