Introduction

In the late 1960s I was bound and determined to be a rock and roll musician burned out by experiencing every type of illegal substance the 60s had to offer.  In 1971 all that changed when a Born-Again Charismatic led me to a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ." 

I sat on a sofa in the back yard of a Florida home at night while I put away every question and doubt and prayed to "receive Jesus into my heart."  I didn't feel any earthshaking emotion and didn't care if I did or not.  I just knew that I needed to make this decision. 

My Charismatic friend had taken me to a leader in the Jacksonville, FL Charismatic community named Jack, and it was in his back yard that we prayed.  After we prayed, Jack told me that the Book of Acts chapter 2 talks about a second experience Christians can pray to receive.  That experience is called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  So with only that introduction, Jack and my friend prayed with me to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

As Jack began to pray, he interrupted his prayer to tell me that sometimes people get the gift of tongues when they are filled with the Holy Spirit.  I really didn't know what this was all about, but without thinking about it I began to pray in another language.  Once again, there were no great life changing feelings that I experienced, but my life had begun a different direction than I had just hours before.  To begin a new life, that night I threw away all my drugs and never returned to them.

Four years later I started Bible School with the Assemblies of God (AG).  The AG told me that everyone who receives the Baptism of the Holy Spirit receives the gift of tongues, and in fact, tongues is the only clear evidence that one has been Baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Again four years later I entered Graduate school where I learned even more ways to interpret this experience with the Holy Spirit.  Discovering so many different ways to read the same Bible, I became somewhat obsessed with finding out on my own what the early church experienced and what I could say about it.  Even though a lot can be learned about the Holy Spirit from other books in the Bible, the Book of Acts seems to be the best place to start.

In this look at the Book of Acts, I would like to talk about some of the different teachings about and experiences with the Holy Spirit.  I will be looking at some of the history of modern teachings on the Holy Spirit and I will be looking at what some of the other Bible writers said about the Holy Spirit.

Finally, although much of this blog will focus on the Holy Spirit, not all of it will.