One of his patterns of behavior was to wear a different freshly cleaned and pressed expensive suit everyday court was in session. I remember that he could go six weeks without wearing the same suit twice. Mort never wore the same necktie twice no matter how long the trial lasted. He showed up every morning with a crisply starched fresh white shirt and a smartly tied, understated necktie. And his shoes, of course, were shined and always looked perfect.

Now if that isn’t enough to impress you, Mort was so obsessed with his appearance that he changed his clothes at lunch everyday. Just before he returned for the afternoon trail session, Mort changed into newly shined shoes that were identical to the ones he had worn that morning, another identical crisply starched fresh white shirt, an identical smartly tied understated necktie and an identical freshly cleaned and pressed expensive suit. However, no one outside of his closed circle knew that he had changed his clothes because he looked exactly the same.

Somehow our conversation that evening got around to Mort’s wardrobe and his changing his clothes each day at lunchtime. Mort’s wife explained that Mort was so concerned about the job he did for his client that he believed he should always be fully prepared and look his best. The fresh clothing he put on for each half day of a trial was part of his desire to excel for the one he represented. Changing into fresh clothes halfway through each day of a trial were simply good taste and good sense, nothing more. Were it not for the trial, Mort would wear jeans and a polo shirt. His insistence that he be the best representative of his client was evident. Once you got to know him, you realized that he gave his all to those he represented.

The Power of the Cross: The Biblical Place of Healing and Gift-Based Ministry in Proclaiming the Gospel

22. Doesn’t the Bible teach that the Holy Spirit will never call attention to Himself, but will always direct our attention to Christ? Then how can it be right to place so much emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit today?

This objection is based on trying to force a false alternative, one not supported by Scripture. Of course the Holy Spirit does glorify Jesus (John 16:14) and bear witness to Jesus (John 15:26; Acts 5:32; 1 John 2:3; 4:2). But this does not mean He does not make His own actions and words known. The Bible has hundreds of verses talking about the work of the Holy Spirit, making His work known, and Bible is itself spoken or inspired by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19, “Make disciples …baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” suggests that the Holy Spirit is to be given equal honor with the Father and the Son in the Church.

Moreover, the Holy Spirit frequently made Himself known by some phenomenon or event that indicated His activity, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. This was true when the Holy Spirit came upon the 70 elders with Moses and they prophesied (Numbers 11:25-26), or when the Holy Spirit came upon the judges to enable them to do great works of power (Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14). People could see the effect of the Holy Spirit coming on someone in these cases. This was also true when the Holy Spirit came mightily upon Saul and he prophesied with a band of prophets (1 Samuel 10:6, 10), and it was frequently true when the Holy Spirit empowered the Old Testament prophets to give public prophecies.

The Holy Spirit also made Himself known or evident in a visible way when he descended as a dove on Jesus (John 1:32), or came as a sound of a rushing wind and with visible tongues of fire on the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 2:2-3). In addition, when people had the Holy Spirit poured out on them and began to speak in tongues or praise God in a remarkable and spontaneous way (see Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; 19:6), the Holy Spirit certainly made His presence known as well. And Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit within us would be so powerful He would be like a river of living water flowing out from our inmost beings (see John 7:39): Certainly that simile suggests a kind of presence people would be aware of, a presence that would somehow be perceptible.

From the Worship Leader series.

We must never assume that simply because people are gathered together in one place, they are necessarily ready to worship. They seem to be ready, but they must in fact be brought to a place of readiness. The people do not need whipping-they have been battered by the world all week long! Rather, through loving understanding and prophetic anointing, the leader should bring them to a place of open surrender to the Holy Spirit.

Copyright Stan Myers. Used with permission.

It is when the people are insufficiently responsive that the worship leader learns the value of the art of exhortation. I refer to this as an “art” simply because exhortation, like preaching or teaching, is a learned ability. Some may feel it is inconsistent with their personalities to become an exhorter, but if God has called us to lead worship, he has also called us to fulfill all the dynamics of that role that are necessary to provide proper direction for god’s people. Without the use of exhortation, our effectiveness as worship leaders will be greatly limited. There are times when an appropriate exhortation is the best way to encourage the people toward a certain response.

