Decades ago, a trusted advisor gave me invaluable insight into one of the dynamics of preaching which now makes sense of the phrase, “a fire in our ears.”
I was experiencing heartburn from some congregants around my Sunday message content. One individual was exercised enough to write anonymous, single-spaced, multi-page reviews of my messages and send letters to the Board about the inferiority of my preaching.
We were puzzled.
The criticisms were what the Board and other congregants appreciated in the messages – rich biblical content and practical applications.
My advisor told me, “There is the message you prepare, the message you preach, and the message the congregation hears. Bob, you have total control over the first two, but very little over the third.”
The Meaning of A Message Is In The Ears of the Hearer
That counsel about hearing came to mind as I read Father David Harvey’s book, “A Fire In Our Ears.” The title alone should signal the book presents perspectives that are not characteristic of mainstream evangelical or Pentecostal theology. Pentecostals understand the terms fire in our hearts, or our spirit, or in our bones, but not in our ears. A Fire in Our Ears follows the theme of his first book, “Hearing In The Dark.” 
You don’t have to be a theologian to appreciate the book. David asks a probing question that will help church-going readers take a second look, or listen, to a core component of every Sunday service: “What if the sermon was not trying to tell you what to think, but inviting you to listen to the Spirit?”
Fire In Our Ears consists of 23 chapters arranged in three sections: Pentecost, Hospitality, and Christ’s Church. Each chapter stands alone, which makes the content ideal for a personal devotional or as the basis for a Bible study. The chapters conclude with a study guide outlining how to engage the scripture and questions for self-reflection, a deep dive, and closing with a suggested prayer.
Hearing
David is a likeable leader with a subtle Scottish sense of humour, and an engaging communication style. He is a missional priest in the Diocese of St Anthony, and Director of the St Anthony Institute. And as the lead teaching pastor at Westside Kings Church in Calgary, a Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada church, his focus on “the table” or weekly Eucharist, makes him an anomaly.
He introduces himself in the first line of the book as a “Pentecostal priest”. Those two words rarely show up together, setting the stage for what follows. He is not contrarian by nature; rather, he has a consistent practice of approaching Scripture from perspectives that differ from those commonly held by many pastors like me.
For instance, the first chapter’s title, “Hearing in Tongues,” arises from his unique focus on Acts chapter two and the record of what happened on the Day of Pentecost. From the time I started attending a Pentecostal church in the last century until a few months ago, I’ve focused on the speaking side of Pentecost. “…they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues…” Acts 2:4 (NIV) Father David drew my attention to the hearing side of Pentecost. “…how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?” Acts 2:8 (NIV)
Bonhoeffer
He borrows from Bonhoeffer to explain that words become a sermon, not by being spoken, but by being heard. “The sermon invites us into hearing, not what the preacher is saying, but into hearing what the Spirit is saying to us in being present to the preaching within that congregation.”
David goes on,
You might say that the words become a sermon not by being spoken but by being heard. Of course, this means that the spirit is, unsurprisingly, central to this process. The preacher, the pastor, or the priest, is not so much in control of the words as we might think. Neither, perhaps are the congregation. The words spoken, prayerfully and faithfully, entered the domain of the Spirit and enter our hearing to do what the Spirit intends- which may not be what we or the preacher expect.”
“This is why I think the sermon, or more properly, sermons, are a good way to understand a church. Better than vision or mission statements, most definitely better than websites or social media channels. The sermon invites us into hearing, not what the preacher is saying, but into hearing what the Spirit is saying to us and being present to the preaching within that congregation.” p. 20
Books of Sermons
The book is based on the text of his Sunday messages. As such, it does not begin with a premise that is supported by the subsequent chapters. Every chapter is rich with thought-filled phrases laid out in way that resembles the pacing of a sermon.
And unlike some books that begin strong and then fade in the last few chapters, 3/4 of the way through his book, Father David is still at a pinnacle of challenging content.
In my estimation, he leaves the best for last.
I highly recommend Fire In Our Ears to broaden your vision of what Christian community can be.
Shared Roots
Father David told me over coffee in a bookstore, that he grew up in “Church Hall Pentecostalism”. “Much of what I encountered in that small Pentecostal community is why I’m still Pentecostal today. If formed and shaped me profoundly.”
David’s and my church origin stories are very similar. He was raised in a Pentecostal church in Scotland, and I grew up in a Plymouth Brethern church in Toronto. Both of our morning services were called “The Breaking of Bread” and the evening services were the “Gospel Service.” Both were Scripture rich in content.
