• Home
  • About
  • Original reporting
  • Podcasts

MethodistThinker.com

News, commentary, source documents, podcasts, history, prayers

Feeds:
Posts

Bishop Lindsey Davis: The wind-and-flame faith of Pentecost

May 28, 2009 by Editor

The following reflection on Pentecost was written in 2000 by Bishop G. Lindsey Davis, now episcopal leader of the Kentucky Annual Conference and the Red Bird Missionary Conference.

In many of our United Methodist churches, Pentecost Sunday will be observed only casually. For still others, no mention of Pentecost will be made at all.

It wasn’t that way in the early church! For the first 200 years of the Christian faith, there was only one major season of celebration — and it wasn’t Christmas.

come-holy-spiritInstead, it began around Easter and culminated 50 days later with the festival of Pentecost!

Pentecost was a day to stand amazed at the grace of God. It was a day to embrace a new Spirit — a time to allow the Holy Spirit of God to energize all their worship and their living.

For the early church, Pentecost was a highlight of the year — a day of excitement and sheer joy.

It was the same on the first Pentecost, when the disciples of Jesus gathered in Jerusalem. Acts 2 tells us they experienced a dynamic outpouring of God’s presence that day that all but catapulted them into ministry — witnessing, proclaiming, loving, caring, teaching, baptizing, and sharing with one another.

That first Pentecost was God’s trumpet blast to the world, birthing the church of Jesus Christ.


Becoming Christ-bearers

The kind of wind-and-flame Christianity that flows from Pentecost isn’t safe. It is radically unsafe — and uncomfortable. It will cost you everything.

What difference did it make in the lives of the early believers to have the Spirit upon them? Read about it in the Book of Acts. They sold whatever they owned so they could make sure that each individual need was met; they followed a disciplined routine of worship, prayer, and Bible Study; they lived together in wonderful harmony.

And everyday God added to their number those who were being saved.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses,” Jesus proclaimed to His disciples. To be a witness for Him is to be a “Christ-bearer” — to bear the image of Jesus Christ at the deepest roots of who we are, what we do, and where we go.

To that end, may God’s Holy Spirit come and fall afresh on us!

Lindsey Davis was elected to the episcopacy at the 1996 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, after serving as a pastor and district superintendent in Kentucky. He served as the bishop of the North Georgia Conference from 1996-2008.

∞

Look down and see this waiting host,
And send the promised Holy Ghost;
We need another Pentecost.
Send the fire today!

— William Booth / Lex Loizides

Related posts
• Bishop Lindsey Davis: ‘The gospel in an age of skepticism’
• Conversations with Bishop Lindsey Davis
• Bishop Lindsey Davis: ‘The primary task of the Church’
• An interview with Bishop Lindsey Davis
• Bishop Lindsey Davis: ‘A fully engaged laity’
• Bishop Lindsey Davis: ‘Whatever it takes to reach the lost’
• Bishop Lindsey Davis: The Church in time of war
• Bishop Lindsey Davis: A vision for the future
• Bishop Lindsey Davis speaks to the Confessing Movement
• Bishop Lindsey Davis on the role of a bishop
Advertisements

Share:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit

Posted in Bishops, Church Renewal, Doctrine, Revival, United Methodist Church | Tagged UMC, United Methodist Church |

  • This blog was active from 2008-2013. It is no longer updated.
  • ThinkerSeek

  • Prayer

    We have sinned and done wrong. All this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not given attention to your truth.

    We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O LORD, forgive!

    (Adapted from Daniel 9)

    Terry Teykl's Acts 29 Prayer Guide (PDF)

  • Good News - Leading United Methodists to a Faithful Future

    Support the Good News movement

  • Categories

    • Bishops
    • Book of Discipline
    • Camp Meeting
    • Christian/Methodist History
    • Church Development
    • Church Growth
    • Church Renewal
    • Disaster Relief
    • Discipleship
    • Doctrine
    • Ethics
    • Evangelism
    • General Conference
    • Holiness
    • Judicial Council
    • Laity
    • Lay Speaking Ministries
    • Leadership Development
    • Media
    • Missions
    • MThinker General Annoucements
    • North Georgia Conference
    • Ordination
    • Podcasts
    • Politics
    • Prayer
    • Preaching
    • Revival
    • Sermons
    • Social Issues
    • Southeastern Jurisdiction
    • Stewardship
    • UM Higher Education
    • United Methodist Church
    • United Methodist Men
    • United Methodist Women
  • Archives

    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
  • Archives - general conference

    • 1996 – Denver
    • 2000 – Cleveland
    • 2004 – Pittsburgh
    • 2008 – Fort Worth
    • 2012 – Tampa
  • Header image of "Le Penseur" ("The Thinker") is via flickr — used with permission of innoxiuss. Image adapted for this site by Gideon.
  • Advertisements

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy