Amen means yes, so say yes.
Sep 21, 2007 in God-worshipper
I recently got to know someone from a Charismatic church lately. She was cool and normal when we said hi, and then when I told her I attend church too, her character somehow transformed into an overwhelmingly loving and adoring sister-in-Christ, saying Amen to everything I said, as if suddenly some veil had been stripped off and Christianese was the common language between the two of us.
I'm not wanting to be provocative by writing that. I have my roots in a Charismatic Church. My dad's Charismatic, his family's very charismatic (there are pastors, counsellors and all). And yet even though her husband's Christian, my mum, well, my mum wouldn't have anything to do with Christianity thanks to the overwhelming emphasis on living the Spirit life, and was driven to the very last end of the backsliders association board room, arms folded with pursed lips. Sort of the reason why my parents are not together anymore.
Anyway before I get tempted to play the blame game, I must admit that I do adore the Charismatics, and by nature I am very charismatic. To put it mildly, had I not have my roots in charismaticism, I probably wouldn't have been able to relate to the figure of God as a real person, the presence of the Holy Spirit as utterly real and that Jesus Christ really lived, died, lived again. All of those stuff just would have been very textbook to me, just information for me to digest… so for me, being Christian requires a good fistful of charismaticism in order to truly embrace and welcome the heavy weight that comes with all that persecution that Christians are required to endure.
But being Charismatic in nature doesn't explicitly mean there is a requirement for me to attend a Church that embraces the Spirit only when it is bursting in flames. This is where I choose to deliberately become provocative, so if you're attending a Church that claims to be 'more spirit-filled' than another, be warned. You can stop reading now.