Saturday, November 22, 1997

Faith: Walk the walk, don't just talk the talk

By MICHAEL O'CONNOR / Abilene Reporter-News

Some of the college students who attended the church I was serving became involved in what they described as a nondenominational gathering of students from all over town.

The meetings, as they were described to me, must have been very exciting, with enthusiastic and emotional singing, prayers for healing, casting out of demons -- apparently not a regular feature -- and Bible study. The males were firmly in charge and had established a hierarchy of leadership.

My students were after me to attend the meetings, but I demurred, using a variety of excuses. Finally one of them applied some serious wheedling to the request, ending with, ìI just wish you could experience what we're experiencing. I told her thanks, but I had grown beyond the need for what they were offering. My words struck her like a physical blow. She rocked back on her heels, stared at me for a moment and stammered goodbye.

I had been part of a similar group when I attended college. The major differences were that we didn't speak in tongues or cast out demons. We, like my young friends, were going to change the world, claiming it for Christ. We disparaged the local churches we were part of because they were dull, uninspired, obviously lacking the Spirit. We, on the other hand, were full of the, uh, Spirit.

Judging from what my young friends were telling me, I believed they were little more than spiritual thrill seekers. What clinched that impression were the conversations I had with them about the other aspects of their lives. They might have been spiritual giants when they met together, but their day-to-day lives showed little evidence of the Spirit's power.

In the years after college, I found that much of the spirituality I encountered in the church, while low-key, ran deeper than the high fireworks religion I had been part of -- and that my young friends were seeking. Most of the members in churches I served never raised a hand in praise, never spoke in any other language but English and never cast out a demon.

Instead the one with a vital faith lived in such a way that demonstrated what they believed. They gave their lives selflessly for others. They were islands of calm and strength during a crisis, supported me as a pastor, sought the best for their church, were unafraid of change and had unimpeachable characters.

I don't doubt that the Spirit does spectacular things in the lives of those he guides. But the Spirit's primary function is to enable believers to live in a way that gives credit to their beliefs and the author of those beliefs. And this power is one that is best seen in daily living, not in an explosive worship experience.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against high-powered, exciting worship. But if you want to impress me with the Spirit's presence and power in your life, then let me see your Sunday upraised hands turn into Monday through Saturday hands that serve others. Let me see your Sunday worship tears become daily tears of compassion for those God called special -- the poor and needy. Let me see your worship shouts of praise become daily language that heals rather than curses.

Let me see your religion make a difference in your life, and then you can invite me to experience what you are experiencing.