What are the characteristics of Charismatic churches
September 25th 2011 -
It has been known that Charismatics derived their name from the Greek word “charismata” meaning, the gifts of the spirit. They started in the mid 1960’s as laymen and ministers in mainline churches who began to experience the manifestation of spiritual gifts. For quite some time, Charismatic was just used as a term to merely identify a non Pentecostal Christian who had such experiences. Now, there are persons who attend mainline, non Charismatic churches but still consider themselves as Charismatics. Even local congregations and denominations have classified themselves as a Charismatic.
The Charismatic churches in Lexington KY may be indistinguishable from a Pentecostal church in some ways. They too have embraced the belief in the spiritual gifts and Holy Spirit Baptism that can make people speak in other tongues. Each of their liturgies may vary but they have more emphasis on the freedom of worship that is focused around praise. In a general view, a Charismatic church has a more independent and non denominational tone that sometimes gives more emphasis on spiritual exploration than on established tradition.
Charismatic churches in Lexington KY are characterized by their desire for a manifestation of the gifts given by the Holy Spirit. It was further explained that a charismatic church is open and gives opportunity, to the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in its services. These manifestations can be a message spoken in tongues and interpretations, a prophecy, healing, or even a miracle.
Exuberant Worship is another characteristic of the Charismatic churches in Lexington KY. They have a responsive worship marked by the lifting of hands, saying aloud some verbal praise like “Hallelujah” or “Glory to God”. They also sing in the Spirit or sometimes in tongues. They have the enthusiasm in the things that God has given, a desire to read, study and meditate on the Word of God. They also have the desire to witness the works of God and the fruit of the Spirit and the greatest motivation of all which is love.
To conclude, a Charismatic church is a Bible based Christian church with a born again belief. Their teaching is about the resurrection in power of Jesus that manifested gifts from the Holy Spirit. This has been used to minister the lost and edify the church. It has been called a full gospel and New Testament that greatly emphasizes in the completeness of the gospel message and the practice of spiritual gifts for today.