St Paul said to the Corinthians that they were stewards of the mysteries of God. The pagans called us Christian, but technically we are stewards of the mysteries of God. One of those mysteries is the eucharist. We do not re-sacrifice the death of Jesus on the cross, but I believe the elements are consecrated as a channel of Christ’s spirit (or the Holy Spirit) to come within us just as God’s Holy Spirit entered Mary and she gave birth to Jesus.

If communion is just a commemorative or memorial part of the service, then it is not one of those ‘mysteries’ of God, which St Paul exhorted us to be stewards of.

I am thinking the early church was so powerful in miracles because they practised the sacrament. The indeed became channels of God’s power through this mystical union of Christ with his Church.

Also St Paul gives reference to “For he that easts and rinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” Paul said it was the Lord’s body. And the mystical union was affected which is why Paul goes on to say “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” (i.e. die). This is physical, not spiritual.

In my heart I believe the sacramental union is one of the mysteries of God which we have somehow in the pentecostal movement failed to be a steward of.

The supernatural experiences may manifest themselves more with us if we see it as a sacramental union (not quite the Roman Catholic’s theology).

Your thoughts?

@Shawn – What you describe about your feelings about the eucharist is something I can really relate to (as a participant, but not bearing the chalice). I would love to share my own experience as a lector sometime, how amazing that whole experience is whether I’m reading or hearing the lesson. Something I would never have imagined in my independent evangelical days.

@Tony – your experience is very similar to mine in regards to ecstatic experiences of God. I would love to chat about it. Thing is…the strange ‘spiritual’ experiences that I’ve had (things that people would normally associate with the ‘supernatural’) are something that I don’t open up about except with those with whom I know it is safe to do so. I have a unique habit of both telling it the way I think it was, and yet being open to the idea that it is an experience too subjective to tell everyone. In the right company, these things are great to recall.

I am honored to have served such a function, thank you.

It would be a blessing to meet you. When you get back to the Twin Cities, please email me.

I have heard George O. Wood speak about charismata during church services. He has also addressed the matter on the AGTV website. Springfield has sent out two books to all AG credential holders that address spiritual gifts with an emphasis on order. They are: Divine Order, edited by Randy Hurst; and When the Spirit Speaks, authored by Warren Bullock.

Recently I have felt a leading to take a sabbatical from heavier duty, theological reading. This past week I reread A Man Called Mr. Pentecost (David du Plessis). It was a light read and a great blessing to me. Du Plessis knew how to walk in the spirit and was involved in the charismata spreading to the mainline churches. Because of his contact with the mainlines, his AG credentials were rescinded, but 18 years later, when the AG leadership saw the fruit of his work, he was reinstated.

Have you and Reed discussed that trip to Denver any further? We really ought to get some face to face time this year.

@ Steve,

Where do you live, and what, if any, contact do you have with the leadership of the A/G? Curious to know, because you have expressed your concerns fairly, and I am interested in hearing your story.

The current national leadership in the Assemblies of God is struggling with this crisis of identity and praxis.

To believe in the charismata was counter cultural in the modern world that the Pentecostal church started. There is great hope for the Pentecostal church in the evolving post-modern time.

There is something fantastic and supernatural when there is an utterance that fits beautifully into the speaker’s message, or a true healing takes place, or a captive is set free of demonic powers, or other unmistakable manifestation of God occurs. It is the real and unmistakable experience of God that makes a true Pentecostal. The concept of walking in Spirit and regularly experiencing the Holy Spirit has been lost in the generational transitions of the Pentecostal church.