Students share doubts about displaying spiritual gifts
BY: Celeste Harris, contributor
Published: Sept. 14, 2012
Students stand with arms raised, eyes closed and tears streaming down their faces. Others kneel or lie prostrate on the floor. A young man stands in front of the group with a guitar in hand and a young woman beside him, leading the group in worship.
At a Christian college, this might seem like a normal night of worship. But it's actually cause for one of the most ongoing discussions on campus.
Living Waters, which became an official campus group last spring, is a group of students and faculty that meets every Thursday night at 8 p.m. in the Dining Commons Atrium. Students from Indiana Wesleyan, Ball State and Anderson make the drive to Taylor to attend this night of worship, fellowship and ministry.
The night follows a typical pattern: A time of worship and then a time of teaching. After teaching, the speaker leads the group in prayer, followed by everyone breaking into five smaller groups.
During prayer, if you're listening carefully, you might hear someone beside you begin speaking in a strange dialect, known as speaking in tongues.
Then, when the groups are introduced, you hear words like prophecy and prayer for physical healing.
Living Waters is a unique group of people who seek to encounter the Holy Spirit and experience God in new, tangible ways with an open mind about the spiritual gifts of prophecy and healing.
Many Christians do not know what to believe or how to feel about these spiritual gifts.
"I grew up in a conservative home where speaking in tongues was 'weird' and miracles were viewed with skepticism," said junior Katie Johnson, who began attending Living Waters last year.
This seems to be the view of many students at Taylor. In a poll of 100 randomly-selected Taylor students in April 2012, 43 percent said they had been to a Living Waters meeting, 52 percent said they had not been and 5 percent percent were unsure of what Living Waters was.
In the same poll, 16 percent said they believe the practices of Living Waters are biblically wrong, 48 percent believe they are biblically right and 35 percent were unsure.
On a campus where Christian values are shared and biblical practices are upheld, why is this issue causing so much uncertainty?
Professor of Political Science Nicholas Kerton-Johnson, one of the leaders of Living Waters, believes there are several reasons why it causes discrepancies.
"First, people do not understand what is going on," Kerton-Johnson said. "This is basically ignorance. They criticize from afar, but have never actually come to a Living Waters session. Second, historical hang-ups. I am amazed at how many Americans I meet react negatively to speaking in tongues and other signs of the Holy Spirit. What is becoming clear to me is that many Christians have had negative experiences in the past because of bad stewardship of the gifts of the Spirit by charismatic and Pentecostal churches."
Some who are not directly connected with Living Waters still believe that it is biblically sound. Professor of Biblical Studies Greg MaGee has never been to Living Waters, yet he does not criticize it.
"Based on my very general knowledge, Living Waters helps students develop a more heartfelt devotion toward the Lord and personal experience of His love and power," MaGee said. "It also offers a setting to learn about the practice of some of the spiritual gifts that students don't have as much experience with."
Although professors like MaGee who are not connected with Living Waters get questions and concerns about the nature and biblical accuracy of the group, those who lead the group do not.
Both Kerton-Johnson and Bill Heth, Professor of Biblical Studies and leader of Living Waters, said that they have never had anyone directly share or initiate conversations about their concerns surrounding Living Waters.
Heth, who has been with Living Waters since its beginnings in 2005, used to be skeptical of groups like Living Waters. He said he even taught that speaking in tongues was of the devil. Now, several students say they believe the practices of Living Waters are biblically sound after taking his Historic Christian Belief class.
"Before taking (Heth's) class, I never really thought through my beliefs," said senior Danielle Urbanowicz. "I just knew what I had learned at church. But Dr. Heth's class made me curious and more open to going and actually seeing for myself just what went on at Living Waters."
