Thanks Femme. You had me kinda confused! :hug:
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Lots of good points in the thread. Many old time Pentecostals had a lot of cultural traditions blended in with their beliefs ( so do Charismatics).
Years ago, I went to a Pentecostal church, some of the rules were:
1. No pants for women
2. Men could not wear beards
3. No gold jewelry for men (except wedding ring)
4 Grape juice, no wine
5. women's hair on the longer side
6. very little if any make-up
7. No going to the movies
8. Use the term Holy Ghost, rather than the charismatic Holy Spirit (although I realize both groups know the terms refer to the same person)
I now go to a church affiliated with the AoG (hardly anyone knows this) and it is much more along the charismatic community church model.
In the 5 years I have been going there, I have never heard the Baptism of the Holy Spirit mentioned.
Before that, I went to the local Foursquare church, it was pretty much identical to the AoG. In the 10 years I went there, I never heard the Baptism of the Holy Spirit mentioned.
When the pastor of the 4SQ moved on, the church claimed that under his ministry
19,000 people got saved,
and 256 filled with the Spirit.
Attachment 201Charismatics !
I still use the term Holy Ghost a lot. I just like it. :)
Yep, sad.Quote:
I now go to a church affiliated with the AoG (hardly anyone knows this) and it is much more along the charismatic community church model.
In the 5 years I have been going there, I have never heard the Baptism of the Holy Spirit mentioned.
Before that, I went to the local Foursquare church, it was pretty much identical to the AoG. In the 10 years I went there, I never heard the Baptism of the Holy Spirit mentioned.
I was invited to preach at a church in Atmore AL probably around 2000 or so, and the pastor that invited me had just taken over this church several months before I came. It was a Church of God but he really hadn't done any 'Holy Ghost' teaching or anything like that, and most of the congregation, about 70-100, were not baptized in the Holy Spirit or knew anything about it, but were denominational people like Baptist. The only 'problem' was I didn't know this and he didn't tell me. Ignorance is bliss. :D
So I preach on a Sunday morning and night, and at the night service I taught on the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Again, I had no idea they had not been introduced to this. The pastor told me later that he was taking it kinda slow, etc (he probably never would have gotten around to it). I think there was anywhere from about 50-70 in that Sunday night service.
So I preach on it and give an altar call for the baptism in the Holy Spirit and 30 people come up. Every one but one got filled and spoke with tongues. I asked one lady how long she had been 'seeking', and she said 'Just now. I never heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking with tongues until you just taught it.' Woo hoo! I love that. lol
But it about scared the pastor out of his shoes. He thought I might blow up his church with this. Most of the people that got filled probably didn't even know about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues but yet when they heard it preached they were hungry and came up to get filled and they did. I just don't get Pentecostal/Charismatic pastors that are 'afraid' to preach that to their people.
When I'm teaching my students about how to get others baptized in the Holy Spirit, I always tell them go to these Pentecostal denominations like AOG and COG and preach on the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Nobody ever preaches on it any more as a whole (as your own experience attests to), these places are dry, and you can go in there with this message and get them filled and set all that dry kindling and wood on fire. Best way to have a revival that I know of.
Anyway, not sure what happened after that, but I supposed he was forced to teach on it after that. :D
At about the time of the earliest Pentecostals and Azusa Street there was lots of interest in spiritism and the invoking of ghosts. I'm wondering if that may be part of the reason why that term became so popular. Or was it just that they all read the old KJV translation and that one only ?