Listen now | Technique, especially in the form of managerialism, is everywhere, even in the churches. This hinders Christian resistance to the regime. But what are we to do about it?
I see this in business all the time, with the rise of the franchise model. The book “E Myth Mastery” has helped many small businesses realize ways to automate their processes and hiring. However, in the process, they radically change the very nature of their business and their initial appeal. It’s no longer a mom and pop, relational feel to exchange but a one size fits all grab your Costco number for your next processed milk shake. The greatest connections I have made at church were “unmanaged.” They were spontaneous and came through informal men’s groups rather than elaborate committees trying to reach the “seekers” among us.
Yes. The rationalization process will have that effect. At the same time, far too many just drift within the church assuming everything will be ok. There does have to be an intentionality to what we do, even if it is not rationalized and abstracted. Especially, at the heart of it, is the spiritual disciplines.
Yes! Even here, I can testify that the Holy Spirit can move people in church in ways they can’t quite articulate or rationalize it. Personally, I felt the Holy Spirit warn me about two particular individuals in our church, but I sadly disregarded it as I could not understand why I should be concerned about these seemingly above board people. I also did not have a firm grasp on how to tell if something was just a vague feeling or a message from the Holy Spirit. Well, these same people ended up becoming a major thorn in the side of the congregation as soon as they achieved leadership and created so much chaos that took years to ameliorate. Nowadays, if I have the sense of the Holy Spirit for good or bad on someone, I do not hesitate to act on it to communicate it to key members of leadership to be on the look out for similar signs. Because we all speak the same language and come from the same faith, they understand the role of the Holy Spirit and recognize that some might be gifted with this power of discernment.
This is all part of the process of discipleship. When you read the gospels, one of the things you can see Jesus doing is teaching his disciples faith. Teaching them how to move in spiritual realities, to both see and exercise discernment as well.
I completely agree that the very power of God should be what we rest upon. One of the most groundbreaking experiences was to read the Reformed vision of the Holy Spirit in the work “The Holy Spirit and Reformed Spirituality” edited by Joel Beeke (https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Spirit-Reformed-Spirituality-Geoffrey-ebook/dp/B00GCPPRU0/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=1HE0FLOBRKAO7&keywords=holy+spirit+reformed&qid=1696426056&sprefix=holy+spirit+reformed%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-3). He and other writers capture how the comforter is also the one who gives us the blessings of the son. Without a true sense of the Holy Spirit from a Reformed biblical view, we descend into literary arguments about the text of the Word. We can remember that there was no man greater than John the Baptist and his message was simply to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. He did not have any flowcharts or member goals. He relied on the spirit of God and merely saw himself as God’s instrument.
Very much so. The Reformed tradition, in my mind, would be much better served approaching the realities of the Spirit more through the mystical than the Pentecostal. To me it seems more attitudinally aligned. Draw close to God and then let spiritual realities take their own course.
I see this in business all the time, with the rise of the franchise model. The book “E Myth Mastery” has helped many small businesses realize ways to automate their processes and hiring. However, in the process, they radically change the very nature of their business and their initial appeal. It’s no longer a mom and pop, relational feel to exchange but a one size fits all grab your Costco number for your next processed milk shake. The greatest connections I have made at church were “unmanaged.” They were spontaneous and came through informal men’s groups rather than elaborate committees trying to reach the “seekers” among us.
Yes. The rationalization process will have that effect. At the same time, far too many just drift within the church assuming everything will be ok. There does have to be an intentionality to what we do, even if it is not rationalized and abstracted. Especially, at the heart of it, is the spiritual disciplines.
Yes! Even here, I can testify that the Holy Spirit can move people in church in ways they can’t quite articulate or rationalize it. Personally, I felt the Holy Spirit warn me about two particular individuals in our church, but I sadly disregarded it as I could not understand why I should be concerned about these seemingly above board people. I also did not have a firm grasp on how to tell if something was just a vague feeling or a message from the Holy Spirit. Well, these same people ended up becoming a major thorn in the side of the congregation as soon as they achieved leadership and created so much chaos that took years to ameliorate. Nowadays, if I have the sense of the Holy Spirit for good or bad on someone, I do not hesitate to act on it to communicate it to key members of leadership to be on the look out for similar signs. Because we all speak the same language and come from the same faith, they understand the role of the Holy Spirit and recognize that some might be gifted with this power of discernment.
This is all part of the process of discipleship. When you read the gospels, one of the things you can see Jesus doing is teaching his disciples faith. Teaching them how to move in spiritual realities, to both see and exercise discernment as well.
Amen!
I completely agree that the very power of God should be what we rest upon. One of the most groundbreaking experiences was to read the Reformed vision of the Holy Spirit in the work “The Holy Spirit and Reformed Spirituality” edited by Joel Beeke (https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Spirit-Reformed-Spirituality-Geoffrey-ebook/dp/B00GCPPRU0/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=1HE0FLOBRKAO7&keywords=holy+spirit+reformed&qid=1696426056&sprefix=holy+spirit+reformed%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-3). He and other writers capture how the comforter is also the one who gives us the blessings of the son. Without a true sense of the Holy Spirit from a Reformed biblical view, we descend into literary arguments about the text of the Word. We can remember that there was no man greater than John the Baptist and his message was simply to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. He did not have any flowcharts or member goals. He relied on the spirit of God and merely saw himself as God’s instrument.
Very much so. The Reformed tradition, in my mind, would be much better served approaching the realities of the Spirit more through the mystical than the Pentecostal. To me it seems more attitudinally aligned. Draw close to God and then let spiritual realities take their own course.