Just finished listening to Michael Spencer’s latest podcast.
In it, he spoke about going to an Anglican men’s retreat and being astounded at how many of the men there had very similar backgrounds. What did it look like?
1. Grew up some variety of baptist (occasionally Methodist)
2. As a young adult, went Charismatic (Like Vineyard or Assembly of God)
3. Now, later in life, really looking for a church centered in the liturgy (Some have gone to Rome, others looking at Lutheran and Anglican)
Wow. Well, I’ll throw mine on the pile:
1. Grew up Conservative Baptist (17 years)
2. Went Charismatic in college and as a young married afterwards (6 years)
3. Now in the evangelical wilderness and very attracted to liturgy. (4 years)
Oh, and a side note to all you Calvinists out there. You’re alright, but do you have to keep all the B.B. Warfield rhetoric and the John MacArthur stuff? You likely have so many closet charismatics in your congregations, it’s not even funny. Look at who is in your churches. Where did they come from? Don’t think that when they left that charismatic movement they just threw all that stuff away. Sure, they threw some of it away or they would have stayed, but there’s plenty more where that came from. Hearing from the pulpit, in no uncertain terms, that they were (are still are!) a bunch of morons is not as cool as you think.