i left my church for a very Non-Christian-like reason at one
point in my life. i was angry at someone at church and God mostly. I didn’t
leave the church altogether because where was i going to go? i still needed
God’s people just a different routine. i took this opportunity to see what
everybody else in the body of Christ was doing. Jesus’ perfect blood is our
ticket in the party. Not perfect theology.
i found myself on the second row to the left of the pulpit
at a large church different than my background. Slightly different than the
Church of Christ service i am used to. The worship started with one man singing
a solo. After one song, a woman with the voice of an angel joined him. In the
middle of the second song a man walked up on stage, grabbed a guitar and played
while they sang. Quickly another guy walked up and got behind the drum set and
gave them a beat to which they all found. By the fourth song an elderly women
with fast fingers was playing the keys of a piano. By the end of it whole set
there was an entire choir up there!
There was a break in worship at one point for a prayer. i
bowed my head ready to listen until i heard two voices, then three, then the
whole church erupted in prayer at one time so i started praying loud too. The
prayer time lasted about ten minutes until someone started singing loudly and a
few people joined in then a few different people raced to front to get the
instruments so half the people were singing and the other half were praying.
One guy was holding a bible on his forehead and was running laps around the
pews yelling something about the Spirit. Something was going on in that church
deeper than just craziness.
After a while, the preacher stood up at the pulpit and
quieted everyone down. If he hadn’t stopped us, we could have sang and prayed
for the rest of the day. The preacher started off slow and so did the
congregation. He said a few words about Jesus quietly. The people yelled for
more. He got a little louder. The people yelled for more. He said “Jesus is
King and wants the best for our very being!” and the people yelled for
more. The preacher let loose with poems
like spoken word for the next thirty minutes with a few breaks to catch his
breath.
Then the invitation.
The preacher concluded his sermon with an invitation for the
people to come to the front and be prayed over and feel the Holy Spirit.
Literally the entire church (except the few back row people who slipped out the
back) rushed the front. i was there to experience how they experienced life
with God, and I was on the second row with a crowd of people behind me headed
to the front. Slipping out the back quietly wasn’t an option. So i went to the
front.
i was guided to men side of the stage. The speaking in
tongues began. Speaking in tongues is one of those Christian terms with a lot
of different meanings depending on whom you ask. It could be a made up personal
prayer language or the language of Angels or the language of the Holy Spirit.
Whatever it actually is, it sounds out of this world and very frightening the
first time you hear it. Imagine being in a room of English speaking people then
suddenly everyone started shaking and speaking Arabic or Chinese. i had my
hands up, praying in English when a woman appeared. She grabbed me around the
waist with one arm and with her other hand on my face she started praying for
me. She asked me if i had ever received the Holy Spirit. i said i thought I
had. She said if i was willing then i would now if i hadn’t before. i said i
was willing. She told me my face was going to get numb and my tongue would want
to talk. She said let it. i held my
hands up to pray again. My face did get numb and my tongue wanted to speak so i
let it, but it was only English. Actually it was a mumble that sounded to the
women like Speaking in Tongues. She sounded the alarm that i had it! My arms
were getting tired so two men held my arms while the rest of the church put
their hands on me to pray. All of them Speaking in Tongues. i was also shaking.
i didn’t know if that was because of the Holy Spirit or a panic attack. I
started praying louder in English for God to get me out of there! God was the
only one who could hear me because everyone was yelling.
After fifteen minutes of what felt like eternity, i guess
they felt like i had felt the Holy Spirit long enough, and i was released. The
preacher asked me if i had ever felt the Holy Spirit. i told him, not like
that. He laughed so i laughed.
The church service was ending and the preacher was giving
the final announcements. One of the announcements being, i had joined the
church and was welcome back anytime. i felt really welcome. One day i will go
back.
“As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” 1
Corinthians 12:20
Things learned:
1. No one knows all the answers.
2. Worshipping God radical. Sometimes it is deep and serious, and sometimes it is wild and out of control.
3. Jesus' followers are truly a family. Even though we fight and disagree sometimes. What family doesn't?
Great post! You're right when you said Jesus's followers are truly a family. God's children are made up of different people from different backgrounds, denominations, and race. Because of those differences, sometimes we do quarrel and disagree among ourselves, but when it comes down to it, we as brothers and sisters in Christ belong to the one true God! God bless you and your family!
ReplyDeleteIn the bible it talks about speaking in tongues this is not how its to be done. Someone just cant say hey lets speak in tongues today. its a gift of the holy spirit that is not done this way at all. Sometimes people say they are for God but arent following his word and are of their own world. This is a time you should have hit the door. You don't want to get yourself in a situation where the devil is really the one at hand. God has a good way of telling you hey this isn't right it seems to me like he told you that and you did not obey all that leads to is trouble. Read your bible know Gods word seek his guidence when things aren't right know his voice and pray. God bless
ReplyDeleteplease refer to Things Learned section.
DeleteYour post is perfect. I'm somewhere right in the middle of those two churches and its perfect for me :-) everyone thinks they know exactly what's best, so do my kids. I'm very proud of u. Love my prayer language and thankful for it. I can only imagine what God thinks when His very own children want to bicker about His gifts.... seems silly.
ReplyDeleteHi! Wow, I actually had pretty much the same experience. I was freaked out like you, and but then realized 'hey every church is different and in the way they do things as well'. (I'll stick with traditional though! lol) Great post and was nice to see I wasn't alone in having a similar experience like that! Btw you should do a post on Liberty University!
ReplyDelete-From, a fellow student :D
Very wise words. I love how you did not make this controversial at all!! ❤️
ReplyDeleteMan, I love what you learned through that experience. It's cool to think about how there are so many types of people around the world who worship so differently, and yet we can still be united in Christ! However, at the end of the day, I do believe the Bible should be the standard for how we think, speak, and act. And in my perspective, especially being someone who believes in speaking in tongues and someone who has been in a similar situation, I disagree with the method used at the church you visited. The Bible is very clear that the church should maintain order, especially when it comes to the working of the Holy Spirit. And if their method was so crazy that it made you want to leave, something was obviously wrong. I don't believe that feeling is a coincidence. Just one man's opinion. Thanks for sharing. I applaud you on your willingness to see truth in the midst of strange circumstances.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey Man, This is an awesome post! It's truly incredible to be able to feel the power of the Holy Spirit and physically see Him working in people. I also totally understand the being annoyed with the church thing. It's almost irritating to me how much many churches concentrate on the theology. Christianity is not able any of that. It is about just what you said, the perfectness of the blood of Jesus Christ. It's a relationship built on love.
ReplyDeleteIn Christ,
Colby Edwards
notjustabody.weebly.com