During my Senior year at Nyack College I began the arduous process of sending my resume out to churches and regions all over the United States. From as far away as Montana, to New York, to Florida I sent my resume to anyone who would give it a look. At that point my entire life’s accomplishments fit onto one piece of paper and that was including my brightest spots from high school! I was about to graduate with a Bible/Pastoral Ministry Degree from my Denomination’s flagship school and I needed a job!

I got a few responses in the forms of e-mails and phone calls from various District Superintendents (aka "Bishops"). I fumbled my way through those interactions, having not much more than a bunch of untested ministry philosophies and theories to provide. Whenever the discussions would turn to actual, real-life churches that were looking for a pastor I was always given the opportunity to ask questions about the church. In every instance I managed to ask this one question; “Is this church open to the Holy Spirit?” The answers varied and frankly I got the impression that it was a hard question to answer in many cases.

That might seems like a strange question, and maybe it’s one of those questions that exist in the bubble of pastoral ministry, but it still gets asked often and I think most people knew what I meant when I asked the question. When friends and colleagues are asked to speak or candidate at churches they will sometimes ask if a church is “open to the Holy Spirit.” Often pastors, churches and districts will be gauged based on their perceived “openness” to the Holy Spirit.

Of course, when the question of openness to the Holy Spirit is asked, the preferred answer is; “Yes! They are very open!”. Sadly, that’s not always the case, and it is admittedly a very subjective judgement to make.

Eventually I stopped asking that question. Of course, I still wanted to know how receptive churches, pastors, districts, etc… were to the person and work of the Holy Spirit, but something in the term “open” struck me as flawed. If the Holy Spirit is God, in the same way that the Father and the Son are God, then the term “open” just didn’t seem adequate.

What if I exchanged the Holy Spirit for another member of the Trinity? What if I asked, “Is this church open to Jesus?” Or, “Is this pastor open to Jesus?” Openness to Jesus is often the type of terminology that I used to gauge how close a person is to becoming born again! My Muslim neighbor could be described as “open to Jesus”. Can you imagine if a pastor or church described themselves as “Open to Jesus”? We would question their salvation!

I think the idea of being “open to the Holy Spirit” is too sterile, too safe, too passive, too tame and frankly, too unbiblical. As Terry Wardle says in his book: Untamed Christian, Unleashed Church; “Tame churches will not significantly impact an un-tame world”.

Being “open to the Holy Spirit” just doesn’t say much to me anymore. Openness seems to imply someone who is weighing the options, taking things into consideration and is not yet convinced.

I think the tone of the New Testament, as it relates to the Holy Spirit, is not one of openness, but one of desire and pursuit. Consider the words of the New Testament on the person and work of the Holy Spirit:

John the Baptist: “...He will baptize (immerse) you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matt. 3.11)
Jesus: “...You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon (supervenes, attacks, influences, overtakes) you.” (Acts. 1.8)
Peter: “...Receive (apprehend, lay hold of) the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2.38)
Paul: “....Eagerly desire (burn with zeal for) the gifts of the Spirit” (1 Cor. 14.1)
Paul: “...Be [being] filled (crammed, abounding) with the Holy Spirit.” (Eph. 5.18)

With a little help from a Strong’s Concordance each one of these passages takes on a new edge regarding our attitude toward the Holy Spirit. The member of the Trinity often referred to as a “Gentleman” now begins to appear more like a “Strong-man”. Passively considering the person and work of the Holy Spirit does not have a precedent in the church of the New Testament.

Of course we are commanded to “test the spirits” (1 John 4.1), but this warning seems to be applying to angelic and demonic spirits. In any event, if we have tested the spirits and have found ourselves to be interacting with the Holy Spirit we can move from testing to trusting, once we are soundly convinced from scripture.

I am convinced that this change in terminology is more than semantics. I think it reflects a change in attitude. I am suggesting, actually, RECOMMENDING that we move from “open” to “pursuing”. I don’t want to be described as “open to the Holy Spirit”. I’m not weighing the matter anymore. I’m convinced about the Holy Spirit. My desire is to be someone who is “pursuing the Holy Spirit”.

What does it look like to be in pursuit of the Holy Spirit? Well, for one thing, it means being made to feel uncomfortable and out of control on a regular basis. I don’t mean “out of control” in a flopping and dropping sense, I mean that we are constantly reminded that we are not the boss and that we have a leader that we are responsible to, that leader being Jesus.

Pursuing the Holy Spirit also means being pre-disposed to saying “Yes” to Him. Being pre-disposed to say “Yes” to the Holy Spirit gets easier as we learn to trust Him, and after all, isn’t He worthy of our trust, specifically a level of trust that leads to active obedience?

As it relates to flesh and blood, many people have no issue, in theory, with the Holy Spirit. It’s the people who associate themselves with the Holy Spirit that many have an issue trusting. Admittedly, some people who associate themselves with the Holy Spirit are intrinsically flaky, unreliable, emotionally unstable and just plain hard to deal with. Of course, Christians should know better than to disqualify trust in God because someone who claims to follow him has been flawed. Ultimately, we just need to deal with the baggage that we bring to this topic. The abuse of some cannot be an excuse for the rest.

Finally, being in pursuit of the Holy Spirit means preparing rather than planning. Planning can be a manifestation of control, preparation is an admission that we are NOT in control, but we understand the responsibility to be thoughtful. They way I see it, preparation has more to do with dealing with the issues in my heart and getting clarity in my mind, so that when something unforeseen takes place I can remain faithful to the assignment but also respond well in the moment. Preparation makes us boil things down to the essential values that we’re committed to and allows for spontaneity. It causes everything that’s under the surface to come up to the surface, therefore we need to deal with deeper, heart issues prior to the moment of testing.

I would love it if we could stop being passively “open” to the Holy Spirit and start being actively in “pursuit” of the Holy Spirit. In fact, if we claim to follow the Holy Spirit, doesn’t that demand a level of pursuit? Doesn’t that imply that we are moving, seeking, and chasing Him? Openness doesn’t imply any of those things, only pursuit does.