That period Bro Flame decided to "go charismatic"

[Bro Flame]

I felt like sharing a piece of my testimony here with you all on AFF. You've likely heard some of this journey in my posts here over the years, but for the mere pleasure of it, I decided to put it all in one thread.

To get things started, I'll give you all a little backstory on my family and the churches we attended in my youth. That foundation will be necessary to understand the focal point of my journey in and out of the charismatic church.

As far back as I can remember, my family identified as Christians and went to church of some kind. We attended multiple different Southern Baptist churches and a Nazarene church for many years when I was a kid. For a few years, we even attended a Full Gospel Baptist church. I have vivid memories I could share about all of these churches, but I'll spare you all the details for the sake of time. We would sometimes attend different Church of God (Cleveland) churches for revivals and gospel sings. Since then, I've joked with my dad that he took me to everything but Methodist and Catholic churches.

Anyway, my parents separated in 2009, just days before my by twelfth birthday. There marriage had hit many rocks, and it finally busted up. I lived with my mother for many years, but drastic changes led to me moving in with my dad in late 2014. My dad and I went to a big, beautiful Southern Baptist church for a while, but it fizzled out quickly.

This brings us to February 2015. This was the first time I stepped into a Holiness church. My dad had been dating a lady and she invited us to visit her family church. I walked into that tiny white brick building a confused, bitter, depressed, angry, and sad teenager. It was unlike any church I had been to before; the worship, the preaching, the singing. It was all so different. I also saw a difference in the way the men and women dressed; clean shaven faces, long sleeves, long hair, long dresses, no makeup, and no jewelry. I had never been a member of a church with such standards.

At the beginning, I hadn't in any interest in being grafted into this Holiness congregation. I knew the people that went there had a relationship with God, and I knew if I gave into God, that I'd be required to make changes I wasn't willing to make.

Still, I did repent at a tent revival the church held in May 2015. I was baptized in Jesus' name in July, and I received the Holy Ghost in February 2016, just three months before I graduated high school. It was a slow burn, but I allowed God to start convicting me of what I watched, what I listened to, how a dressed, and how I behaved. He helped me with my depression and began to turn my life around.

My dad and now-stepmom committed themselves to church, too. Each of them, as well as my stepbrother and his wife, all repented, got baptized, and filled with the Holy Ghost.

But my momma wasn't saved. She had married and left a rough man since she and my dad divorced. I wanted my momma saved.

I found her a church to go about ten minutes from her house. It was a sizable church with a healthy-looking congregation in terms of numbers. I visited there with my mom and I liked what I saw. The people shouted, the preaching was good, the music was better, and it looked like God was moving there. But there was one noticeable difference. The people didn't look the same. The men and women there, both on the pulpit and in the crowd, looked a way I had slowly accepted was contrary to God's Word.

My pastors and dad worried about me going to this church. I hid behind the fact that I was "being a light" to this congregation, but I liked what I saw. The church my momma was going to was a steadily backsliding Holiness church. They baptized in Jesus' name and believed in the Holy Ghost, but there was never any preaching or standard concerning one's appearance or lifestyle. God loves you just like you are was their message to me. And this appealed to me.

It didn't take very long for me to get attached to the people at this church. They were nice and wanted me involved in what their church was doing. Their youth group was big, and the elders there liked that I knew the old hymns and scriptures about baptism and spiritual gifts.

In time, I backed up on convictions. Gone were my long sleeves and pants; back were my short sleeves and shorts, I began to wear necklaces, bracelets, and rings again, too. I slowly began to accept that this carefree style of Christianity was alright.

But, deep inside, I knew it was wrong. Some things in my mind were unshakable. The pastor's wife at this church tried on numerous occasions to get me to think like her. But the things she said didn't set well with me. What she would say were things I knew didn't align with what I knew about God. She'd say it didn't matter how people looked and that she didn't need to be able to point out a Christian based on their appearance. She'd say that we didn't need the Holy Ghost, and that tongues wasn't the only sign that people had received it even if they did get it. She'd say it was alright for women to cut their hair and wear pants if their husbands okayed it. Other people at said church also tried to indoctrinate me with their liberal-embracing form of Christianity and the Christian lifestyle.

But God!

I almost lost my soul. But I had pastors, a future wife, and a dad praying hard for me. I had almost decided to move back in with my momma and dedicate myself to her church. But I couldn't go through with it.

I remember going to church with my dad and stepmom one night and going down to the altar. I knelt down in the same place I first received the Holy Ghost.

God refilled me and renewed me. I knew my salvation was in serious jeopardy if I didn't stay with what I had been shown was the truth.

Thank God for the Holy Ghost and for good, praying people in my life.

This is a very abbreviated retelling of my journey, but I wanted to share.

I could share so much more, and I just might later on.

In Jesus' name,
Bro Flame

PS: excuse all the typos, I'm at work typing this on my cellphone.