Apostolic/Pentecostals

[Rachel333]

{L_MESSAGE_HIDDEN}:

Thinking back some more on my experience. I think that church said baptized in the spirit, not slain. And I don't think there was any fraud going on in that tiny church, not even when the preacher pushed me. Everyone was very sincere, and caught up in the moment. Now Benny Hinn, on the other hand... :liar:

{L_MESSAGE_HIDDEN}:

I don't know what they called it, of course, but from what you said it sounds like being slain in the spirit. That is very different from being baptized in the spirit, which is more of a one-time event.

[BobTheWalrus]

I'm just wondering what you all think of the Apostolic/Pentecostal faith in general. It's fairly common in the Midwest, but for those unfamiliar with the faith, I'll attempt to summarize: It's a sect of Christianity centered around the idea that speaking in tongues (often referred to as "receiving the Holy Ghost") is necessary for eternal salvation. It is an essential component, and being Baptized/saved is not enough on its own. Some trademarks of the religion include women leaving their hair uncut, eschewing make-up and jewelry, wearing skirts below the knee, and conservative tops. Men typically wear long pants only, and no tank tops/shirtlessness. Church services are long; women and men sit separately, usually. It falls in the charismatic category, so there is lots of crying, speaking in tongues, dancing, and "holy rolling", although dancing in and of itself is usually forbidden, along with alcohol, gambling, movies, etc.

Have you had experiences with the Apostolic/Pentecostal faith? Do you think it's a cult or has cult-like tendencies, or do you think it's just a charismatic faith that just isn't right for everyone?

I will say that the church in my area is very controlling of its members, and has many characteristics that I would consider unhealthy and cult-like. I am very skeptical of the faith based on my own personal experiences, but I would like to hear from others on the subject. I'll share more on what I've experienced if more info would be appreciated.

Wow, the apostolic church in the UK is *nothing* like that! We are pentecostal, so we believe in the gifts of the spirit, but not that they are necessary for salvation. Some churches are more legalistic than others, but none of the ones I've come across over here could be considered cult-like. Of course the denomination has beliefs laid out, so for example we would believe in tithing (giving 10% of your income to the church), but in practice it's pretty flexible. You wouldn't get kicked out of the church if you didn't tithe, and it doesn't have to be strictly 10% and strictly to the church. My own family generally decide on how much we're going to give each month and split it between the church and other charities. It's the same with dress code - some churches would be stricter, but I personally have worn everything from skinny jeans to nice dresses and got no comments (other than compliments on my shoes lol). I think the older generations would be stricter on things like clothing, drinking etc.

The thing I love about my church is that although we believe in male eldership, we are also pentecostal, so we all have a chance to participate, male or female, adults, kids, people who have just joined and people who have been Christians longer than I've been alive. So I have never felt excluded because of my gender. They are some of the most loving people I have ever met. I guess some of it is cultural difference - I went to an apostolic church in France once, and it was much more conservative than mine, although very welcoming - they did spur-of-the-moment English translation for us!

I don't have a problem with the "weird stuff" like speaking in tongues, but I do worry about any place where the spiritual experience is manufactured. There doesn't have to be a big hype for God to be doing something profound. Sometimes we've sat in silence; sometimes there is joyful shouting and loud singing, or crying as God releases people from spiritual and emotional chains. I think that would be the one thing that defines the apostolic church in the UK - wanting God to be in charge, and wanting to live out things as we saw them in the New Testament, how the early church was.

Interesting discussion!

[BobTheWalrus]

I'm Pentecostal, and here's what I know.

What you describe is a very small part of the Pentecostal movement. The sect you describe is called Pentecostal Holiness, and they do require things like women wearing long dresses, etc. It's not unheard of for this sect to think that tongues is required for salvation, but the majority of Pentecostals don't believe this. Pentecostal holiness, while it has some good and right things, is kind of like the fundies of the Pentecostal movement. In my interactions with them, I haven't found them to think that women are inferior in any way to men. They are conservative, but not even close to being Gothard-esque. Some people find a lot of freedom in it, and all the dramatic personality changes can be explained just by the fact that it becomes really important really fast to some people. If people swing too hard and fast into it, they will swing out of it hard and fast too.

The majority of Pentecostals are mainly focused on taking the church back to the way it was in early church times, with more focus on loving others and building relationship with God, and less on theology and all the dos and don'ts. Tongues is only to show that we have the Holy Spirit, and isn't required for salvation. Tongues is meant to be an encouragement both to ourselves and others in the church, as a way to have assurance that God is with us. There may some odd-looking stuff, like rolling, but I personally have never felt like that was for me. I am about as feminist as it gets, and I find Pentecostals to be supportive of women's, children's, and LGBTQ rights because again, what we are focused on is simply spreading the love of Jesus to everyone we come across, at least the people in my church and many others that I have met. Our only hard-and-fast rule is that we love people like Jesus loved people. About everything else, we have a conversation. :)

Just my two cents. Hope it helps!