Exhortation is neither coercion nor manipulation; it falls into the area of persuasion. Paul wrote, “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade me” (2 Corinthians 5:11), and he commanded Timothy, “These things teach and exhort” (Timothy 6:2, KJV).

Frequently I will plan an exhortation at the same time I am planning the songs to be sung. If I have scripture or nugget of truth already tucked in a corner of my mind, it is easily available to me during the service, and I can draw upon that scripture or idea at any time in order to formulate a positive exhortation. I will not use the exhortation if the worship is reaching a crescendo, but if the service is waning, I will ask the lord if it is time for me to share the exhortation I have prepared. I am usually more effective in the area of exhortation if I have something prepared, much like a preacher is more effective after preparation. I also maintain a listing of scriptures that are especially useful when exhorting the people to increased praise or worship, and this list is a valuable resource when I need a springboard for an exhortation.

Robert W. Graves wrote Praying in the Spirit (Chosen Books) in 1987, when it received great reviews from a number of Pentecostal/charismatic scholars and leaders including John Sherrill, Dr. Vinson Synan, Dr. Gordon Fee, Dr. William Menzies, Dr. Howard Ervin, Dr. Walter Martin, and Dr. Stanley Horton. It is the great privilege of the Pneuma Review to republish it here.

Praying in Tongues. This is still a hot topic in the church today. Fortunately, they are many among classical Pentecostals and the broad charismatic movement that have realized there is more to the Christian life than “just” tongues. Non-charismatic evangelicals have had the long standing complaint about Pentecostal/charismatics that “tongues” is all they seem to talk about. However, if Pentecostal/charismatics do not even have this distinctive practice and belief firmly established from Scripture and experiencing it in their lives, the renewal the Holy Spirit has brought to the church through the revival of the charismata will seem rather empty.

This chapter from Robert Graves book, Praying in the Spirit, takes a look at this very subject: experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit and recognizing the normal evidence of the Spirit’s release into a believer’s life. Written for all audiences, the editors trust that you will find this article refreshing and perhaps challenging if this empowering experience is not yet your own.

Gordon MacDonald, Ordering Your Private World, expanded edition (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997) 228 pages, ISBN 9780840733863.

This book has become a classic among Christian leaders, and I can whole-heartedly agree. The general theme of this book is the necessity of putting the inner life in order and how to do so. Books on managing time or on ‘managing’ other spheres of life are common. This book is different in that Gordon MacDonald looks at ordering all areas of life including mental, spiritual, recreational, educational, and motivational.

MacDonald’s main points include the following:   recognizing and diagnosing the problem of disorganization, understanding the importance of ordering the inner life (spiritual life), recognizing the root of our motivation, coming to grips with the proper use and misuse of time, the necessity of continuing to grow, building spiritual strength through the proper use of spiritual disciplines, and understanding God’s intention and purpose for the shabbat (sabbath rest).

I found this book to be immensely challenging and something I will need to return to more than once in the future. Although I did not personally find MacDonald’s stories particularly memorable, his broad use of illustrations helped to draw me in to his point and see with clarity what he was pointing out. I realized that the areas of motivation/calling, use of time, mental growth, building trust in God, and partaking of true rest are areas I need to continue to grow in. Some of these struck me as areas I best not be slack in. The chapters on the use and misuse of time were very eye-opening and gripping for me. I have come away from this book with a sense of urgency to put my use of time under greater scrutiny and thereby, by the grace of God, engender a more fulfilling spiritual life. Also I have recognized the necessity of establishing a better expression of the shabbat in my family while my children are still young.

I believe most readers will find some real food for thought in these pages.

Reviewed by Raul Mock

Can believers be possessed, or demonized, by evil spirits? According to the article “They Shall Cast Out Demons” by Maureen Eha in the May 2000 issue of Charisma, the answer is yes.

