Before I began reading this book, the first impression I got
from its title was that this was going to be a ‘how-to’ book on loving others
especially those of the household of faith. But after completing the book, I have
found my prediction wasn’t entirely accurate.
Beginning from the preface, one discovers that the
author has been ‘disfellowshiped’ (to wit excommunicated) from his local church
for apparently holding a dissenting position from that of his denomination on
an issue. Though he doesn’t categorically state what this issue is, it isn’t
difficult for one to deduce that the bone of contention is centered on the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially speaking in tongues, and their relevance
for today. The whole book appears to be a form of rebuttal or reaction to the
action by his former church. He says “We’ve
(that is the author and his family)
had deeply personal, subjective experiences with God, in praise and devotion.
But, we have not sought to bind these personal experiences on others nor will
we. We have sought to lift up Christ, not our personal experience; and yet,
when we’ve been asked about our experiences, we’ve shared them. It’s almost
impossible to share the fruits of the Spirit without revealing their source. Is
this deception?”
One can tell that the author feels he is being “judged” for
what in his view is a legitimate stance on an issue that is not clear-cut. The fact
is that, no one is perfect and all of us sin. No one worships God perfectly yet
God calls us to strive toward perfection. But does the fact that no one is
perfect preclude anyone from judging the other? Judging someone in our day is
considered anathema to be avoided at all cost. Thus It is not uncommon to hear
such statements as “why do you judge me just because I sin differently than you”
but often what such statements is really asking is “why do you condemn me for
sinning differently than you.” That is a legitimate question and I am convinced
it is none of our business to condemn others. But judging as I understand it means
making fine distinction especially regarding matters of doctrine. One cannot be
said in my opinion to be truly loving when one refuses to point out to a
brother his wayward bent on a matter especially when such is likely to lead to
destruction.
It is easy to detect
the authors disdain for his denomination’s insistence on doctrine and doctrinal
purity as he keeps referring to them as “a
dry appeal to the intellect, with a “pat” set of rules” and he makes sticking
to one’s doctrinal persuasions out to be divisive thus it be avoided while advocating
for spontaneity during meetings which to him is symptomatic of the Holy Spirit
being alive and working in their midst. However, it is for these kinds of spontaneous
and undisciplined emotional displays that the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14
forbade in the church and rather called for decency and order.
Again, the author seems to place much premium on Christians having
an ‘experience’ and states in several places that he sought a “hilltop encounter with the Lord.” This is
nothing short of seeking sensational and mystical experiences to validate one’s
beliefs. This attitude betrays the author’s lack of belief in the sufficiency of
Christ in all things as revealed in the scriptures for he says “We keep referring to the “all sufficiency”
of the scriptures; by that we seem to mean that the Bible is sufficient as it
sits on a shelf or as we memorize certain passages of it and use those passages
to converts people to our doctrine. It doesn’t occur to us that the same Holy
Spirit who inspired and wrote the Bible still wants to write more chapters in
our very lives!”
Such a comment is really problematic and seems to suggest
that the canon of scripture is not closed and that the Holy Spirit is still
inspiring people today to pen down new revelations that are to be at par with scripture.
Is it any surprise then that he got excommunicated?
However, it is heart-warming to find that before the author
was ‘disfellowshiped’ from his church, he had had a series of meetings with the
elders of the church to come clear on the “experiences” he’d been having. If for
nothing at all, these series of meetings is telling about the maturity of the
church eldership because they sought to handle the issue biblically. Yet as one
read further on into the book, one can sense a tinge of hurt and pain in the
tone of the author though he was very charitable to the elders of the church
and still considered them his brothers in the Lord. And that is one of the
biggest strengths of the book. There is no use of acerbic language to describe
neither the former church members nor the eldership though the author hints at
many vitriolic verbal abuses he had suffered from the membership who disagreed
with him. He didn’t return insult with insult but have sought clarify his
position in this book and to encourage others to study and experience for
themselves if what he has encountered is true or not.
Contentions and controversy in the church aren’t anything new.
The bible records several of these disputations and though this is an old book
(my copy was published in 1974), the same contention is very much alive today
and recently gained traction in the news with it resultant fallouts following
the Strange Fire conference that was held by Pastor John MacArthur. Disagreements
among Christians don’t have to mean we should hate each other. Hating other Christians
is a sign that we are most likely not Christians ourselves (1John4:20). Pastor
John Piper puts it so well when he said “Christian
unity and Christian truth are served best not by removing fences, but by loving
across them and having welcoming gates.”
On the whole, this was a good read with good lessons
learned. Read it whenever you come across it!
SDG!!!
