Tag Archives: John G. Lake

Experiential Spirituality: William Seymour and Don Williams (Part 6 of 7)

William J. Seymour
William J. Seymour

The focus on experiential spirituality dramatically increased within Protestantism at the beginning of the 20th century with the start of Pentecostalism through William J. Seymour.  The son of former slaves freed at the end of the Civil War within the United States of America, Seymour (1870-1922) passionately pursued God at an early age and “found his identity in Jesus Christ” [Liardon 1996, 141] in such a way that he oozed the Spirit of God. John G. Lake, an early Pentecostal leader, said that Seymour had “more of God in his life than any man I had ever met up to that time” [Liardon 1996, 154].

This passion for experiencing the Living God captured the hearts of thousands of people as Seymour lead the Azusa Street Revival (1906-1915). Early Pentecostal historian Frank J. Ewart, who was also an eyewitness to the revival in its later years, later wrote that Seymour’s ministry was “not built on a new system of doctrine, but on an eminent scriptural experience” [1975, 69]. The inmate ongoing relationship promoted by St. Thérèse and other mystics within the Roman Catholic Church had finally found a home within Protestantism.

The tenth travel guide along our experiential spirituality journey is Don Williams (1937-Present). Williams was a Presbyterian pastor who had a personal encounter with the Living God through the ministry of John Wimber, the leader of the Vineyard Movement, which challenged his Calvinist education that had taught him “not to expect any powerful work of the Holy Spirit after conversion” [Williams 2011, 5].

Building upon this experience, Williams went on to influence the direction of Christian worship and church practice towards experiential spirituality through his writings and leadership within the Vineyard Movement [Geraty 2014]. His message of “intimate communion” with Jesus [Williams 2004, 116] would help blend together the spiritual experience of the Pentecostal world started by William Seymour with the personal transformation Christianity of John Calvin to create a new paradigm Protestantism that has come to shape 21st century Christianity [Luhrmann 2012, xx].

To be continued….

 

Bibliography

Ewart, Frank J. 1975. The Phenomenon of Pentecost. Hazelwood, Missouri: Word Aflame Press.

Geraty, Luke. 2014. Don Williams: Shaping the Theology, Praxis, and Culture of Worship in the Vineyard and Beyond. Master’s essay, University of Birmingham.

Liardon, Roberts. 1996. God’s Generals: Why They Succeeded and Why Some Failed. Tulsa, Oklahoma: Albury Publishing.

Luhrmann, Tanya M. 2012. When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Williams, Don. 2011. Signs, Wonders, and the Kingdom of God: A Biblical Guide for the Reluctant Skeptic. Woodinville, Washington: Sunrise Reprints.

…………… 2004. 12 Steps with Jesus. How Filling the Spiritual Emptiness in Your Life Can Help You Break Free from Addiction. Ventura, California: Regal.

Faith and Risk

faithPublic Reading: Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

•    Jesus was headed to Jerusalem when ten men with leprosy stopped him

o    Jesus told them to go shows themselves to the priest
o    In accordance to Lev 13:2-14:32

•    The men left

o    They could have went home and continue along as normal
o    They could have walked away laughing at Jesus
o    But they didn’t – instead they started toward the priests just as Jesus said
o    As the went they were healed

•    We know all of them were healed because one of them returned

o    A Samaritan, who took a huge risk going towards the priests
o    He thanked Jesus and let him know what had happened

•    Jesus replied,

o    “Rise and go; your faith has made you well” – Luke 17:19

•    Faith

o    We use this word a lot but do we really understand what it means?

o    Dictionary (Merriam-Webster)

1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty, b (1) : fidelity to one’s promises (2) : sincerity of intentions

2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion, b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust

3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs <the Protestant faith>

o    Bible

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. – Hebrews 11:1, KJV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. – Hebrews 11:1, ESV

•    I would defined it like this

o    Faith = Risk and Action
o    Faith – (Risk and Action) = Unbelief

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