The article begins with the story of a woman who was afflicted by fear all of her life, along with other strange phenomena. She was finally set free by the power of God. Now she lives a normal life, whereas before she could not even leave the house without hiding her face. The article says her story, “… leaves us with burning questions about the deliverance ministry. Is this ministry really necessary? If so, why aren’t more Christians involved in it? And for those who are, how can we be sure we are doing it right?” (p. 55).

To answer those questions Eha interviews Kathy Scataglini, Joseph Thompson, Cindy Jacobs, Doris Wagner, along with several other specialists in this area.

Cindy Jacobs, co-founder and president of Generals of Intercession, believes it is necessary. “She [Cindy Jacobs] believes most people need some kind of deliverance ministry. ‘People who argue this point haven’t traveled in Third World Countries.’” (p. 55, emphasis and brackets mine).

The experts bemoan the fact that while there is such a need for deliverance, very few Churches practice it. Kathy Scataglini says “When I see someone manifesting, I ask the pastor, ‘Do you have a deliverance team?’ It has been sad to see how they deal with it, or don’t deal with it, I should say” (p. 56).

Joseph Thompson believes that “… even charismatic and evangelical Christians ‘struggle with this area because the primary premise from which they operate is that Christians can’t be possessed’” (p. 56).

To that Eha states “And therein lies the essence of the controversy. Is deliverance for Christians? Leaders in the field today reply with a resounding yes.”

As proof Eha’s panel gives Matt. 15:21-28; the story of the Canaanite woman who went to Jesus to ask for her daughter’s deliverance. “He replied. ‘It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs’ (v.26). According to Thompson, Jesus’ comment indicates that ‘deliverance is for those who have a relationship [with God] and an understanding of what they are walking in’” (p. 57, brackets hers).

As further proof Thompson adds, “‘The Bible says when an evil spirit is cast out, it will roam in dry places for a while, and then it will say “I will go back to my house from which I came.” When it gets back to that place and finds it clean, it will return with seven more demons.’” He continues, “‘Common sense dictates, that the only people who can “fill their houses” are believers’” (pp. 58,59. See Luke 11:24-26).

There does exist within the Pentecostal/charismatic movement a general consensus that unbelievers can be possessed or demonized. The same cannot be said, however, of the effects of the demonic regarding believers.

Even though this article is done in a reporting style, and Eha admits that this is a controversial topic (p. 57), comments are, as a rule, dealt with uncritically. This is most obvious in the  responses given to the question of Christian possession (demonization, see p. 57, 58). For a magazine that reaches out to a group as diverse as charismatics, this is unfortunate. It would seem that the reporter (Charisma itself?) is either in complete agreement with this view of deliverance or a greater unity of doctrine is assumed in the vast Pentecostal/charismatic movement than is found in many denominations.

The seventh chapter of the Praying in the Spirit Series. Author Robert Graves presents a compelling challenge for all Christians to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Robert W. Graves wrote Praying in the Spirit (Chosen Books) in 1987, when it received great reviews from a number of Pentecostal/charismatic scholars and leaders including John Sherrill, Dr. Vinson Synan, Dr. Gordon Fee, Dr. William Menzies, Dr. Howard Ervin, Dr. Walter Martin, and Dr. Stanley Horton. It is the great privilege of the Pneuma Review to republish it here.

The charismatic experience of tongues that accompanies the baptism in the Spirit has been forgotten by a large portion of the Church, mainly because the Church has forgotten what Spirit baptism is. Let’s look at it first in the light of an analogous experience the Church has not forgotten: water baptism.

Though there are various methods, water baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is a distinctive practice of Christianity. The Lord Himself commanded His disciples to go into all the world and baptize believers (Matthew 28:19). Virtually everywhere there are Christians, there are baptized persons.

Wrapped in camel’s hair and desert dust, John the Baptist came calling on his listeners to repent of sin and be baptized. But when Jesus came to John, John’s ministry of water baptism diminished. And John had the distinct privilege of proclaiming what would seem to be a greater baptism. Greater than water baptism, you ask? Greater than the ordinance that every Christian is commanded to undergo? Greater than this distinctive feature of Christianity known on every continent of the world?

