"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."

Many people think of the local church in this way. First and most importantly, there is the preacher, who himself/herself does practically everything in the congregation. Then there are the people. Their task is to respond to -- that is, to compliment, to criticize, to accept, and/or to reject -- what the pastor is doing. The pastor works; and the people watch (and applaud or boo, whatever the case may be). Today that is a popular view of the congregation.

A more Biblical understanding of the church goes like this: the church lives, moves, and has its being because the Holy Spirit brings her into life, sets her in motion, and gives her her essence. Clearly, in this more Biblical picture of the church, the Holy Spirit blesses not only the pastor but also the laity.

Frank and Nan Cox have been members of St. Peter’s United Methodist Church for 22 years. During all that time and up to the present, they have seen the Holy Spirit as the life of the church, the entire congregation, including laity and clergy. They have had a powerful understanding of the gifts given by the Holy Spirit for the good of the church. Indeed, as many will testify, both Frank and Nan have received and exercised many spiritual gifts for the good of St. Peter’s Church.

Several months back, Frank Cox, along with Louise Rulon, suggested at an Administrative Council meeting that St. Peter’s United Methodist Church hold a Spiritual Gifts Seminar. Frank’s hope was, and is, to renew our congregation in knowing about and exercising the spiritual gifts in St. Peter’s Church. The Council approved Frank’s suggestion. So, on November 10, a Saturday, from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., you can gather at the church to learn about spiritual gifts in general and to discover the spiritual gifts for service that God has given you. (By the way, this event should probably be entitled The Frank Cox Spiritual Gifts Seminar, but he is too humble to accept that!) Everything at the seminar will be provided -- coffee, doughnuts, lunch, and printed materials. All you have to do is sign up (in the narthex), and show up that Saturday morning with a little sleep under your belt!

As we all know, all kinds of people make all kinds of mischievous claims about what the Holy Spirit is up to. In this brief column, we do not need to get into sorting out all those claims. However, we do most certainly know that the Holy Spirit is all over the local church. Even as this article is being written on a Wednesday afternoon, the Spirit is hard at work sustaining local churches, all over the world, often through the giving of spiritual gifts. That is good news.

But it is also good news that the gifts of the Holy Spirit push us. Spiritual gifts push us to experiment in new areas of service, to grow in congregational leadership, to speak up when we have been silent for years, to pray in public when that has been difficult since we were children, to encourage people we do not know, to tackle new assignments.

All that said, or written, allow this pastor just two more words.