"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place..." -George Bernard Shaw.

Personally, I believe that communication is simultaneously my greatest strength and my greatest weakness.  I simply don't articulate what I know should be articulated ... or I only half explain an idea that needs elaboration ... or I substitute a colloquialisms for a coherent thought.  The heart of is communication problems that we fail to take John Mayer's advice and don't "just say what you need to say".

And, honestly, it's not the things that we consciously and intentionally say or refrain from saying that instigate problems. Lapses of communication often result in conflict when there is an illusion that an idea has actually been fully communicated. 

I just finished reading a book called The Happy Intercessor by Beni Johnson. I usually don't discourage people from reading books, but honestly I would not recommend reading this one.  To summarize the premise, the book is supposed to encourage the reader to find joy in intercessory prayer. It's author Beni Johnson leads the intercessory prayer ministry at Bethel church, and is known for her fervent prayers and fruitful ministry. I have heard Beni speak, and I truly believe that her ministry is doing the work of God... but, if I were to read this book with no back knowledge of their ministry, I would honestly conclude that she was a crazy hyper-charismatic with little discretion.

In her book, she details numerous stories from her experiences with intercession. The stories have incredible outcomes, but Beni's writing doesn't do any of them justice. She uses lots of pentecostal jargon  and randomly throws out her eccentric ideas as if they were commonplace without any explanation. I do not question whether the methods to her madness are the promptings of the Holy Spirit, but I am questioning how her editors allowed her to publish the stories in their current form because they don't communicate her intentions to her readers. For example, quite a few of the situations involve traveling somewhere to pray and then blowing a shofar to declare the victory of God over the land. That's fine. Shofars are biblical; God does have us do seemingly silly things in the natural as prophetic signs of what is happening in the spiritual and/or as a reminder of what He has already accomplished (see comment section for a description of the shofar thing*). The problem is this: the book inadvertently seems to make the act of blowing the shofar the climax of each tale rather than obedience to God's will and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Taken by Olve Utne, found at wikicommons

I believe that Beni's overall message could be summarized in one sentence. "Seek the Holy Spirit's involvement in your prayer life, and you'll joyfully see the fruit of God answering your prayer as you follow the Spirit's leading and pray in agreement with God's will." I believe that her publishing team is under the impression that this is the sentiment the book conveys. However, that assumption is an illusion.

There are concepts left unexplained, intentions undefined, and implied presumptions that may not be inherent to readers. This book taught me little about intercessory prayer, little about joy, and a lot about how a shofar and randomly anointing the ground with oil are essentials in my prayer life. (No, I will not be purchasing a shofar any time soon.)  I actually highly respect the ministry of Beni and Bill Johnson, but it saddens me to think that poor communication leads people to thinking that they have gone astray from biblical Christianity and may inadvertently lead others awry.

Another example, from the same ministry: Bill Johnson is quoted with saying:

“It’s difficult to expect the same fruit of the early church when we value a book they didn’t have, more than the Holy Spirit they did have…”

At first glance, some of you are probably appalled at his statement. "How can a pastor question the value of scripture? Is he saying our charismatic experience is more important than God's word?" Well, given this quote alone, I would be skeptical of their ministry because I'm not sure if the biblical truth is the lens through which they interpret their experiences.

Now, let's examine the illusion that may be conjured by the reader perspective. "Bill Johnson's ministry must be heretical because it doesn't consider God's word as valuable as their emotional and supernatural experiences". Well,  Beni addresses this in her book. In the appendix, she address the question "How do we know that we are praying to God's will?" She writes "we must always use the Bible as a guideline." So, the Bible is their guideline? Why not mention this earlier? It seems more important than shofars and anointing oil, right?

I think Bill's point is that the church relies more heavily on the religiosity and legalism it has derived from scripture than it relies on the Holy Spirit that inspired scripture. His point is that we forget that the same Spirit that inspired those words is still at work to day and wants to partner with us. The Holy Spirit never acts contrary to scripture because His purpose is always to glorify Christ and scripture is the gift of God that details the story of Christ's redemption of the world. I believe that the Johnsons'  point is that we need to actively partner with the Holy Spirit in order to see a fruitful church,  but they fail to communicate that idea fully. And in the confusion,  he loses the opportunity to communicate it at all.

 I completely agree with the Johnsons' underlying sentiments. We do need to prayer more. We do need to intercede. We do need to rely on the Holy Spirit's leading- both through the context of scripture and personally as He guides our lives. However, my fear with the publications from Bethel is that the focus is seemingly on the supernatural results and the means of achieving those results, rather than glorifying God.  Though I believe that this ministry (like any other) has its flaws,  I highly doubt that this message is their intention. The problem isn't that I disagree with what they are attempting to say; the problem is that they aren't saying it. There is a false illusion of communication. 

We are all guilty of conjuring illusions both as the communicator and the interpreter of communications. What God is revealing to me is the importance of allowing Him into not only my thoughts, but also the way I articulate them. Where we fail in communication, He is more than capable of getting His point across. Even so, wouldn't it be more effective and efficient just to communicate in accordance with the will of God to begin with?

I'm grateful for God's grace in this regard, and I am truly sorry for all the miscommunicated illusions  I have created.  If you are reading this, I am sure at some point in time, my communication flaws have hurt or hindered you. Please forgive me for these instances. My prayer is that God will continue to work in me, so that I can better articulate His message and better communicate how His Spirit is moving. My prayer is that God will be the center of all my communication so that I can truly be a mouthpiece of the Gospel.