I hate to make assumptions but...

[AllForHisGlory]

I am going to....though I am possibly very wrong.

Alright, so in a earlier thread some of you may know I came from a baptist background, lately I have been completely rediscovering the Holy Spirit. I have been to several spirit-filled pentecostal/charismatic churches, and I found one and got my mom and sisters to go and we all love it. I have made an assumption, so bear with me :/
In general, I have found out alot of the people in charismatic/pentecostal churches don't have alot of biblical knowledge, (don't take offense to this, maybe its just me my location or the churches I have encountered) now most of my knowledge of the bible is the after-effect of a baptist background. I swear they drill this into your head since they aren't free like "the hand-raisin church down the street". Meaning, I find that alot of the people don't know about stories and such in the bible. Do you find that too? Or is it just me?
Now for the crazy assumption I came to in my head:

Spirit-filled churches- very open to Holy Spirit, lacking in biblical knowledge

More "conservative" -sigh- churches (you know what i mean) - Not as open to spiritual gifts (at all) but alot of biblical knowledge.

Free to discuss, enlighten me on my possibly bad assumption.

 

[stormdancer0]

A lot of Pentecostal churches emphasize the experience OVER the knowledge. They are both very important. Experiences are great, and wonderful gifts from God.

But sometimes we search for the experience rather than the will and knowledge of God. Plus, if an experience leads someone away from scripture, it is the enemy's doing, not God's.

On the other hand, Baptists tend to be monotonous and almost bored-sounding when they talk about scripture - and our God is NOT a boring God.

I'm grateful that our church emphasizes both scripture and experience. And we put scripture above experience, as I believe it should be. I've heard several older Pentecostals imply (or outright say) that the quickest way to destroy the calling of a preacher is to "over-educate" him - send him to classes to learn. I strongly disagree with that, but it is still an attitude that we need to overcome as a church.

 

[AllForHisGlory]

Thanks for the reply, ya thats makes more sense, and as far as the boring thing with baptist churches, I completely understand that. Been there experienced that.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

A lot of Pentecostal churches emphasize the experience OVER the knowledge. They are both very important. Experiences are great, and wonderful gifts from God.

But sometimes we search for the experience rather than the will and knowledge of God. Plus, if an experience leads someone away from scripture, it is the enemy's doing, not God's.

On the other hand, Baptists tend to be monotonous and almost bored-sounding when they talk about scripture - and our God is NOT a boring God.

I'm grateful that our church emphasizes both scripture and experience. And we put scripture above experience, as I believe it should be. I've heard several older Pentecostals imply (or outright say) that the quickest way to destroy the calling of a preacher is to "over-educate" him - send him to classes to learn. I strongly disagree with that, but it is still an attitude that we need to overcome as a church.

AMEN! I do agree with the OP in that I have noticed Pentecostals tend to have the idea that having the Baptism in the Holy Spirit frees them from the necessity of studying Scriptures, and that is not the case. It is a sad sad condition that only a move of God can correct. I have actually heard some say that they had the Spirit of God and since that was the case they couldn't be wrong about scriptures. Ugh what a horrible condition to be in. Baptist and other conservative denoms can be the exact opposite. So they both needed education sadly.

 

[AllForHisGlory]

AMEN! I do agree with the OP in that I have noticed Pentecostals tend to have the idea that having the Baptism in the Holy Spirit frees them from the necessity of studying Scriptures, and that is not the case. It is a sad sad condition that only a move of God can correct. I have actually heard some say that they had the Spirit of God and since that was the case they couldn't be wrong about scriptures. Ugh what a horrible condition to be in. Baptist and other conservative denoms can be the exact opposite. So they both needed education sadly.

Yep, onlybygrace84, was gonna pm you about whats going on now but I need a post count of 15 or more (crap ), this is however NOT why I created this thread, been wanting to ask this for a while.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Well man one thing you can count on is that if you have the Holy Spirit of God living in you and are submissive to His voice and leading, He will guide you into the place of worship that you will be edified in and you in turn will be a blessing and edification to the body of Christ as well. If you are in a seemingly counter-scriptural church, then ask God for direction and until you hear His voice telling you how to go forward, find ways to make a gospel impact within that body. It could be that God has placed you where you are, if indeed you are in a church like has been discussed, for you to show someone there, or a group of someone's what the truth of God's Word really is. He will never lead you astray, you can rest assured of that, as I am sure you know already. Even through the pit and the prison, Joseph always remembered that God was in control and he ended up in the palace because of his faithfulness! Hallelujah!

