I just finished reading “The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit” by Hendrikus Berkhof. Here is a powerful quote taken from a section titled “The Theological Neglect of the Mission.”
In Roman Catholic theology, the Spirit is mainly the soul and sustainer of the church. In Protestant theology he is mainly the awakener of individual spiritual life in justification and . So the spirit is either institutionalized or individualized. And both of these opposite approaches are conceived in a common pattern of an introverted and static pneumatology. The Spirit in this way is the builder of the church and the edifier of the faithful, but not the great mover and driving power on the way from the One to the many, from Christ to the world.
In one of the very rare theological works on the relation between the Spirit and mission, the American missionary Harry R. Boer writes: “Much has been written about the work of the Holy Spirit in the salvation of men, but very little about his crucial significance for the missionary witness of the Church.”
This situation is probably to the detriment of the mission, but surely to the detriment of theology, which suffers a great impoverishment indeed in that it is oriented to situations far more than to movements. In neglecting rather than reflecting the great movement of the Spirit, it distorts the whole content of faith and is an accomplice to the individualistic and institutionalistic introversion and egotism still found in the churches of today.
– Hendrikus Berkhof in The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
Well said. I wonder though, whether contemplative theology (if there really is such a thing) has been overlooked in this vein as well? Surely the question, “what is God up to here?” guides us in a broader understanding of God’s work in the world through His Spirit than the limitations of the institution and the individual!?
very nice & interesting. good luck