Chandler Matt - Practicing the power: welcoming the gifts of the holy spirit in your life

I t is not an exaggeration to say I have been waiting for this book for close to fifteen years.

I came to faith in a church that preached extended sermons on why the gift of tongues didnt exist and the dangers of the charismatic movement. As an eighteen-year-old Christian, this wasnt hard to believe. I could see the abuses. But God in his mercy wanted to show me some things that would stand in sharp contrast to the teaching I had heard at my home church.

Gods first mercy was the gift of an eclectic group of Christian friends. These guys absorbed me into their group soon after my conversion. They were a mix of some serious Church of Christ kids and four or five guys who attended the Assembly of God. I was Baptist, so you can imagine the robust dialogue that took place as we shared what we were learning at our respective churches. Topics of discussion ranged from the right kind of worship music in a service to tongues as evidence of salvationand everything in between! With this group I developed a deep love for the Scriptures and sought to humbly understand what others believed. I learned that being gracious to others was pleasing to God. Even though I strongly disagreed with them on many issues, I knew that they deeply loved Jesus. They were a refuge for me as an infant in Christ, and they taught me through their love for the Bible and for me.

Gods second mercy to me was a gifting of the Spirit of God in a way that had place in the church I was attending at the time. Though I am primarily a preacher/teacher, I also have a strong gift of evangelism, and from time to time have had what Sam defines in this book as prophetic words for people. God used this gift of prophecy in powerful ways that led people to become Christians, repent of secret sin, and seek reconciliation in their broken relationships. Its a gift that seems to come and go in my life. I can preach and teach every week but the prophetic gifting seems to vanish for months at a time. Still, that experience with the gift of prophecy left me feeling like a theological orphan. I embraced a Reformed view of soteriology, I am an unapologetic complementarian and have a high view of the Scriptures as the inerrant Word of God. But as a budding continuationist (one who believes that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit continue today), I was now somewhere between the charismatics, the Reformed, and my Baptist roots. In time, God would introduce me to another group of deep friendships that would help me, push me, and challenge me through robust dialogue to grow in a healthy understanding of the Scriptures.

When I became the pastor of The Village Church, it was a seeker-sensitive (Willow Creek model) Baptist church. I didnt think it was possible for a church like this to practice the gifts of the Spirit as we see them operating in the Scriptures. I knew that I could navigate the questions and challenges of growing in the gifts myself, but I wasnt sure how to work with others or lead a church in using the gifts. Thats why I started by saying that Ive been waiting for the book you are holding for fifteen years. This is the help Ive been waiting for!