With over fourteen years involvement in renewal, I returned from the Canterbury and Brighton Conferences with an even deeper commitment to the basic teachings of charismatic renewal. In particular, at the Canterbury event, I was deeply ministered to by the African and Asian delegates, their joy and freedom in worship, their unsophisticated, but deep commitment to the word of God, their uncluttered biblical understanding and active day-by-day involvement in evangelism, shared ministry, manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, divine healing, deliverance, ministry, etc. It was all so refreshing and affirming. At both gatherings I found myself weeping a great deal and, in retrospect, I believe my tears were tears of inner healing as the Lord was setting me free of some of the heavy cultural and theological baggage we seem to acquire in the West, which we need to shed as we learn more and more "to ship our oars and raise our sails and let the Spirit of God really empower us for ministry," as Bishop Hare said.

Since my return, I've been learning how to "rest on my oars" so that I sense my ministry is less self-propelled and more God-propelled. The conferences reinforced for me the very vital place prayer must have in all our work for the Lord. We must under gird everything we do in the name of Jesus with deep and earnest prayer and with that sense of expectancy that God will move in our midst in very supernatural ways. I am convinced we need to offer workshops on parish leadership. Until the leadership is on fire for the Lord, nothing much is going to change in any parish. God, I believe, is calling those in positions of leadership at the parish level and elsewhere to be people of constant and earnest prayer, leaders manifesting true "agape" love for those they lead, leaders who know Jesus as the living Lord and Saviour of their lives, leaders who are open to the energizing, healing power of the Holy Spirit, leaders who are not afraid to boldly claim, in the current sea of religious pluralism, that Jesus, and only Jesus, is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I feel I have been affirmed and set free to be less cautious and more bold in a loving and sensitive way, to more convincingly preach, teach and implement those solid biblical teachings of renewal.

The Bible studies and small sharing groups at Canterbury were the spiritual highlight of my experience in England. What an absolute joy it was to meet and share and pray with Anglican Christians form such places as Kenya, Singapore, Portugal, New Zealand, England, Mozambique, and so on. I was reminded of the great spiritual value of small group life in building Christian community. That experience reinforced my long-felt belief that cell group life in the Church is vital to the growth and maturing of Christians and the church.

Bible Study Themes

The Bible studies at Canterbury focused on the three basic themes of the Consultation and they strengthened for me three basic areas in parish renewal:

Renewal is for Me -that vital and necessary personal experience of salvation and the release of the Spirit. We must continue to teach this basic message of salvation - to personally experience Jesus as Lord and Saviour and help people to experience the release of God's Spirit in their lives. As Anglicans we need to be less cautious in this area.

Renewal is for our Church. We must continue to look to the New Testament Church for our inspiration. There is a wonderful freedom in the Spirit running through the pages of Acts, a shared ministry, a sharing of possessions, gifts of the Spirit being manifested, healing, deliverance, social action, prayer, equipping the saints for ministry, and so on. Evangelism was simply a normal by-product of that Spirit-filled and Spirit-led community. We do not need Programmes for Evangelism. We simply need to help people meet Jesus in a personal way through an act of complete surrender and become filled with the Holy Spirit. Then, and only then, will they be ready and equipped to witness to others who much Jesus means to them.

Renewal is for the World. As Bishop Peter Lee, of South Africa, gave the main address on this theme, I wept. We have not paid much attention to this dimension of renewal - reaching out as loving servants to the hungry, refugees, imprisoned, oppressed etc. We tend to stay in the "Holy Huddle" where it is much safer and less threatening. I returned from England feeling an ever-stronger leading of the Lord in this area, but at this time I don't know what He has in mind.

I found the Brighton event a little too jam-packed after Canterbury. At the same time, the speakers and the praise times were deeply moving and it was so affirming to have the Archbishop of Canterbury there.

I came home having experienced a renewal within the renewal and I am becoming a freer person in Jesus.

The Rt. Rev. Malcolm Harding written when he was an archdeacon, and rector of St. George's in Brandon MB, 1991.