Yet these are the words of John the Baptist himself; and all four Gospel writers recorded them (an obvious indication of its importance). The earliest, Mark, inscribed these words of the Baptist to his disciples: “I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (1:8). Luke makes it clear that John believes his ministry will he superseded by Jesus’ and his water baptism surpassed by the baptism of the Messiah: “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come. … He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (3:16). Matthew and John repeat this promise (3:11; 1:33).

John did not think that water baptism was enough, nor did Jesus, for He commanded His water-baptized disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they were baptized in the Holy Spirit and thus empowered for ministry (Acts 1:5-8). And the words of Peter that recommend water baptism (Acts 2:38) are made with one thought in mind: Believers need to receive this gift of the Holy Spirit—a gift subsequent to salvation, available to all, yet missing from the lives of many Christians. Peter, in his Pentecost sermon, tells us that repentance and water baptism make ready the believer to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Spirit Baptism is an Observable Event

Have you been baptized in water? How do you know? A seemingly foolish question. First, you had a knowledge of what water baptism was; then you were conscious of the physical experience that matched your mental conception.

Introduction

The Pentecostal movement is by far the largest and most important religious movement to originate in the United States. Beginning in 1901 with only a handful of students in a Bible School in Topeka, Kansas, the number of Pentecostals increased steadily throughout the world during the Twentieth Century until by 1993 they had become the largest family of Protestants in the world. With over 200,000,000 members designated as “denominational Pentecostals,” this group surpassed the Orthodox churches as the second largest denominational family of Christians, surpassed only by the Roman Catholics. In addition to these “Classical denominational Pentecostals,” there were over 200,000,000 “Charismatic” Pentecostals in the mainline denominations and independent charismatic churches, both Catholic and Protestant, which placed the number of both Pentecostals and charismatics at well over 420,000,000 persons in 1993. This explosive growth has forced the Christian world to pay increasing attention to the entire movement and to attempt to discover the root causes of this growth.

Edward Irving, 1843.

Although the Pentecostal movement had its beginnings in the United States, it owed much of its basic theology to earlier British perfectionistic and charismatic movements. At least three of these, the Methodist/Holiness movement, the Catholic Apostolic movement of Edward Irving, and the British Keswick “Higher Life” movement prepared the way for what appeared to be a spontaneous outpouring of the Holy Spirit in America.

Perhaps the most important immediate precursor to pentecostalism was the Holiness movement which issued from the heart of Methodism at the end of the Nineteenth Century. From John Wesley, the Pentecostals inherited the idea of a subsequent crisis experience variously called “entire sanctification,” “perfect love,” “Christian perfection”, or “heart purity”. It was John Wesley who posited such a possibility in his influential tract, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (1766). It was from Wesley that the Holiness Movement developed the theology of a “second blessing.” It was Wesley’s colleague, John Fletcher, however, who first called this second blessing a “baptism in the Holy Spirit,” an experience which brought spiritual power to the recipient as well as inner cleansing. This was explained in his major work, Checks to Antinominianism (1771). During the Nineteenth Century, thousands of Methodists claimed to receive this experience, although no one at the time saw any connection with this spirituality and speaking in tongues or any of the other charisms.

As usual, Christianity Today featured its annual list of leading Christian books in its April edition. This year it offered the 10 best, several honorable mentions, and also a list of the last century’s 100 leading books. I had not read any of this year’s list so I started with number one, Jeffery Sheler’s Is the Bible True?

I quickly learned that the author is not a theologian or scholar in a religious sense. Sheler is a journalist who has written much about religion for his employer, U.S. News and World Report, in the last ten years. Sheler brings his journalistic skills to bear in his book, along with the access that his position gives him into academia and other hard to penetrate circles of influence. Sheler also had the advantages of the superior and at times amazing research talents and resources of his magazine staff along with the encouragement of his employers. Quite a combination for such a book.

The book’s subtitle tells the reader that she is about to learn or confirm that the Scriptures are essentially true, so that the conclusion of the debate that is presented is not ever in doubt. Nonetheless I found that Sheler methodically and fairly presented the most compelling facts or suppositions that are today’s fashion in the endless argument about the validity of the Bible.

