More Charismatic Perspective

A dear friend, whom I respect very much, called me yesterday. As we were talking, he mentioned reading my blog on being charismatic. He said it sounded like I was "venting." Later I really had to do some soul searching. Sometimes he says things that are a little difficult to hear. But this friend loves me very much and I doubt he would say anything to me if it didn't have some basis in truth. So I began to look for truth in what he had said. Was I venting? If so, what was I venting about?

After a few hours of thought, reading and trying to reconcile my head with his words, I came to the difficult conclusion that my own conviction is really emerging. I confess to having operated under what I call the traditional religious model --- the one I tend to think of as being devoid of charismatic trappings. But more and more, I find my heart ... and my mind, being turned to the trappings of the charismatics, Pentecostals, or whatever else you'd want to call them. Ironically, as I ended the evening, I was amused to observe that I had on headphones and was listening to some very spirited worship music. I realized that felt much more like home than singing hymns to a pipe organ. It's who I am.

The book of Acts (in the Bible) tells the story of the birth of the Christian church. I'm particularly intrigued by what happened when the promised Holy Spirit showed up. The Holy Spirit descended on what had grown to be about 120 people waiting with Jesus' disciples. Chapter 2, verse 4 says, "And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability." Other people (from other lands) came to see what was going on and were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by these believers. Verse 7 continues, "They were beside themselves with wonder. 'How can this be?' they exclaimed. 'These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking the languages of the lands where we were born!'" Then verse 11 really gets to the point. It says, "... And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!" So that was it, the purpose of the speaking in tongues --- to communicate the great news of Jesus Christ to non-believers. Mmmm!

Now after this, Peter got up and preached to the crowd. The rest of that second chapter of Acts outlines what he said. Verse 37 tells us that "Peter's words convicted them deeply ..." I imagine that his words must have been strong and possibly even offended some people. But look at how this story ends. Verses 41-47 sum it up and give me a picture of what church should be. I think those verses may be the most important verses for anyone who is church shopping, church planting, church leading or trying to figure out what church is and how they should fit into it. Look to what these verses tell us.

"Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church --- about three thousand in all (the first mega-church ever). They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing the Lord's Supper and in prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all ... all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper and shared their meals with great joy and generosity --- all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day, the Lord added to their group those who were being saved."

Okay, so here's my conviction. This doesn't sound like any church I've ever attended or been part of. But it definitely sounds like the church God calls me to, the church my heart yearns for. It is definitely the kind of church I would want to join. Does it sound like your church? If so, please tell me where that church is. Because most of the churches I'm familiar with tend to be filled with people who attend often, but not daily. They're people who give, but don't tithe. There isn't a sense of awe, and often people drift away from the church, saying that they're "not getting fed." Re-read those verses, Acts 2:43-47. Then ask yourself if that's a truthful depiction of your church. If it is, you are home. If it isn't, we have work to do folks.

This is what convicts me today. You see, I take the Bible literally and I believe one of the reasons God had Luke tells this story in such detail was to paint a picture for us of what church and true believers should look like. It's comprehensive and concise. But I do take it literally. Watered down Christianity and watered down churches don't do much for me. I want to be like those first century Christians ... with their hearts ablaze and lives that looked radically different than the world around them.