On the Holy Spirit, Consecration, Missional fog, and the Bystander Effect

Dear friends,

This is the second edition of my weekly newsletter with more personal writing and content curation on mission, discipleship, and spiritual renewal.

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Here are your weekly bullets:

On the purifying and empowering Holy Spirit :

“I would say that the particular prerogative of the Holy Spirit is to purify and then empower.”

— Duncan Campbell, scottish evangelist of the Hebrides revival

On the test of Consecration:

“For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake.” - 2 Corinthians 4:5

“The very test of consecration is our willingness not only to surrender the things that are wrong, but to surrender our rights…“

— A.B. Simpson, Days of Heaven upon Earth

In our hedonistic culture of excessive freedom, it is good to be reminded of one of the most radical descriptors given to followers of Jesus in Scripture: “slave”.

Jesus Himself, according to the Christ hymn of Philippians, emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, giving His life for others, obedient even to to the cross.

The apostle Paul also refers to himself as a slave of Christ. So did Peter.

I’m well aware that due to the abhorrent history of human slavery, this New Testament metaphor is often one we may shy away from.

Yet it powerfully conveys two truths:

First, we belong to Jesus.

Jesus our friend, is also our Master. We have been bought with a price and belong to Him.

We are Christ’s.

Second, we are to be allegiant and devoted to Jesus.

Concretely, this is not just renunciation of sin but also the daily voluntary relinquishing of “privileges and rights”.

The things that other people consider “normal” to give ourselves more fully to Jesus and His gospel.

It’s the giving up of the “good life” for a cross-shaped life.

For the sake of His fame.

On the only message:

“There is only one message great enough to take us from our homes of comfort, carry us across the seas, and set us down in the midst of persecution, ridicule, sacrifice and loneliness, and that is the message that "Christ died for our sins,"”

— Oswald J. Smith

On “missional fog”:

“A shift has taken place over the last century in the Western understanding of God’s mission and the part we play in it. That shift has resulted in what I call the ‘missional fog’ surrounding Western churches. Increasingly ‘mission’ is framed in political and social terms—fighting for economic justice and world peace, saving the planet, overcoming patriarchy and gender inequality, establishing kingdom businesses and growing organic vegetables. All these activities and causes have been classified as ‘mission.’ But these are not the core missionary task.”

— Steve Addison, The Rise and Fall of Movements

I recently heard a researcher of global Christianity say that missions and missionaries are becoming increasingly harder to quantify at a global level due to the evolving definition of mission.

This is by means not the only reason. But as Scottish missionary Stephen Neill wrote, “if everything is mission, then nothing is mission.”

Clarity on what constitutes Jesus’ mission is crucial.

On The bystander effect and the Great Commission:

When I first heard the backstory of the Bystander effect, also known as Bystander apathy, I couldn’t believe it.

Thirty-eight neighbors saw, heard, or witnessed a homicide, and none of them did anything about it.

This shocking event sparked the interest of social psychologists.

After various experiments and research, they theorized that individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim in the presence of other people.

The bystander effect means that we convince ourselves that someone else will step in and do what we know we are supposed to do from a moral or ethical standpoint.

The thirty-eight neighbors had fallen captive to the Bystander Effect, failing to take responsibility and act in the moment.

I often think of the Bystander Effect and our world’s spiritual condition.

The world is not a giant Disneyland for us to chase “experiences” that can satisfy us. The world is a conflict zone over people’s souls. And as the Father sent Jesus, Jesus sends us into the very heart of this battle.

And all of us, with our differing gifts and callings, have a distinctive role in fulfilling Jesus' mission in our context.

What we call "The Great Commission" is not only the Church’s collective responsibility but also an individual and personal charge.

We must not be passive, or worse, apathetic bystanders, waiting for someone else to do the bloody cross-carrying work of Jesus in our generation.

Neither can we be galvanized spectators, rising and applauding when the Spirit moves through someone else because he did not find us ready and willing.

Rather, we should take up our missional identity of co-workers with the Missional God.

May our prayer be: “God, whatever you are going to do in my generation, do it with me.”

I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback. 

Which content resonated with you? What would you like to see more of? Please let me know by replying to this email.

Much love and until next week,

Timo