Spirited, Spontaneous or Spirit-Led

What do we really mean by the phrase "spirit-led"?

Some of you may not know that I self-published a book in 2005 borne from frustrations I had with the church at the time. I can’t believe that was nearly 20 years ago. Seriously, I can’t be that old, can I? But it’s also weird that some of those same frustrations remain after all this time.

I grew up in typical black church environments where services were filled with high-energy interactivity and expression.  It was often said that “the spirit” was moving in those environments, most evidently when folks would shout, speak in tongues, or lose themselves during a testimony, song solo, or sermon. This was, as we used to say, “having church”.

As I grew older, I began to wrestle with this concept. What does it mean to “have church”? What does it mean for the “spirit to move”? And what relationship did both have with the expression of emotion that so many dynamics of service seemed to induce?

Without going into too much detail, I’d basically witnessed a series of misuses of God’s people and service over the years. Enough for cynicism to creep in. I heard people shout “Amen!”, not to the truth of scripture but to the cleverness of charismatic speakers. I heard folks shout phrases, clap hands, and participate in what I must describe as a kind of christian (the “c” is meant to be small) sub-culture – that is, a series of prompts, jargon, speaking cadences, and phraseology that solidified a culture. I began, for good reason, to question the sincerity of some services, songs, and sermons. And in doing so, I began to question the sincerity of my own faith. Was I really a Christian, or was I simply the product of cultural christianity?

This is not to bag on the black church experience. I believe God is moving mightily there and so much of my faith walk is still informed by spirit-filled pastors, deacons, and brothers and sisters in Christ. But it does give context to why I’m writing this today. When I grew up, so much of our church experience was  described as works of “the Spirit.” That was where I got tripped up back then. And that is what I’m discussing today.

What does it really mean to be “spirit-led”? What does it really mean to have a “spirit-led” experience? What does it really mean to live a “spirit-led” life?

I find myself less engaged in black churches these days, but the conversation about the role and appearance of the Spirit of God has not changed much in whatever churches I have found myself in over the years.  And though the context (prompts, jargon, and phraseology) is different, the general way of speaking of the evidence of the Spirit remains. And so, I’m revisiting the questions. What do we actually mean by the term “spirit-led”?

SPIRIT-LED MYTH #1:  EXPRESSION

Emotion plays a huge role in how we experience God. I believe we serve a deeply emotional God who feels something like what we feel. I believe in a Christ who loves, who weeps, who gets frustrated, who can get angry, and who experiences happiness and fulfillment. I’m not ready to say the human experience matches fully with God’s way of emoting, but scripture seems to bear out that God connects with us emotionally. Of this, I have no doubt.

And yet. I wonder if we sometimes confuse our natural emotions with supernatural connection.  A shout. A stream of tears. A moment of ecstasy. All of these are often viewed as evidence of “the spirit moving” in a service, on a stage, or during a sermon. Maybe our assumptions are right? Maybe they aren’t? But I’m curious how we arrived at the belief that emotional response was proof of Spiritual movement. The question we have to ask is, “What is the true evidence of the spirit moving in our lives?” Is it ecstatic experiences? Is it an emotional eruption? Is it uncontrollable expression or leaks of emotion that may only show up in a weekly “service”?

To be clear, I believe that God connects with us on an emotional level. And I’m certainly not calling into question every tear shed in service (from the pulpit, nor in the pew). I know I’ve shed my fair share. But I am suggesting that our desire to connect with God should extend beyond our emotional and ecstatic experiences. I’m suggesting that, if we are looking for evidence of a “spirit-led” moment, emotions may not be the most reliable barometer. At least not the emotions we’re used to looking at.

When I read scripture, the evidence (fruit) of the Spirit is described in far more every day, non-worship service ways. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he does not mention the evidence of God’s Spirit as an ecstatic response to worship and praise, but rather as a response to discipline, difficulty, and sacrifice. Paul cites love (in response to hate), joy (in response to persecution), peace (in response to attack), longsuffering (in response to difficulty), kindness (in response to malice), goodness (in response to selfishness), faithfulness (in response to temptation), gentleness (in response to aggression) and self-control (in response to recklessness) as “evidence” (fruit) of the Spirit.

Loving the hateful. Being a peacemaker. Self-control. These are all responses to the life that happens between services. The evidence of the Spirit at work does not lie in how we respond in worship environments, but in how we live and love in between those worship environments. The recorded tears of Jesus come from compassion, not ecstatic connection. In Luke 4, Jesus being "full of the Spirit" while coming into and leaving the wilderness was not just about expressing his joy after an ecstatic experience. Rather, it had more to do with him living into his purpose and resisting temptation.

