Two Billion Jesuses

For the last several months, I have been leading small group discussions in an Alpha course at the local Episcopal church in town. Although I really dread classifying myself within a denomination, I recognize that in order for other people to understand my Christian experience, I usually have to classify myself as a charismatic. Tonight's discussion was centered around the question of "What does the Holy Spirit Do?" and during the discussion, we began to discuss spiritual gifts.

As a charismatic (which is a cognate of the greek word for "gift"), I knew my experience would be quite different from most people in the room, and so I asked people what their experiences with spiritual gifts were. As we began discussing, I realized that most people were talking about what many people consider to be talents and abilities, instead of focusing on the supernatural aspect of the Holy Spirit.

The truth is, talent is a valid gift from God. However, at the same time, I was having a hard time getting people to draw the connection between the gifts which Paul said we should eagerly desire and that the Holy Spirit endows, and talents that we are born with or develop during our life independent of our relationship with God. I have found that to many people that do not have a charismatic experience, it is hard to explain that there is indeed a gift set that comes with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, that were not present in the life of a person beforehand. This gift set neither nullifies talent nor does it deny its origin in God, but fortifies the effectiveness of a believer's ministry to the world and to God.

I find it interesting that many modern denominations are so quick to discard or question the current practice of spiritual gifts, yet at the same time will defend the idea that we are to live as Christ lived. The fact is, Christ lived his life by doing and saying only that which He saw the Father doing and heard the Father saying, and the only way to do that is by the power of the Holy Spirit, utilizing His gifts. As a matter of fact, it was not until Jesus received the Holy Spirit that He was led into the desert and filled with the Holy Spirit, to be empowered for the ministry and teaching that He set out as an example for us.

The Holy Spirit radically changed Jesus's life, yet today, we keep the Holy Spirit at an arm's length, so that we are socially palatable to the unchurched and can attract them to join us in our powerless rituals, thereby "growing the church." But, I have been overwhelmed with encouragement in the teaching coming from the Anglican church, or at least the Alpha Course, because it is obvious that they have embraced the charismatic aspect of the Holy-Spirit and have not reduced Him to a glorified slap on the wrist.

What would the world look like if the Christian church, regardless of denomination, were to tap into the giftings that come only from the Holy Spirit? If Christians are approximately 33% of the world's population, imagine if they really stepped into the role of being Christian, or "like Christ." When Jesus went into public places, He was literally pushing through throngs of people to get from one place to the next. The apostles dealt with similar crowds. What if there were 2 billion Jesuses (Jesi?) walking around, full of the power of the Holy Spirit?