The Acts and Agency of the Holy Spirit in the Missional Life
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ABSTRACT GOD’S MISSIONAL SPIRIT: THE ACTS AND AGENCY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE MISSIONAL LIFE by John W. Freeland The missional church movement has stepped outside the walls of the institutional church and into the streets of the neighborhood and the hallways of the workplace. However, missional practices are not enough to turn the tide of the growing irrelevance of the church in Western society. This study addresses the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the missional life. Theologians and practitioners such as Jurgen Moltmann, Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch, Alan Roxburgh, J. R. Woodward, N. T. Wright, and John Wesley were explored in the literature review which revealed six key themes: The Holy Spirit Sends Us on a Mission, Parakletos, Higher Degree of the Holy Spirit, God-kind of Love, Power from/of the Holy Spirit, and Awareness of Missional Opportunities. These Holy Spirit Sends Us on a Mission, Parakletos, and Higher Degree of the Holy Spirit all relate to a Christian’s experience with the Holy Spirit as He designs and sends the Christian to a particular place at a particular time. The Holy Spirit joins with, guides, and leads the Christian on that mission and into a deeper personal relationship through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. God-kind of Love, Power from/of the Holy Spirit, and Awareness of Missional Opportunities Moreover, these themes relate to the outward expression of the Christian’s relationship with the Holy Spirit as they respond to their context with the love given them by the Holy Spirit, work in the gifts (2 Cor. 12), fruit (Gal. 5.22–24), and power (Acts 1.8) of the Holy Spirit, and discern and engage the missional opportunities around them. Still, a deficit in the literature exists in addressing the connection between the Christian’s relationship and experiences with the Holy Spirit and missional living. The project intervention involved a ten-week small group experience designed to help participants establish a relationship with the Holy Spirit and begin regular missional practices. Participants experienced the baptism with the Holy Spirit and perfection in love and established missional practices. A pre- and post- missional practices assessment was used as well as a questionnaire. The data collected was both quantitative and qualitative and evaluated the connection between the Holy Spirit and missional living. The findings suggest that the six themes are important in an individual’s missional life. DISSERTATION APPROVAL This is to certify that the dissertation entitled GOD’S MISSIONAL SPIRIT: THE ACTS AND AGENCY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE MISSIONAL LIFE presented by John W. Freeland has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the DOCTOR OF MINISTRY degree at Asbury Theological Seminary Dissertation Coach Date Director, Doctor of Ministry Program Date Dean of the Beeson Center Date GOD’S MISSIONAL SPIRIT: THE ACTS AND AGENCY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE MISSIONAL LIFE A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by John W. Freeland May 2019 © 2019 John W. Freeland ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 NATURE OF THE PROJECT ......................................................................1 Overview of the Chapter ..........................................................................................1 Personal Introduction ...............................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................3 Purpose of the Project ..............................................................................................5 Research Questions ..................................................................................................5 Research Question #1 ..................................................................................5 Research Question #2 ..................................................................................6 Research Question #3 ..................................................................................6 Rationale for the Project ..........................................................................................6 Definition of Key Terms ..........................................................................................8 Delimitations ............................................................................................................9 Review of Relevant Literature .................................................................................9 Research Methodology ..........................................................................................11 Type of Research .......................................................................................11 Participants .................................................................................................12 Instrumentation ..........................................................................................12 Data Collection ..........................................................................................13 iii Data Analysis .............................................................................................13 Generalizability ..........................................................................................14 Project Overview ...................................................................................................14 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW FOR THE PROJECT .........................................15 Overview of the Chapter ........................................................................................15 Biblical Foundations ..............................................................................................16 Missio Dei ..................................................................................................16 Love ..........................................................................................................18 The Holy Spirit .........................................................................................20 Theological Foundations ........................................................................................22 “You must be born again” ..........................................................................22 The Importance of the Holy Spirit in the Believer’s Life ..........................24 John Fletcher’s Dispensations ....................................................................27 John Wesley’s Theology of the Holy Spirit ...............................................29 The Holy Spirit Sends on a Mission .....................................................................31 Missio Dei ..................................................................................................31 The Reign of God.......................................................................................33 Missional God ............................................................................................36 Sent People.................................................................................................37 Parakletos ...............................................................................................................39 Parakletos: To Come Alongside ................................................................39 The Trinity .................................................................................................40 The Holy Spirit Goes Before .....................................................................42 iv The Holy Spirit Leads ................................................................................44 A Higher Degree of the Holy Spirit .......................................................................45 Many Do Not Know the Holy Spirit ..........................................................45 Relationship ..............................................................................................47 Second Work of Grace ...............................................................................48 Baptism with the Holy Spirit .....................................................................49 Sanctification .............................................................................................51 A God Kind of Love ..............................................................................................52 Self-sacrificing Love ..................................................................................52 Incarnational Love .....................................................................................53 Wesley on Love .........................................................................................54 Power from/of the Holy Spirit ...............................................................................56 Inheritance of the Saints.............................................................................56 Signs and Wonders ...................................................................................58 Prophecy ....................................................................................................59