Quote:
Originally Posted by Ferd
In all instances the baptize in Jesus Name. In some instances that and infilling of the Holy Ghost is vital.
In some instances, those things are far less important than the number of people walking thru the door.
I do know the players.. and I know a few who walk in their circles even better. I have good friends... well they were good friends...evidently I started smelling bad or something... who I started ministry with, who were committed to the Apostolic message... that now are really supercool and when you go to their church and make the mistake of getting close to acting Pentecostal, you are ushered off to a side room. don't want to freak the natives out etc.
Its a sad sad thing when I see guys that I worked alters with. Guys whos anointing I once knew. Guys that I know, they know the power of God active in their lives. and now?
more Baptist than Pentecostal. more Methodist than Holiness. More Business Decision than God decision.
More likely to ask a person if they have made a "decision for Christ" than they are to ask them have they received the Holy Ghost since they repented.
It breaks my heart. I have never been a hard liner. im not looking for lockstep purity in understanding, doctrine, or methodology. But man alive some guys I have spent time with. serious time with. working alters and preaching and teaching.... well... I didn't change.
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I think it is possible that some of the changes you attribute to just a desire for more people are heart felt changes in belief. I for one changed over time to appreciate the instructions about order in the church and the role of tongues that is outlined in
I Corinthians 14.
In regards to "shouting" that is nothing more than Pentecostal culture. Nowhere in the New Testament are there instances of people doing the helicopter, jerking, twitching ,etc. Pentecostals have taken the scripture about people thinking they were drunk on the day of Pentecost and have run with it resulting in all of the wild physical motions some Pentecostals believe are manifestations of annointing or the presence of God.
While I believe in freedom of worship and emotion that does not do away with the fact that much of how that emotion is expressed in old time Pentecost is Pentecostal culture and not biblical.
One observation I have about being around both the hyper emotional type churches with people screaming yelling and flinging themselves about and churches that are more focused on the word is that both have the same percentage of human failures, people falling into sin ,etc. The jumping ,twitching, arm waving, and running does not make one any more spiritual or closer to God or more filled with the Holy Spirit.
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