 Scottish pastor-theologian discusses charismatic renewal By Robert P. Mills The Presbyterian Layman Volume 34, Number 2 Posted March 26, 2001 Tom Smail says it was in 1965 that he began to experience the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in new and dramatic ways. At that time he was, in his own words, “a very unlikely candidate for charismatic renewal – a young Scottish Presbyterian minister … a pretty tough nut for the Spirit to crack.” And yet, for nearly 40 years – as Smail has pastored churches in Scotland, Ireland and England and served as vice principal of St. John’s College in Nottingham – the Holy Spirit has led him to play leading roles in renewal movements throughout Great Britain. His most recent books include: Windows on the Cross (Boston: Cowley, 1996), The Forgotten Father (London: Paternoster Press, 1996) and The Love of Power or the Power of Love: A Careful Assessment of the Problems Within the Charismatic and Word-of-Faith Movements (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1994). On a recent visit to the U.S. to speak about the Holy Spirit, Smail answered some questions from The Presbyterian Layman:
Smail: Anyone who says “Jesus is Lord” and “Abba, Father” can do so only in the charismatic power of the Holy Spirit and so must be reckoned to be a charismatic Christian. The spiritual gifts are real and valuable, but they come much further down the agenda. They are not nearly as important as some people imagine. When I started in the charismatic renewal, we were terribly anxious to provide a Scriptural justification for all the things that were happening – our experiences had to be validated by the Scriptural gospel. That stopped being so. A lot of charismatic preaching stopped being exposition at all and simply became testimony, dramatic experiences. When that happens, you are off with Schleiermacher and the whole liberal agenda. Even though you’re using evangelical language and going on about the Lord, your criterion is “What’s happening to me now,” not what God did in the culminating coming of his Son. What is the relationship between charismatic experience and theological reflection? Smail: There is no such thing as completely raw experience. Everything I am seeing in this room I am able to interpret only because I come with all sorts of presuppositions. Similarly, there is no religious experience that doesn’t have a theological component. The only question is is it a good or a bad theology. There is no non-theology. One of the great difficulties in the last 20 to 30 years has been the divorce of theology and spirituality. Deprived of spirituality, theology becomes academic and scholastic and very cerebral. Deprived of theology, spirituality goes into a fog of vagueness. Pitting spirituality against theology is very dangerous on both sides. Why should the average person in the pew be concerned about theology at all? Smail: Theology is the bone structure of all Christian believing. You don’t dangle people’s skeletons in front of them. But if there isn’t a bone structure, the body collapses. When preaching on Ezekiel 37, I always say that you need the breath, but you also need the bones. The bones may be very dry, but thank goodness they’re there. Remember, there is an assembly of the bones before there is a descent of the breath. What role do the gifts of the Spirit play in Christian faith and life? Smail: They are tools for mission. That is the way they are to be understood. If they are sought for themselves or are seen as the identifying signs of Christian authenticity, they go wrong. The gifts of the Spirit are most clearly manifested when you’re out on a limb of some kind in your participation in Christian mission. Then, the insights and healing things can begin to come in very remarkable ways. A lot of people see the spiritual gifts as a means of assurance, just as Jesus was tempted to leap from the pinnacle of the temple to reassure himself that he really was the Son of God. But that is not what they are for. You find assurance not in a multiplicity of signs, but by trusting what God has done for you in Christ. What is the gift of discernment and why is it important to the Church today? Smail: Exegetically, discernment of spirits doesn’t have to do with evil spirits in the first place. As interpretation is the twin gift with tongues, so discernment is the twin gift with prophecy. In I John 4, spirits and prophets are obviously interchangeable for one another – “trust not every spirit.” Out of the background of Christ and the Scriptures you need to pray for a very keen sense of where things are going. There is so much deceptiveness about in all our churches and many people are trying to dress themselves up in Christian clothes, yet what they are presenting is, in the end, thoroughly destructive. Which theologians have been particularly influential in your ministry? Smail: I really come out of the Barthian stable and have been much influenced by people like T. F. Torrance. For me, that is home. When I get in among the more traditional Anglican evangelicals, I recognize the family likeness. I am, so to speak, visiting auntie’s house. It’s my mother’s sister. But it isn’t home. It’s nuanced differently, but it’s the same family. What do you see as the future of the Reformed tradition? Smail: It does have to see itself as only one Christian tradition. I don’t think it has to see exclusively, itself as the one and only authentic Christian tradition. And it has to learn to listen to other Christians. I have learned a lot from the catholic tradition, and I don’t mean Roman Catholic traditions particularly. Around the Gospel, there are arranged a series of approaches to it, and we have to listen to one another, just as they did in the New Testament. The unity is the incarnate, crucified and risen Lord. But there is John’s way of looking at it and Paul’s way. |
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