Thanks, this is a great summary and has mainly been my experience too!

[bluehydrangea]

The Apostolics in my area are Apostolic Christians, or referred to as AC's. They are not affiliated with the Pentecostals. The women wear skirts, their hair long and kept up in a bun or similiar, no makeup and no jewelry, not even wedding bands. Most women stay home with their children, though many do not. Television is usually not permitted (depends on each individual church), but some movies are ok. My childhood babysitter was AC and I remember many rainy or cold afternoons spent in the basement family room watching Cinderella or other Disney movies. The women that are members also practice head covering, but it is in the form of a small, hair colored doiley held on with bobby pins. They're really very pretty.

They also don't usually disown their children, and they aren't so insular. My husband and I have several friends who belong to the AC church, ranging from members in good standing, to some who were raised in the church but no longer attend as adults. And their parents didn't lose their minds over it. I'm sure they wish they'd return, but the kids are still invited to Christmas dinner.

They also operate several nursing homes, a home for the developmentally disabled in Morton, IL, and a childrens home in Indiana.

I'm guessing that you live somewhere in the vicinity of Fairbury, IL. I was in that area some in college for an internship, and that's how I became aware of ACs - which are very different from the Apostolics that I am referring to, despite the similarity in name. From what I understand, ACs are a pretty non-charismatic group.

Anyway, thank you all for your input. I think the groups that I've come in contact with is definitely on the more extreme side of Pentecostalism. I will share that I attended once with friends (not knowing that it was a full-blown service), and like many of you, I noticed that most people seemed to be swept up in the music and theatrics, kind of like being at a concert. Then, the pastor asked for the music to be cut off, and challenged the group to continue worshipping without the music. The amount of audience participation dropped dramatically, and it was obvious that the group was struggling to maintain its momentum without the music. It's definitely not the style of worship for me, but I was curious about others' impressions and experiences.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

In defense of these practices, I have never seen anything like those "rolling in the aisles" videos in the churches I have attended. My grandmother and her sisters were raised Pentecostal and my grandma will pray in tongues when praying for someone. I've had someone pray over me and I'm pretty reserved but I have had my own experiences as well. Honestly, what I've seen is so sincere and beautiful. Most people are truly worshipping God.

[eri]

A Pentecostal woman I worked with at an old weekend job claimed that Catholics aren't Christians and they believe in three gods (father, son, holy spirit).

Funny thing about Pentecostals, I was googling Pentecostal hair one time since women are notorious for not cutting their hair. Apparently there are some Pentecostal women memes teasing them for how huge their ponytails/hairbuns/updo's are. I recommend seeing it for yourself. (The pentecostal lady I worked with always had a big hair bun, although not ridiculous because she was an older lady with fine, straight hair.)

[jaelh]

thanks, salex.. you got me on a youtube video spiral; i've just found a video about how satan controls miley ray cirus via the illumininati.

also tupac is still alive. and was a christian.

i can't even..

[morri]

none I know a family on my fb which go to a pentecostal church when they have time but they are deffo no fundies or fundie like.

[RosyDaisy]

In defense of these practices, I have never seen anything like those "rolling in the aisles" videos in the churches I have attended. My grandmother and her sisters were raised Pentecostal and my grandma will pray in tongues when praying for someone. I've had someone pray over me and I'm pretty reserved but I have had my own experiences as well. Honestly, what I've seen is so sincere and beautiful. Most people are truly worshipping God.

Come to Alabama. Most Pentecostals here do that and speak in tongues.

[BrownieMomma]

A Pentecostal woman I worked with at an old weekend job claimed that Catholics aren't Christians and they believe in three gods (father, son, holy spirit).

Funny thing about Pentecostals, I was googling Pentecostal hair one time since women are notorious for not cutting their hair. Apparently there are some Pentecostal women memes teasing them for how huge their ponytails/hairbuns/updo's are. I recommend seeing it for yourself. (The pentecostal lady I worked with always had a big hair bun, although not ridiculous because she was an older lady with fine, straight hair.)

I was told once, at church, that some of the older ladies use steel wool to make their hair appear fuller. I looked at every older lady I could find to see if I could tell, never found any! lol

[klynn]

bluehydrangea,

Yep, Fairbury isn't too far from me. Probably an hour or more away.

[eri]

Incidentally, it appears that many Black churches, especially in the church, are Pentecostal. Normally I think of white pilgrim women when I think "Pentecostal."

[Geechee Girl]

I've grown up in and around Assemblies of God (AG) and Church of God in Christ (COGIC) Pentecostal churches in the African-American community. During the Praise Breaks, members who catch the Holy Ghost began to "shout." Shouting is a form of movement in praise. The roots are west African in origin and are still present in the Praise Houses and churches attended by members of the Gullah/Geechee community.

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a brief history:

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