From: Debbie Mann (deborahjmann@insightbb.com)
Date: Mon Jun 16 2003 - 16:52:20 EDT
-----Original Message-----
From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu]On
Behalf Of Iain Strachan
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2003 1:13 PM
Ten Verses
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A few years ago I wandered into a Penetcostal church in Calgary while I was
there on business. It was just the nearest one to where I was staying and
it was Sunday morning. After a service that lasted around 2 and a half
hours during which we had a 20-minute set from a full scale rock band, the
statutory "mini" sermon (25 minutes) before the collection about how the
Lord loves people who give money, and then another spontaneous 10-minute
mini-sermon that the Lord apparently prompted the preacher to give about how
maybe we'd all like to give a bit more, then the real 75 minute sermon, I
spoke to someone in the congregation, a computer science student from
Calgary University. He told me that in his church they just like to "hit
'em with the Gospel". I thought back over the whole charade, which made me
very uncomfortable, especially the bit at the end when people went up to
have hands laid on them & then fall over (complete with beefy guy standing
behind to catch them as they fell and girl handing out blankets to shiver
in), and I tried to remember one single point where they had explained
clearly what the Gospel is.
I've been prayed for in one of those services, and caught. My stepson went
with me to church - and was totally and long-term put-off by it. The falling
on the floor got him. It wasn't unpleasant. I was up - then I was down. No
explanation.
I go to a church where I can take people, now.
In their defense, many of the charismatic churches - not necessarily the
same as pentacostal, do use a lot of chapter and verse and spend a lot of
time on the good news and what Jesus came for - abundant life, victory,
healing and they do NOT forget about salvation.
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