 

[AllForHisGlory]

The church I am in now, I truly feel led to be there Have a lot of friends from other churches and thats why I asked the questions, like you said it seems like both sides of the spectrum need education on different things, which is where I am at now, and its a pretty tough spot to be in.

 

[Kensington7]

This hasn't been the experience for me. I have been blessed to be in churches where the word has been taught from the cradle up... Stories, History, Law, all of it. I've had some of the best bible teachers the body of Christ has to offer. I have been in churches where I could probably finish the pastor sentence for him, or I wanted to shout "Preach the word"....

I got the word early on in my walk and I am grateful I did.

Have you considered that the LORD has called you out now to teach, to help teach? If you have the word, and the people around you need the word, then teach the word.

Maybe check into having a home fellowship or hosting a bible study. Now may be the time to step up and "Preach the word"... or teach the word.

 

[Laura Phillips]

and read your bible under the covers at night so no one will see you!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to....though I am possibly very wrong.

Alright, so in a earlier thread some of you may know I came from a baptist background, lately I have been completely rediscovering the Holy Spirit. I have been to several spirit-filled pentecostal/charismatic churches, and I found one and got my mom and sisters to go and we all love it. I have made an assumption, so bear with me :/
In general, I have found out alot of the people in charismatic/pentecostal churches don't have alot of biblical knowledge, (don't take offense to this, maybe its just me my location or the churches I have encountered) now most of my knowledge of the bible is the after-effect of a baptist background. I swear they drill this into your head since they aren't free like "the hand-raisin church down the street". Meaning, I find that alot of the people don't know about stories and such in the bible. Do you find that too? Or is it just me?
Now for the crazy assumption I came to in my head:

Spirit-filled churches- very open to Holy Spirit, lacking in biblical knowledge

More "conservative" -sigh- churches (you know what i mean) - Not as open to spiritual gifts (at all) but alot of biblical knowledge.

Free to discuss, enlighten me on my possibly bad assumption.

 

[stormdancer0]

I've been to "rocking" churches that preach more gospel than any Baptist could. If that's your style of worship, go for it.

Keep praying, and when God puts you where you need to be, you'll know it. He won't put you anywhere unless they have what you need, AND you have what they need.

 

[pmbasehore]

Every denomination is lacking simply because every denomination contains people! Ideally, we would all be filled with God's power and be knowledgeable of His Word. Unfortunately, that's impossible without God's help.

I think Kensington7 hit the nail on the head. If you already have the Biblical knowledge, then why not use that gift that God has given you to help others? Become a Sunday School teacher, or lead a small group in your home.

Don't be afraid of entering a volunteer ministry position; God gave each of us different talents and skills so we can complement and help our brothers and sisters out. If you can help teach Biblical truths, then maybe someone else can be an effective prayer warrior on your behalf (or some other skill, I don't mean to imply you're not a warrior!)

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Every denomination is lacking simply because every denomination contains people! Ideally, we would all be filled with God's power and be knowledgeable of His Word. Unfortunately, that's impossible without God's help.

I think Kensington7 hit the nail on the head. If you already have the Biblical knowledge, then why not use that gift that God has given you to help others? Become a Sunday School teacher, or lead a small group in your home.

Don't be afraid of entering a volunteer ministry position; God gave each of us different talents and skills so we can complement and help our brothers and sisters out. If you can help teach Biblical truths, then maybe someone else can be an effective prayer warrior on your behalf (or some other skill, I don't mean to imply you're not a warrior!)

agreed, I do think there are some denominations that are far more biblically based than others though. But there is no such thing as the perfect denomination, just as there is no such thing as the perfect church.

 

[FuegoPentecostes]

I have to say, I do agree with you.
I am Pentecostal now, but like you I come from a Baptist background. As I began to move into the Pentecostal Church, I did a lot of scriptural research in order to back up their beliefs. I've found Pentecostals that can't even show me evidence of speaking in tounges in the Bible.
In the end, Pentecostals are spirit filled people. They are lead by the Holy Ghost and focus on it as well as the rest of the Trinity. In the end, love for Jesus, belief in God, and following the Holy Spirit is what will bring you to Heaven, simply knowing stories won't.