In the morning services a few believers would share a Bible reading. Confession and forgiveness had a place. In David’s context, speaking in tongues, and prophecy were expected, however, that’s where our experiences were at opposite ends of the spectrum. But we always came to the table. We had a communion table with the words “in remembrance of him” carved along the front. Every Sunday we shared communion.
It wasn’t until we started attending a Pentecostal church that communion changed to once a month.
At The Centre
“I think when the church places the table of Jesus at the centre, it has obediently laid the foundations to grow into a mature, hospitable community. From that place, it’s not hard to imagine that a community rooted in the Sacramental commitment to communion could embrace a blend of charismatic and liturgical worship, a truly evangelical approach to the Bible, and the commitment to an ordered life of prayer, contemplation, and confession.” p. 55
David says, “I’m Pentecostal because my Pentecostalism led me to the priesthood. A priest is really ‘just’ a minister of communion.”
What Is It To Be Pentecostal?
Is it to worship in a Pentecostal church, in a Pentecostal way? Or is it to recognize and participate with the work of the Spirit in all places we hear Him? Is it to be open to hear the Spirit and the deepest mysteries and mysticism of Christ?
My Favourite Quotes (from the Kindle version)
“The church cannot become an empowered, multilingual experience of Christian spirituality if we do not shed our cultural inheritance that insist on the priority of self at the expense of the other. This is what Paul is inviting us to crucify: the self priority that makes Christian hospitality impossible, it makes the Pentecost vision, impossible, and that is deeply problematic for the church.” p. 104
“The prevailing question we are conditioned to ask about a church is ‘Does this fit for me?.’ Paul and Christ are inviting us to ask a different question: ‘Can we be people of peace here? One question is about doing, and one is about being.”
Liturgy
“I grew up in a context that had a deep aversion, even suspicion, towards liturgical prayer. Prayer was supposed to be ‘spontaneous’ if it was to be seen as spiritual.” p. 154
“Liturgy, literally ‘the work of the people’ is the order and structure. We enter in worship and prayer. It is that which brings us familiarity so that in the chaos we remember how to turn to God.” p. 154
“All our diversity as Christians shouldn’t be a cause for conflict, especially not about how we do church services, because the purpose of the church is not services but service.” p. 162
Community
“Community always has within itself the opportunity to exclude. The invitation to one is often an exclusion to another. A high spot on the guest list means someone else gets a low spot, or no spot. Community naturally form around who they exclude, sometimes they even take their identity on that basis. Whether it’s wealth, power, ability, or privilege, groups invariably have an inventory of required attributes that get you ‘on the list.’” p. 214
“Jesus said, but when you give a banquet invite the poor, the cripple the Lam, the blind and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repay at the resurrection of the righteous. Luke 1414 NIV. The list Jesus offers is a role of people commonly excluded. In Leviticus 21:17-23 they are excluded from offering gifts at the altar.” p. 215
Welcome To The Table
“The welcome of everyone to Jesus‘s table is not a metaphor of God‘s kingdom. It is his kingdom. Jesus isn’t saying God‘s kingdom is like a meal, he’s telling us it is a meal, and the guest list isn’t exclusive. The meal is the method of the kingdom that’s why the disciples were sent out as guests. It’s why Jesus is always eating. The kingdom is God‘s hospitality. Therefore what Jesus is doing in this conversation with the host is inviting him to reshape his life and hospitality in the form of the kingdom of God to mimic God‘s table, where the guests are invited not because of who they are, but because of who he is. This is what is eternally true.” p. 216
“Humans love to fight for power. That is history story. Men thinking they are better than women; White people thinking they’re better than Black people; Settlers thinking they’re better than the Indigenous; Protestants, thinking they are better than Catholics. Too often, like the people at Jesus meal, we have fought for the highest seat of honor.” p.219
“By relating to one another through Christ, we learned to be merciful, kind, and forgiving. We learned to be hospitable, patient, and welcoming. But all of this consists entirely of what Chris has done for us, eternally.” p. 235
Good News
“In this speaking about Luke chapter 15, he points out the insult directed to Jesus. This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. Not used to be sinners. Not 20 years clean sinners… But honest to God, lost losers, actual sinners. And not only is this the very basis of the good news, it is also what happens at every single Eucharist. The Shepherd sought, the woman hunted, and Christ died on the cross that we might be found, and that heaven might rejoice.” p.252
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