I was visiting in Texas and was being shown the various Church of Gods in the area. My host stated to me that I would not fit into certain CoGs because they utilize the charismatic music, drama and dancers, something that I preach against. Then I was taken to another CoG and told that this would be the one that I would fit in because they are the “Old-Time” Church of God. Of course, I do not believe in the “Old-Time” Church of God because I do not think there is such a thing. To imply such a statement means the opposite is true; in this case, “New-Time” CoG. I believe that church should be like that on the Day of Pentecost, a place and people where the Spirit of God is present. So it seems to me that today there are two different kind of CoGs in the land; the modern/worldly and the holiness. A major problem is, the two cannot mix in the CoG. One will come out on top. I think I can predict which one it will be. I say instead of the dance, why don’t we teach our young people about prayer and the power of God? How many CoG young people have actually seen a miracle? I can tell you the answer, “just about no one.” Such a shame. Many preachers fail in what our Lord commissioned us to do – HEAL THE SICK, CAST OUT DEVIL.
Discussion
8 comments
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They are correct there is one in McAllen that I won’t go to I’m 52 and youngest there. All red back and dead spirituality.
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dead because they don’t twist and shake???
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No dead because no God there
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but God is in the dancing and flag twirling and fog machines?
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Melvin Harter, I don’t normally correct people’s grammar online, but that should be ‘churches of God’ not ‘Church of Gods’. One God.
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Melvin Harter, is there any reason, from the Bible, to think that modern choruses sung to an electric guitar, are any less holy than old timey sounding hymns sung to an acoustic guitar with a bit of twangy steel guitar thrown in? Some of the new stuff can be kind of fluffy, but some of it is powerful, taken right out of the Psalms and other scriptures. Some of the hymns are powerful, and some aren’t.
As far as dancing goes, when I first saw the ‘intentional’ type dancing in church, that was strange ot me. I knew some people were against it unless it was ‘dancing in the spirit’ which is supposed to be when the Spirit takes control of you and makes you dance, or something like that. It’s an individual thing that one person does. There were some people against people choosing to dance and some people against choreographed dancing.
The Psalms tell the people to dance. The implication is that the listener would hear and make the choice to do so. I can’t find an example in the BIble where someone is overtaken by an ecstacy and made to dance, not a clear one, at least.
As far as miracles go, I’ve seen healing in churches that sang modern praise choruses, mostly pretty ‘tame’. I even visited a small megachurch that had black lights and rock/pop band sounding that laid hands on someone and got a report back that the child they were praying for had a clean bill of health. That was technically a Baptist church. I don’t know that I’ve seen healing in a COG. I’ve witnessed prophetic words in a COG, also PH, and churches Wagoner would call ‘Third Wave’.
In the early 1990’s, pre-Toronto Blessing, when I spent some time around Vineyard people, I wondered why I hadn’t seen so much of these gifts in the Pentecostal environment I was raised in. I had grown up hearing prophecies and tongues and interpretation. But, usually, there was one person, maybe two, who would operate in these gifts in the congregation. What I was seeing was that a number of people could operate in revelatory gifts in one-on-one settings to minister to people. I I started to flow in a little bit of that sort of thing myself. I wondered if denominations and movements tended to lose their fire and be less likely to pursue God in the area of spiritual gifts. God is no respecter of persons, of course. But us people can be a problem.
I don’t think doing miracles has anything to do with being Old Timey. The problem could be a lack of prayer. It could also be related to holiness as well.
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