While mowing my yard, with a push mower, I have plenty of time to think. I mean, how long does one need to focus on, “Am I mowing a straight line?”
The other day I got to thinking about all the streams of Christian thought that have influenced me. The Bible of course is the first and most important, but I think everyone recognizes that there are various streams within an orthodox viewpoint (and yes, I hold to the traditional, historic, apostolic faith). Here are the ones I thought about while pushing my lawn mower back and forth across the yard.
The Ante-Nicene Fathers. This may not really be a stream, since I never met them personally. I’ve only read their works, but these men had a huge impact on me. I was drawn to them because they are the closest witness we have to the Apostles. And these brethren really aren't a stream, they're more like the trunk of the tree.
The Charismatic Renewal. Especially the earlier years. Baptism with the Spirit, spiritual gifts, healing, deliverance, expectation of answered prayer, worship, victorious living, and a big and present Savior. I was always astounded when people criticized the renewal as shallow and lacking in-depth teaching, for I found a lot of in-depth teaching, full and rich. Oh not so much theological, but aimed at living the abundant and victorious life.
The Holiness Movement. They also believed in baptism with the Spirit, although a little different emphasis than the charismatic renewal. Heart purity and victory over sin as normal expectations. And the matter of separation from the world. Again, this stream was mostly experienced via their books. This would include the Keswick Movement and all the Higher Life, deeper life emphases.
The Christian and Missionary Alliance. The C&MA is one branch of the Holiness Movement, with an emphasis on the expectation and possibility of sanctification. The Alliance, especially the older writers, taught an expectation of victory over and deliverance from sin, and overall had a more balanced view of holiness. Healing, deliverance, prayer, answered prayer, and a big and present God... What a deep stream! They also saturated me with missions: the whole gospel, for the whole man, for the whole world. And an emphasis on the second coming of Christ, tied into the missionary endeavor.
The Christian & Missionary Alliance is truly that, an alliance of people who agree on the basics of the faith and agree to disagree on many of the details that divide others (for example, Calvinism vs Arminianism). Our fellowship was built on Jesus, the four-fold gospel, and taking this gospel to the ends of the earth. The point being we don't have to agree on every detail (eternal security, rapture etc) to fellowship and work together. The teaching was also sound, deep, full of life, and glorified Jesus.
The charismatic renewal and the Alliance are also revivalistic. Which explains why I believe in renewing and reviving movements of the Spirit, and that we should be in prayer for revival.
I have also noted for a long time that the movements that influenced me the most are also restorationist movements, intent on restoring the spiritual life emphasis of the Apostles.
Calvary Chapel. Pastor Chuck taught me the importance of expository preaching (preaching and teaching through whole books of the Bible). And of course the worship. The charismatic renewal, of which Calvary Chapel is a stream, taught me the importance and beauty of worship. Movements of the Spirit are always marked by joyful singing (all of the above!), consequently, I know so many good songs!
Anyway, this is what I was thinking about as I cut the grass the other day. And still, I managed to mow in straight lines. Well, straight enough!