 

[Jethro99]

I have to say, I do agree with you.
I am Pentecostal now, but like you I come from a Baptist background. As I began to move into the Pentecostal Church, I did a lot of scriptural research in order to back up their beliefs. I've found Pentecostals that can't even show me evidence of speaking in tounges in the Bible.
In the end, Pentecostals are spirit filled people. They are lead by the Holy Ghost and focus on it as well as the rest of the Trinity. In the end, love for Jesus, belief in God, and following the Holy Spirit is what will bring you to Heaven, simply knowing stories won't.

There is truth in that.

BUT

Suddenly the voice of an old pastor just popped into my head, he had a saying, "People say a lot of things.."

Knowing the Bible will help you know which of the things people say are actually in the Bible.

 

[Bob Carabbio]

"Free to discuss, enlighten me on my possibly bad assumption."

I've been in around Pentecostal/Charismatic groups for the last 50 years, and what I'd say is that BIBLICAL IGNORANCE is rampant in the church in general, and I DON'T know that it's actually any MORE common in the Full-Gospel genres than it is in the more fundamentalistic groups like Bible Church or Baptists.

A Baptist (for example) may know a LOT about his "Baptist paradigm", and the "Proof texts" that support it, but is often as ignorant of the "Entire" Bible as the Pentecostal - who also knows the "Proof texts" of HIS Paradigm, and not much about the surrounding context.

I think the Charismatics often tend to be more Biblically Savvy in general than the "Historic Pentecostals", but as a whole, I see little real difference quantitatively - EXCEPT in the specific paradigm that a person espouses.

Folks of the Wesleyan persuasion tend NOT to be so legalistically "Proof text" oriented.

 

[stormdancer0]

As I began to move into the Pentecostal Church, I did a lot of scriptural research in order to back up their beliefs.

This is so funny to me. I actually became Pentecostal when I got into a discussion with a Pentecostal minister about the validity of speaking in tongues, and set out to prove him wrong! It took me 8 weeks of research and reading, but I came to the conclusion he was right.

I wonder how many non-Pentecostals would change their minds if they just researched it and studied it.

 

[ltwin]

I definitely know Pentecostals who are really scripturally ignorant; however, they tend to be young Christians who were saved and Spirit filled in churches that did not have good discipleship and Christian formation programs. They took the word they got on Sundays, made a lot of assumptions based on spiritual experiences they had in church, and then added all that together to their own overall life experiences to create an unholy mix of trouble.

However, I also know many Pentecostals who know the Bible up and down and then some. These tend to be those who were raised in Christian homes and went to church all their lives. They not only learned the word in church, but they learned the word at home.

The problem with some Pentecostal churches is that we focus on knowing God through experiencing his presence so much that we forget that new Christians need to be formed in the word. So we get young Christians who are on fire for God but lack knowledge.

 

[AllForHisGlory]

I definitely know Pentecostals who are really scripturally ignorant; however, they tend to be young Christians who were saved and Spirit filled in churches that did not have good discipleship and Christian formation programs. They took the word they got on Sundays, made a lot of assumptions based on spiritual experiences they had in church, and then added all that together to their own overall life experiences to create an unholy mix of trouble.

However, I also know many Pentecostals who know the Bible up and down and then some. These tend to be those who were raised in Christian homes and went to church all their lives. They not only learned the word in church, but they learned the word at home.

The problem with some Pentecostal churches is that we focus on knowing God through experiencing his presence so much that we forget that new Christians need to be formed in the word. So we get young Christians who are on fire for God but lack knowledge.

After evaluating my church over the past months, I realize my assumption was wrong, at least for my church, but as far as for others, not sure. My assumption was based mainly upon looking at the YOUTH in the churches in my past and present, sorry if I didn't include that in the OP

 

[sharing101]

And you know what, some pastors actually go into hiding when the members ask questions to them for fear that they won't be able to answer it because their knowledge is limited. Been there, done that. But thank God that I found what I'm looking for, and as a Christian, I would like to share what I know with you.

Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Ask Bro. Eli, and the Bible will answer.

Visit this site:
organizingnotesfortheword.weebly.com

It has collection of LIVE Bible Expositions, Truthcaster Q&A and news about the upcoming Bible Expositions (Online Hook-Up or the Members Church of God International Chapter at your location).

May God guide you with your research. I pray that you will not be led astray, for many false prophets are gone out into the world.

 

[Kensington7]

I still say, if you know the word, then teach the word. It's really a simple principle.

Jesus taught. The disciples taught. We should teach. Do a search, see how many times we are admonished to "teach" in the word of God.