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203 APPENDIX B. The Four Ministries of the Holy Spirit Lowell Noble i have tried to get john perkins to articulate how the holy Spirit works in his life and ministry. I have seen John practicing Luke 4:18– 19—the Spirit, the poor, the oppressed, and jubilee justice—in a unique and powerful way. I would argue that the church would benefit greatly if John would describe how the Spirit anoints his understanding and practice of incarnating jubilee justice in poor and oppressed communities. He refuses to do so,so that is why I am writing this essay—to describe what I have seen and heard. John seldom says much about the Holy Spirit in public messages, in part because he feels that too many people too casually say the Holy Spirit said this or the Holy Spirit told me to tell you, and there does not seem to be much substance to their lives. Also, John does not want the Holy Spirit to be blamed for his mistakes. One time on the way to the airport I was pressing him to articulate how the Holy Spirit worked in his life and ministry . I wanted some practical, applied comments. Guess what John did to me; he retreated to a rather lofty theological treatise on the Holy Spirit and the trinity. It was good stuff, but he avoided directly answering my more practical question. John sometimes accuses me of being too academic, too theoretical, and not practical enough. This time John avoided the practical answer that I wanted; possibly it might be better for another person to bear witness to how they see the Spirit at work in John’s life. The following are my eyewitness observations and analysis. This essay is based primarily on my extensive personal contact with John Perkins as I have volunteered at the Perkins Center in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1998 to 2011. I have known of him and his ministry for a much longer period of time.I have heard John Perkins speak,teach,and preach a multitude of times.I have read the twelve books that he has authored, coauthored, or edited. We have had numerous 204 Appendix one-on-one conversations as I have transported him to the Jackson Airport, possibly a hundred times. BACKGROUND John Perkins’s Christian community development ministry began in Mendenhall , Mississippi, in 1960. Mendenhall is the county seat of Simpson County, a poor, rural, racist part of Mississippi.What was the state of Christianity in the heart of the Bible Belt? There was high church attendance in both the black and white communities, with everyone worshipping in segregated churches. At the same time, this Mississippi brand of highly Americanized Christianity left poverty, oppression, and racism largely unchallenged and unchanged. To use the language of Jeremiah 7, biblical “truth had perished” and “deceptive words” abounded, even in the temple, supposedly the house of God. This language seemed to sanction and sanctify the widespread oppression in Judah.Similarly today,to use the words of Lee Harper,who was born and raised in Mississippi:“Injustice ran deep and cloaked itself well among those things that appeared just.”1 Half the gospel, half-truths, posing as the whole gospel, the whole truth. I suppose one could argue that half a gospel was better than none because the half gospel being preached was the cross and resurrection, so some Mississippians were being born again. On the other hand, leaving out the kingdom of God as justice for the poor and oppressed (Luke 4:18–19), and leaving out the social reconciliation message of Ephesians 2:11–22, produces a disobedient born-again Christian. God does not allow us to pick and choose what parts of the Bible we want to obey. According to Micah 6:8, God requires that we “do justice.” Followers of Jesus Christ are not allowed to participate in, tolerate, or even stand idly by when horrible, systematic oppression is dehumanizing a people created in the image of God.Such was the state of Mississippi Christianity and culture when John Perkins arrived in Mendenhall. How does a person bring biblical truth to bear in such a confused and chaotic spiritual situation? A tough assignment indeed faced Perkins in the summer of 1960. In this essay, I attempt to draw out the four ministries of the Holy Spirit that are evident in Scripture and that I see at work in John Perkins’s life and ministry:2 the Spirit of...

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