tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746468652435913462.post3606318118177308700..comments2023-09-20T09:39:24.282-04:00Comments on Spirit in the Wild Wood: Of What Spirit is the Church "Code"? Second in a three part seriesdedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04110715735805987539noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746468652435913462.post-30507027937259570322011-06-23T06:30:19.927-04:002011-06-23T06:30:19.927-04:00I actually went back to your blog and reread that ...I actually went back to your blog and reread that post right after I had written the question. Thanks for the update here. <br /><br />I appreciated you checking here so regularly. You're a faithful guy!dedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04110715735805987539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746468652435913462.post-17661365561388682262011-06-22T21:54:20.852-04:002011-06-22T21:54:20.852-04:00David, the answer to that is in my last blog post ...David, the answer to that is in my last blog post at Postmodern Redneck here on Blogspot. About halfway through the post I had a paragraph about what they did: In the training for their prayer teams, who would pray for anyone who wished it after each service, they instructed us several times during the day not to start praying immediately, but to briefly pray for the Spirit to give us what to pray, and then listen for it. Then we could pray, after we heard from Him.<br /><br />The advice I gave in that post about following the Spirit is simple: (1)Sit down (rather than rushing in to do things your own way) and (2) Shut up (because when you are talking you are not listening). Those two things are the biggest hurdles in learning to hear and follow the Holy Spirit. Once you hear from Him, then you can move and talk based on what He gives you. But most people are too busy doing and talking to listen to Him.postmodern redneckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07279009105618761553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746468652435913462.post-40559269389171727892011-06-21T09:29:07.370-04:002011-06-21T09:29:07.370-04:00Which begs the question: How do you teach someone ...Which begs the question: How do you teach someone to walk in the spirit?dedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04110715735805987539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746468652435913462.post-54532320281626085482011-06-20T21:56:00.104-04:002011-06-20T21:56:00.104-04:00The problem with "Codes" like that is th...The problem with "Codes" like that is that words are easy...walking the walk those words say you are going to walk is a lot harder. I am reminded of a church we attended back in the early '80s that had a "Membership Covenant" people had to agree to as a condition of membership. A few years later something came up that they wanted to do, they did it, and a few months later figured out they had violated their own Covenant.<br /><br />A second problem is inherent in the professional clergy. Even in so-called "Spirit-filled" churches there is an implicit assumption that the pastor will hear the Holy Spirit and pass it on to his flock. Some pastors do accept the idea of hearing the Spirit from certain people they approve (all too often, their immediate circle or big contributors). All too many implicitly distrust the idea of the Spirit speaking to just anybody. (As for non-"Spirit-filled" churches, most of the ones I've seen pretty much behave as if there is no such thing as the Holy Spirit.) In my whole life--61 years--I've only seen one congregation that made any serious effort to teach ordinary members to hear the Holy Spirit themselves.postmodern redneckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07279009105618761553noreply@blogger.com