While at College, I heard via my brother that the charismatics within the brethren church I went to at the first school had all become too frustrated within the church. There was no sign of the elders listening to their perspective on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The charismatic youth leader had been removed. The new guy was really nice and a sound Christian believer, but lacking the further work of the Holy Spirit. The Charismatics left the church – and left it much smaller and subject to further divisions. They established a new church, and invited men with apostolic gifts to provide leadership. These appointed my former school teachers and youth leaders to be the elders of the new church. It started with 12 people, but grew rapidly.
Whenever I visited my brother – the 13th member of the church – I visited the church too. I was still unable to handle the doctrines, but could not deny that God was present in this company of people. Souls were saved. Christian fellowship ensued. The worship was outstanding. I was simultaneously sure it was right and sure it was wrong.
But of course, dutifully attending the Brethren church in London, I found that key members there were also baptised in the Holy Spirit.
My job in London came to an end. (actually I was sacked for crashing the company car too often!) My new job was back near my old school and the new church. I stayed with my brother until I had my own flat. On Sunday’s I went to the new church with him in the morning, and tried other churches in the neighbourhood in the evening. The first was my old school church. No one there welcomed me as a visitor or talked to me, except one woman who had been the matron at the boarding school and was just visiting herself! I have not been in there since. Why did they waste that opportunity? It confirmed to me that the Holy Spirit had moved on (I don’t mean he abandoned them, they were still ticking over, but his focus had moved on). I tried several other places, some of which were quite good. But I soon realised that deep down inside, I wanted to join the new church, despite my massive misgivings about the charismatic doctrines.
In the evenings I wrestled with these issues as I read the church’s ‘Belonging to an Anointed Body’ booklet to see if I could join. I took up swathes of my brother’s time arguing with him. In my heart I knew the Charismatic doctrines were right but I could not reconcile them with my intellectual understanding of the bible as taught by my Brethren upbringing. But my brother was equally committed to the scriptures as me, shared my upbringing, and based his charismatic doctrines on those same scriptures. I don’t recall what happened next. I think my convictions were way ahead of my head. But eventually I came to a position where I was satisfied that God had called me to join the church.
And so I did – member 121. My school experience was deemed to have been a legitimate baptism in the Holy Spirit, even though it was not in any way spectacular.
Next Sunday, I thought “well, if I’m going to be a member I’d better start pulling my weight”. So I started welcoming people I thought were new. It turned out that one of these was a young lady who had already been at the church for a long time. Within weeks we were ‘an item’, and convinced God had brought us together. I felt this was further conformation from God that this was indeed the church for me at that time.
Condensing 15 years of happy church life into 1 paragraph, we married, had kids, etc, led cell groups, preached occasionally, and did a lot of Sunday school Work.
This church was basically Brethren plus:
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The gifts of the Holy Spirit
Apostolic vision, in relationship with, rather than in power over, the local church
Freedom in Worship
A positive vision of an end-time revival
A sense of community. (in the Brethren church we would pray formally for issues, standing to pray while hearers sat bowed in the shampoo position. Now as well as corporate prayer, we would pray for one another in small groups after the meeting, praying over personal issues, praying for healing, and so on)
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