Pastor Josh Howerton believes a painful split within Christianity has separated two things God designed to work together: the truth of His Word and the power of His Spirit.
During a recent episode of the “Live Free” podcast, Howerton and Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell discussed the theological influences behind Mitchell’s preaching. Mitchell explained that he has been shaped by both Spirit-filled churches and congregations devoted to serious biblical exposition.
“I feel like I am a product of both streams in one,” Mitchell said. “I want to preach and lead and try my best to be sensitive to God’s Spirit, but at the same time, I love theology. And I love the Scriptures.”
That balance reminded Howerton of a warning theologian R.T. Kendall has delivered to the church for decades.
“R.T. Kendall starts out Reformed Presbyterian, has a radical encounter with the Spirit. Totally changed him,” Howerton said.
Howerton then shared Kendall’s message about the divide between churches centered on biblical teaching and those emphasizing the Holy Spirit’s power.
“There are Word churches and there are Spirit churches,” Howerton said. “There has been a great divorce in the church between Word and Spirit. And like any divorce, some kids go with the mom and some kids go with the dad. Revival happens when you bring the two back together.”
Mitchell immediately recognized the weight of the message.
“Wow,” he responded.
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Kendall’s ‘Silent Divorce’ Warning
Howerton’s comments closely reflect what Kendall himself has taught for years.
“There has been a ‘silent divorce’ in the church, speaking generally, between the Word and the Spirit,” Kendall wrote on his ministry website.
Kendall has described one side as committed to sound doctrine, biblical authority and expository preaching. The other emphasizes the gifts, presence and supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.
The problem is not that either emphasis is wrong. The problem is that Christians have too often treated them as incompatible.
“Both are exactly right,” Kendall said in a 2020 interview with Pneuma Review. “But it seems that nearly wherever I go in the world it is either one or the other.”
The church was never commanded to choose.
Scripture and Power Belong Together
The book of Acts does not present a church armed with biblical information but emptied of spiritual power. Neither does it show believers chasing supernatural experiences without the boundaries of God’s Word.
The apostles proclaimed Scripture, confronted false teaching and called sinners to repentance. They also moved in prophecy, healing, miracles and supernatural boldness through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus confronted this imbalance in Matthew 22:29 when He rebuked the Sadducees for knowing neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
We need both.
The Word gives believers the unchanging truth by which every doctrine, prophecy and spiritual experience must be tested. The Holy Spirit illuminates that truth, convicts hearts, empowers believers and distributes gifts for building up the church.
Without deep roots in Scripture, Christians can mistake emotionalism, mysticism or human impulses for the voice of God. Without dependence on the Holy Spirit, biblical knowledge can become an intellectual exercise that informs the mind without transforming the life.
Biblical order does not require believers to silence the Spirit. Spiritual power does not give anyone permission to disregard Scripture. The Holy Spirit will never contradict the Word He inspired.
Returning to the Biblical Pattern
Kendall believes bringing these two streams together will play a central role in the next great spiritual awakening.
“The next thing on God’s calendar is the Word and the Spirit coming together as seen in the book of Acts,” Kendall wrote.
That is not a call for theological compromise. Word-centered Christians should not abandon sound doctrine, and Spirit-filled believers should not suppress the supernatural work of God.
It is a call for the church to stop dividing what Scripture holds together.
We do not need less Bible to make room for the Holy Spirit. We do not need less of the Holy Spirit to protect biblical truth.
We need a church rooted in the Word, alive in the Spirit and bold enough to walk in both.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
