It might just be me, but in the past I have often had mixed feelings about the whole area of the supernatural and miraculous among Christians. Don’t misunderstand. I certainly believe that God still performs miracles, that he calls us all to be led and empowered by the Holy Spirit daily, and to use the gifts of the Spirit often – and I have seen some remarkable miracles. And yet this dimension of church life, of using the gifts of the Spirit in both meetings and marketplace, has sometimes led to frustration, confusion and even irritation. This was sometimes because I saw it often become about a few supernatural superheroes placed on platforms and pedestals as we all admired their amazing stories and testimonies and, if we were honest, felt a little inadequate. Or, in some cases, people’s egos led to exaggerated testimonies. And then there was the gap between what we often boldly prayed and proclaimed and the actual reality we experienced, without facing this honestly. Us leaders could especially feel pressure to pretend they experienced the supernatural more than was actually the case.
How wonderfully refreshing, therefore, to come across this honest, humble and humorous book by Mike Pilavachi and Andy Croft, leaders of Soul Survivor church in Watford. They genuinely encourage us that we can all learn to use the gifts of the Spirit, hear God give us specific words in our everyday lives, and be used in supernatural ways that witness to his power and love on a regular, even daily, basis. But there are no supernatural superheroes in this book. The writers are humbly honest about their fears, questions and mistakes as they have learned, and are still learning, to be used by God in this way. And they give really practical and helpful suggestions about how we can gradually and increasingly grow in this area if it is something we have little experience of – and that’s probably true of most of us if we are truthful. They genuinely help you to feel this is something we can all experience if we are willing to learn and step out.
They do share some wonderful testimonies of God’s power but often their honest testimonies of how they tried and failed to use the gifts of the Spirit can be more encouraging – and disarmingly funny! These guys have been greatly used by God through the Soul Survivor Festival, but you get absolutely no sense of their greatness – just gratefulness to God for leading them and teaching them in this area despite their inadequacies. How refreshing!
There are other welcome features of their approach. They emphasise the importance of not pursuing the power of God but of seeking the presence of God because ‘the power is in presence.’ The whole lesson becomes really about learning to live closer to Jesus every day. And they place the gifts of the Spirit where they should be – with every Christian using them in everyday life, not just a few people on a platform in a meeting. They also emphasise that the gifts are ‘tools, not badges’. They are tools we can all use to build one another up and to witness to the world of God’s love and power – and to do this in really down-to-earth, practical ways in relational contexts. They explain all this in simple, accessible language with clear biblical explanations for what they are encouraging us to expect to experience. In this book, you will find a healthy and humble approach to ‘everyday supernatural’ and the gifts of the Spirit, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Trevor Lloyd
We are going to be studying this book together in Family Hubs and would recommend any who are not in a Hub to approach us about joining one so you can join us on this journey. If you struggle to read for whatever reason then there are videos by one of the authors available on YouTube – start with the first one here. You can also approach us for brief chapter summaries if that helps.