We often underestimate the Spirit of God by limiting His presence to music and sermons delivered from a pulpit on stage. It’s life that the Spirit wants to lead, not simply emotions.  Paul finishes his conversation about the fruit of the Spirit by saying, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)

If you want evidence of the Spirit, look for the places where supernatural love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control have been manifested. Goosebumps and tears are good. Goodness and mercy are better!

SPIRIT-LED MYTH #2:  SPONTANEITY

I must confess. As a pastor and leader, this view of what it means to be “spirit-led” has created the most frustration over the years. If you and I were to meet for coffee, and I told you that we had a great service the night before that was so “spirit-led”, you would likely assume that I meant something unplanned and unexpected happened in that service. Why is that?

Where did we get this idea that the Spirit of God has this wild-child energy that goes this way and that way without any sense of order or direction? (I know some of you are probably thinking about John 3, we’ll get there in a moment). Where did we get the notion that the Spirit of God is most active and evident in spontaneity? Is the Spirit not purposeful and intentional?

Many members of churches today seem to hold the belief that plans, strategies, and systems for discipleship are simply the products of human effort on church staff. They believe that the most "spirit-led" ideas are found outside of structured systems. However, this is often a mistake.

Let me be clear. If you are part of a church where you lack confidence in the pastors’ and leaders' reliance on the Holy Spirit while planning how to disciple and equip the congregation for ministry, as well as how to lead them in worship, then it's time to consider leaving that church. If the leadership is not Spirit-led and is instead operating on their own knowledge, then that church is not truly a church, but rather a business entity exploiting the name of Jesus.

But if you believe your pastors and leaders are sincere followers of God who are seeking and relying on the power and wisdom of the Spirit, then why are behaving otherwise? Have you assumed that because there is an order to service the Spirit is not present or leading? Have you assumed that because the system seems “corporate” that said system is not the result of hours of prayers and spiritual stewardship?

What are we saying when we only expect the Spirit in the spontaneous? Are we suggesting he can never be found in order or structure? In strategy or corporate vision?

In John 3, Jesus is talking to Nicodemus and he says, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone born of the Spirit.”  Perhaps we take this to mean that the Spirit of God is random and aimless. If so, I disagree entirely. The Spirit is far from random and it is certainly aiming for something. The Spirit of God is on the mission of God to reveal and restore His good intentions in the world. Jesus is saying that our natural self does not have the perspective to understand the whys and hows of how the Spirit moves in and through his people. But that lack of perception does mean the Spirit is spontaneous; it simply means we are ignorant of its origins and aims. To the unbeliever it is foolishness, and to the believer, it creates humility and dependency.

We serve a God of order. We serve a God who is fighting for order. We serve a God who will restore order. We do not serve a God of chaos and randomness. Paul writes to the Corinthians “Let all things be done decently and in order.”  This, after offering instruction in response to all the “spiritual spontaneity” going on in the church of Corinth. Everyone had a prophetic word. (1 Cor. 14:26) Everyone chose their own favorite leader (1 Cor. 3:3-5). Everyone desired their own gift, for their own purposes. Paul reminds them that, though they are many individual pieces they form one body (1 Cor. 12) designed for interdependence and interconnectedness through the unifying power of God’s love (1 Cor. 13).

There are moments when the Spirit does something we don’t expect. Of course, there are. But the evidence of the Spirit of God is not in His spontaneity, it’s in His synergy. The Spirit is most evident when God’s missional orchestra makes beautiful music because all the instruments are playing their notes in service to the song He is conducting. Not when everyone decides to pull out their own sheet of music and start playing off the sheet.

We have to be careful not to baptize our personalities. Some people are rebels. Some people ask “forgiveness” before they ask “permission”. Some people simply have a hard time bringing their energies to ideas and strategies they didn’t come up with. Others really enjoy the autonomy of “doing our own thing”. These are personality traits. And when they are active, we have to be careful that we aren’t using the God-card of “spirit-led” to simply execute our ideas and whims.

In Ephesians 4, Paul shares that the church is gifted with apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” This is after he explains that we are ONE just a few verses above – one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, serving one God.  (Ephesians 4:1-6)

God is God of order. Satan is an agent of chaos. God is about unity. Satan is about division. Too often, well-meaning spontaneity serves the individual person or group, not the whole. It can, and often does, lead to confusion and division.

The Spirit can be spontaneous, but its power is in synergy.

That’s probably enough for today.