I am a pietist. I once tried to recover from my pietist upbringing, trading it in for something more grand (like Eastern Orthodoxy). Alas, I can not help myself. I am a pietist in my bones. It was bred into me, and I don't think I could ever divest myself of my pietist heritage. But what does that mean for you? What does that have to do with theology or with ministry? Good questions!
As a pietist, I believe in the utter creativity and generosity of the Holy Spirit. I believe the Spirit is at work throughout the creation, convicting persons of sin, bringing them to a saving knowledge of Christ, sanctifying them and making them holy, and calling them into a life of Christian service and love. I believe the Spirit will use anything and everything to get the job done. To some the Spirit will speak through the scriptures. To others the Spirit will speak through the sacraments. To others still, the Spirit will be present and at work through worship, preaching, prayer, fasting, the fellowship of the saints, the creation, and countless other ways. As a pietist, it doesn't really matter to me *how* you get to God. What matters most is *that* you get there. What I really care about is this: I long for the Holy Spirit to grab hold of you and turn your inside out, restoring you to the fullness of the image of God in which you are made. Thus the thought I want most to leave you with this semester is this: As you go forth in ministry, don't be miserly or stingy, forcing the presence and work of the Holy Spirit into this or that mode or restricting it to this or that source. Rather, be generous and ever ready to discern the life-giving and life-transforming presence of the Holy Spirit in every facet of the world and in every dimension of life. If you do nothing else in ministry, INTRODUCE PERSONS TO THE HOLY SPIRIT. Help them to become aware of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit round about them, and trust the Spirit to do the rest!
All grace and peace, Jason