The chapter on "The Universal Presence" of God was up this morning. Tozer talks about our receptivity, or simply "spiritual awareness." He's talking about the cultivated ability and discipline to discern and appreciate the constant presence of God with us. "It is an affinity for, a bent toward, a sympathetic response to, a desire to have." He talks about how the patient cultivation and exercise of this receptivity is less popular as society gets faster and more automated.
"A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.Now, Tozer's situation in evangelical-fundamentalist history is evident in parts of his description of the problem, but it is quite easy to apply his concern to the present day. Just look back over his list in the last paragraph. Selected ponderings:
The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit."
- Does my ministry draw people toward a deep experience of the presence of God, or do I allow them to be content with splashing around in the shallows?
- Does my teaching reflect a thoroughly Christian way of thinking all the way down, or am I just repeating the doctrinal formulations I've heard from my academic betters?
- When I participate in worship, am I looking to be impressed or entertained? When I lead worship, am I trying to be impressive or entertaining? His phrase "the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings" is a rusty nail in my soul. I think that this problem is more widespread and insidious than we realize, and it's something I've been thinking about lately. A separate post will ensue.
- The last few items on Tozer's list can be seen under the rubric of style over substance. Does my ministry emphasize man or God? Am I trusting in cleverness and wit rather than Word and Spirit? No, really - what specifics can I point to in my life/ministry as evidence that I'm not deceiving myself in this area?
2 comments:
"His phrase "the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings" is a rusty nail in my soul. I think that this problem is more widespread and insidious than we realize, and it's something I've been thinking about lately. A separate post will ensue."
I'll await this post with interest. I appreciate the danger of the disease Tozer diagnoses, but I see too often in our conservative circles an equally-dangerous remedy: to fashion a worship experience that assiduously avoids inspiring pleasurable sensations.
I simply fear that in attempting to avoid entertainment in church we wind up worshiping according to Colossians 2:23, and suffer the same bondage to the flesh that our more fun-oriented brethren experience. Sometimes the reaction against Circus Church is Sensory Deprivation Church, and I don't believe either is biblical.
Ah, fear not. I agree that neither is biblical. Believe me, sensory deprivation is far from where I'm headed. I happen to like my senses very much! I'm thinking about how we disciple the senses, and how we move them in a God-exalting direction in worship. Good comment.
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