Wright on the Spirit

Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense is a relatively recent book by N.T. (Tom) Wright. It's one of the current all-church reads at my home church, Antioch. Billed as a modern Mere Christianity, this book succeeds in offering what C.S. Lewis' classic did--a sensible articulation of basic Christianity free of church-speak and accessible to the man or woman on the street.

I highly recommend it (though I'm not yet finished). For now, though, let me just offer a paragraph on the Holy Spirit...

The Holy Spirit and the task of the church. The two walk together, hand in hand. We can't talk about them apart. Despite what you might think from some excitement in the previous generation about new spiritual experiences, God doesn't give people the Holy Spirit in order to let them enjoy the spiritual equivalent of a day at Disneyland. Of course, if you're downcast and gloomy, the fresh wind of God's Spirit can and often does give you a new perspective on everything, and above all grants a sense of God's presence, love, comfort, and even joy. But the point of the Spirit is to enble those who follow Jesus to take into all the world the news that he is Lord, that he has won the victory over the forces of evil, that a new world has opened up, and that we are to help make it happen.