Sheler divided his text into six parts. He begins with a quick review of the history of these age old arguments: how the Bible or canon came to be, who authored the various books, and why the Bible is a revelation-story about God and His Son.

Part two deals with the good and bad archaeological finds of the last 150 years. It includes a look at the lack of any tangible evidence that any patriarch actually lived. I have always found discussion of this dearth of “proof” worrisome. I remember when I was working my way through Gunther Plaut’s commentary on the Torah asking God why He hadn’t solved all the mystery of the patriarchs and the first 1000 or whatever years of scripture’s content with a few well placed nicely illustrated artifacts. Such would be so helpful and would end so much of the debate that never ceases. God spoke to my heart at that point and said “Mur, I am God, I don’t have to prove myself to men. It is the other way around, men have to prove themselves to me.”

I found the part on archaeology most helpful. I had been unaware of most of the material presented by Sheler on this subject. I also learned a great deal in part three which presents what we have learned so far from the Dead Sea Scrolls. He also tells the story of this find and how those involved have conducted themselves. We humans have a tendency to look out for number one— not necessarily a nice attribute.

The Associated Press voted that the Kansas controversy was the top story of 1999. And what a controversy it was. A straight-A sophomore put up her hand in biology class and asks, “Mr. Roth, when are we going to learn about creationism?” Then the teacher explodes with, “When are you going to stop believing that crap your parents teach you?” The subsequent forced early-retirement of the teacher and vote of the Kansas Board of Education to “de-emphasize” the speculative aspects of evolution became the coal bed for a hot national debate.

This article takes a look at the origins debate by looking at what the secular scientists and media are saying and the response from the broad Intelligent Design movement (IDM). If you want to know the latest happenings in this debate, or need an introduction to the whole question of origins, this article will give you a succinct overview. Pearcey represents the IDM well, showing how many Christian scientists and “creationists” have moved away from infighting over the details (such as: is the earth young? Could God use an evolutionary process?) to confront the real issue: Does science demonstrate that Someone made this? The IDM has realized that the stakes are people’s lives and that wrangling over those details only ruins the Christian’s witness to the secular humanist scientific community. Those details are important, but not at the cost of presenting the inescapable necessity of a Designer.

Pearcey says that, “While ID does not require any theological presuppositions, it has theological implications: it is resolutely opposed to the atheistic, purposeless, chance view of evolution taught in the power centers of science” (p. 48). But is Darwinian naturalistic evolution opposed outright to religion? Pearcey argues that this is the very thing that this Kansas controversy and the IDM are bringing to the forefront, “for every scientist who soothingly intones that evolution can coexist peacefully with religion, there is another who openly proclaims its antitheistic implications” (p. 48).

“This suggests a final theme emerging from the Kansas controversy—the refusal by so many to acknowledge that religion is genuinely at stake in this issue. Pervasive throughout the editorials and columns was the argument that the folks in Kansas were mistaken to see mainstream evolutionism as posing any contradiction to religion. The underlying assumption is that science is a matter of facts and reason, while religion is a matter of faith—and never the twain shall meet” (p. 48). However, it is becoming apparent that the reality of this opposition is the case. “The Gallup Poll has consistently shown (most recently in August 1999) that only about 10 percent of Americans believe life evolved strictly by chance and natural forces. Roughly 90 percent of Americans believe that God created life either directly or by guiding a gradual process. This large majority is beginning to suspect that Darwinism is less about objective science than about maintaining cultural power” (p. 49).

In this same issue of CT you will find an interview with Pulitzer-Prize winning author Edward J. Larson. Larson says that Christians should be taught evolution and that if the IDM is going to be successful it must get scientists to begin to “do” intelligent design. Larson’s book Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion (1997) definitely made some waves in the already troubled waters of the origins debate. Larson’s survey, conducted with Larry Witham, found this interesting statistic about scientists and religious belief: Just as James Leuba found in 1914 and 1933, about 40 percent of the rank-and-file scientists believe in a theistic God (as understood by traditional Christians, Jews and Muslims) and there is a much lower belief percentage among the scientific elite.